diff --git a/ssh/client.go b/ssh/client.go
index 0b9fbe5..bc6f47a 100644
--- a/ssh/client.go
+++ b/ssh/client.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // Client implements a traditional SSH client that supports shells,
@@ -169,7 +170,7 @@
 // to incoming channels and requests, use net.Dial with NewClientConn
 // instead.
 func Dial(network, addr string, config *ClientConfig) (*Client, error) {
-	conn, err := net.Dial(network, addr)
+	conn, err := net.DialTimeout(network, addr, config.Timeout)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -210,4 +211,9 @@
 	// string returned from PublicKey.Type method may be used, or
 	// any of the CertAlgoXxxx and KeyAlgoXxxx constants.
 	HostKeyAlgorithms []string
+
+	// Timeout is the maximum amount of time for the TCP connection to establish.
+	//
+	// A Timeout of zero means no timeout.
+	Timeout time.Duration
 }