The Dog Dude

The Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) regimen is well suited for most dogs because it’s effective for such a wide variety of behavior issues. A shy, withdrawn or timid dog becomes more self assured by knowing that they no longer have anything to worry about, you’re in charge of everything. A dominant, aggressive or anxious dog that may be pushing too hard to become the pack leader will learn that the position is simply not available and life will be so much more enjoyable without the title. Nothing In Life Is Free is also successful with dogs that fall anywhere between those two extremes. The regimen is not hard to implement and not very time consuming for you (especially if your dog already knows a few basic obedience commands). While the changes in behavior can be more profound in some dogs than others Nothing In Life Is Free rarely fails to bring about a positive change in k9 behavior. While most people start the regimen for it’s behavior modification benefits, it is also suitable for a dog that has no major behavior problems and simply needs some fine tuning and balance.

Reversing Attention On Demand

The program begins by eliminating your dog’s control over you. When your dog comes to you and nudges your hand, She is saying “pet me! pet me! NOW!” You must resist the urge to succumb to her demand. Don’t tell her “no”, don’t push her away. Simply pretend you don’t notice her at all. This has worked for her before, so don’t be surprised if she tries even harder to get your attention. When she figures out that this is no longer working, she’ll stop. In a natural dog pack situation, the top ranking dogs demand attention from the lower ranking ones, not the other way around. When you give your dog attention on demand you’re telling her that she has more status in the pack than you do. A shy or timid dog can easily become stressed by having this power and may become clingy. This creates a vicious cycle. They’re now never sure when you’ll be in charge so they can’t relax. What if something unexpected happens, like a stranger coming to the house? Who should handle that? The timid dog ends up on edge a lot of the time because she ends up with more responsibility than she can handle.

Dogs see receiving attention whenever they demand it as confirmation that they are the alpha dog, then they become difficult to handle when told to “sit” or “down” or some other demand is placed on them. It is not their pack status that stresses them out, it’s the lack of consistency. Dogs are happiest when the pack order is stable. Tension for them is brought about by a perceived fluctuation of pack leadership roles.

The Last Hurrah

The way it stands your dog already knows that your attention is available at her whim. As of today, it no longer works, but she isn’t aware of that yet. We all try harder at something we know works when it suddenly stops working. In this case you can expect much more insistence from your dog demanding that attention. If during those peak times of increased demands you cave and give him attention you will have to work that much harder to get her turned around again. Telling her “no” or pushing her away may not be the kind of attention she’s after, but it’s still attention. Completely ignoring her will work far better.

The Power Is Yours

To make the regimen really work you must control all of the resources in your dogs life. Playing, attention, food, walks, going in and out of the door, going for a ride in the car, going to the dog park must all be under your control. Anything and everything that your dog wants must come from you. If she’s been getting everything for free there is no real reason for her to acknowledge your leadership or your control of these things.

To implement the NILIF system of dog training you simply have to make your dog earn her use of your time & resources. She’s hungry? Not a problem, she simply has to sit before her bowl is put down & wait until released with an “OK” before eating. She wants to play fetch? Great! She has to perform a good “sit” or “down” before you’ll throw the ball. Want to go for a walk? She has to sit to get her lead snapped on and has to sit while the front door is opened. Going for a ride in the car? She has to sit and wait while the door is opened and listen for “OK” to get in the car. When you return she has to wait for the “OK” even if the door is wide open. Don’t be too hard on her right from the start. She’s already learned that she gets to make all of these decisions on her own. She has a long history of being able to get what she wants when she wants it. Enforce the new rules consistently, but keep in mind that she’s only doing what she’s been conditioned by you to do and she’s probably going to need some time to adjust to it all.

Your Job Won’t Be Easy

You’re going to have to pay attention to little nuances that you probably haven’t even realized happened before. If you feed your dog off your plate at dinnertime, do you just toss her a green bean? Not anymore. She has to earn it. You don’t necessarily have to use standard obedience commands, any kind of action will do. If your dog knows “high five”, “rollover” or “speak” use those commands. Does your dog prefer to sleep on your bed? Supply her own bed for your bedside or consider using a crate. At the minimum you must teach her that she has to wait for you to say “OK” to get on your bed and she has to get down the moment you say “off”. Teach her to “down” in a designated spot. When she goes to her spot and lays down tell her “stay” and then release her after a short pause and follow with praise. Having a particular spot where she stays is very helpful for when you have guests or otherwise need her out of the way for a while. It also teaches her that free run of the house is a resource that is always under your control. There are many other things that your dog values as a resource that I haven’t mentioned here. Be creative.

The interaction should not be long or drawn out. All you need to do is administer a simple command before allowing her access to the thing she wants. Dinnertime, for example, can be a short interaction that consists of nothing more than a “sit”, then “good girl!”, putting down the bowl and simply walking away. If she follows you return her to the eating area and point out the food and let her know it’s time to “eat”.

Playtime & Activities

Now that your dog is no longer in control & calling all the shots you need to make an extra effort to provide her with playtime & activities. The difference now is that you are the one who initiates the activities and begins the playtime. She will depend on you now more than ever to see that she gets what she needs. What she will need most is active quality time with you. This would be a good time to enroll her in group obedience class or seek one on one consultation. If her basic obedience is already nearly top notch, see about joining an agility class, fly ball team or simply go for some hikes on a local wooded trail. Remember that Nothing In Life Is Free doesn’t mean you have to limit the amount of attention you give your dog. You simply cannot allow her to be in control of the interactions. Go ahead and call her to your side 1000 times a day if you really want to. Just be sure to get the fee.

Related Link: Free Life Insurance Quote get protected