Nothing in Life is Free -
a simple concept with profound positive consequences for your dog’s behavior
In a nutshell, here it is:
Your dog must sit promptly at your command to earn anything and everything he wants or needs,
from now on, and for the rest of his life.
If he doesn’t obey your command right away, he doesn’t get what he wanted
(or what you wanted him to have).
That’s it.
Why does NILIF work? It decreases your dog’s anxiety by increasing your consistency in your dog’s eyes; it stops you from inadvertently rewarding the wrong behavior; and it makes you more attuned to your dog’s behavior.
Think of all the times during the day you interact with your dog. If you are like the majority of dog owners, you spend more time yelling at your dog than you do rewarding him. But what a dog craves is your attention. If he gets more attention (and yelling and saying "no" are indeed attention) by misbehaving, that’s what he’ll spend most of his time doing.
Imagine what it would be like instead to reward your dog when he’s quiet and paying attention to you. That’s what NILIF does. Your dog gets your attention (and treats!) when he is doing what you tell him to do. The more you reward your dog for sitting when you tell him to, the better he will listen to you.
When you first start NILIF, you may tell your dog to “sit” and he will do just that. Then you can pet him, or feed him, or open the door, or play with him…whatever you and he want to do.
But if he doesn’t sit? Do nothing! No second chances, no repeating the command just in case he didn’t hear you (he heard you--he just chose to ignore you!), no nothing. Just walk away. A little bit later, repeat your quiet, confident command “Max, sit!” If he sits, reward him! If he doesn’t, once again do nothing.
There is no punishment in this training plan, but the only way he can get any attention is to sit promptly on your first command. If he continues to ignore you, stop this training session and try again 15 minutes later.
Once he has mastered "sit", use it! Remember: Your dog must sit promptly at your command to earn anything and everything he wants or needs, from now on, and for the rest of his life.
Now-imagine rewarding that sit with things other than treats. Does he want to go outside? Sit first. The reward is that the door opens. Does he want you to throw the ball? Sit first. The reward is that you throw the ball. Does he want to join you on the couch? Sit first. Then he has earned his place next to you. Anything he wants to do or have-sit first. Remember-NOTHING in Life is Free!
Think of all the times during the day you interact with your dog. If you are like the majority of dog owners, you spend more time yelling at your dog than you do rewarding him. But what a dog craves is your attention. If he gets more attention (and yelling and saying "no" are indeed attention) by misbehaving, that’s what he’ll spend most of his time doing.
Imagine what it would be like instead to reward your dog when he’s quiet and paying attention to you. That’s what NILIF does. Your dog gets your attention (and treats!) when he is doing what you tell him to do. The more you reward your dog for sitting when you tell him to, the better he will listen to you.
When you first start NILIF, you may tell your dog to “sit” and he will do just that. Then you can pet him, or feed him, or open the door, or play with him…whatever you and he want to do.
But if he doesn’t sit? Do nothing! No second chances, no repeating the command just in case he didn’t hear you (he heard you--he just chose to ignore you!), no nothing. Just walk away. A little bit later, repeat your quiet, confident command “Max, sit!” If he sits, reward him! If he doesn’t, once again do nothing.
There is no punishment in this training plan, but the only way he can get any attention is to sit promptly on your first command. If he continues to ignore you, stop this training session and try again 15 minutes later.
Once he has mastered "sit", use it! Remember: Your dog must sit promptly at your command to earn anything and everything he wants or needs, from now on, and for the rest of his life.
Now-imagine rewarding that sit with things other than treats. Does he want to go outside? Sit first. The reward is that the door opens. Does he want you to throw the ball? Sit first. The reward is that you throw the ball. Does he want to join you on the couch? Sit first. Then he has earned his place next to you. Anything he wants to do or have-sit first. Remember-NOTHING in Life is Free!
