Ups & Downs, Ins & Outs of NILIF

I love NILF because it uses common sense and proven learning theories to empower the dog owner and reduce a dog's frustration.  I choose NILF (combined with operant conditioning) over other methods because I have seen instant restults and I have seen angry dog owners and terribly confused and frustrated dogs make a turn around in less than an hour.

Actually, one of the main reasons I love NILF is because it's applicable in many other areas.  I was basically raised with NILF (by the time I was 14 and old enough to work, my parents no longer gave me money for weekends, no car, no computer, no cell phones....they let me do what I wanted, but I was to find my own means of doing it.  My "reward" was the freedom and independence of not having things like curfews or limits on what activities I was allowed to do).  I use NILF with one of my cats (the smart, food moticated one) and besides me being able to keep him under control, it has greatly benefited him b/c he can focus himself in a productive way and get treats by earning them, not stealing them.  It's also helped our relationship b/c instead of me having to nag him for being on the counter, stealing food from people's plates, howling for hours when he decides he's hungry, he knows that at 10pm he will perform for his dinner and that he WILL get his dinner no matter what.  Instead of doing naughty things, he's been spending a lot more time on my lap.

The only part of NILF that bothers me is that people are critical about it b/c they think it's bribery and that the dog will never perform without treats.  Like ANY training method, people need to do some thorough research and not just use tips and tricks posted on the Internet.  Understanding concepts like operant conditioning, varied schedules of reinforcement, and basic learning theories will help make NILF more effective and it will make a lot more sense to newbie owners.

Nilif is a process that demonstrates leadership in common everyday ways.  The dog is confronted with "hmmm my human has control over the door, my attention, my food, etc...my human is in control."  The human develops an understanding of what true leadership dynamics are about, in the canine world.
 
Just a simple anecdote to illustrate my point here:  Dogs follow leaders that know where resources are and how to get them.  As most everyone knows I go on some pretty long walks with my boy.  I don't carry water, however, because all around my community are water spigots and lakes.  Xerk knows that when we go on a walk I will stop at one or two or several water-holes to get us both water.  He depends on that, so if/when one of the sources is inaccessible we have to make a beeline straight for the next closest one.  A good "pack" leader would do the same. 
 
I ask him to accompany me on walks and I reward him with the walk, and still manage to meet his physical needs (water to drink, or cool off in) while out and about.  Knowing where the resources are, going to them when appropriate and doling them out fairly when we arrive there.  Very simply understood by a dog.

Can anyone explain what NILIF is?  I have seen this hrase used all the time and for some reason I think it is taught out of the School of Hard Knocks? 

What I love most about NILIF is that it's so flexible. Have a dog who's the most perfectly behaved creature ever? Well, maybe he only has to do something to get a special treat. Have a dog who's having "dominance issues"? In that case maybe you make it so nothing in his life is free. As behavior improves you can get a little bit less strict.

It's also so incredibly simple. Cause and effect, very predictable. The dog begins to trust that as long as it does what you want it to good things will follow. I like how the human holds high expectations for the dog, the dog knows exactly what is expected of him, and the dog trusts the human to provide for him.

NILIF:  Nothing In Life Is Free.
 
This is a program where the dog must perform a requested behavior for each and ever concession that the human makes. 
 
If the dog, for instance, wishes to go outside, the human can request the "sit" behavior, or a "down" behavior.  When the dog complies with the request, the resource (open door) is made available to the dog.
 
If the dog requests physical affection, the same rule applies.  Dog must perform a behavior.
 
The dog has restricted access to resources until a behavior is performed at the human's request-then that resource is made available to the dog.  Thus the dog has to "work" for access to those resources (food, outside, attention, couch, bed, etc.)

I understand cause and effect.  I understand training so an owner's request is granted by the dog, such as sit-stay-go. What was vague to me about NILIF is what is introduced into the environment in order to effectively communicate the desired outcome from TWO very different WANTS.  Without the introduction of a previous learned behavior the dog will not learn the house manners.  For the dog this is indirect learning.  Is this correct?

We did NILIF before I even knew there was a "thing" called NILIF. It was really instinctual for us. We have what the dog wants--why should we give it up without the dog doing something we want in return? We've always had large dogs, adopted as adults from situations we know nothing about, so having them calm and well-behaved has always been really essential for us. Even when I was doing formal training in ways that now make me cringe, NILIF was always the lifestyle of our household.

As far as prior-learned behaviors, you'd be amazed how fast a dog learns to sit when you've got something he wants. It doens't replace more formal training for other situations, but I had Marlowe sitting and waiting for release for his dinner days after I brought him home, and he had NO prior obedience training. Of course he still had to learn the cue "sit" and learn to do it where there were no visible rewards present, and in lots of different situations and contexts, but he learned to sit for his dinner as soon as he figured out that if his butt is on the ground I put the bowl on the ground and if he lifts it up before I say so the food goes away.

With large dogs, my life would be chaos without NILIF. Maybe other people can deal with dogs who show their excitement about food or a walk or a toy by jumping around and doing zoomies, but we can't have that here. When my dogs "beg" (which is still annoying, no doubt) they do it by laying or sitting down next to you and waiting patiently, because that is the ONLY context in which they've ever recieved a treat.

I also love how felxible it is. You choose the level your dogs need. We don't sit at every doorway or NILIF just for petting and attention most of the time because these guys don't need that kind of structure. But other dogs may definately need a stricter program. It's also such a simple yet structured program that it can help members of a household who can't seem to manage consistency for the dog. NILIF is a simple principle summed up in 5 words that can be applied to all situations in life with a dog, and everyone in a house can do it.

I've heard people criticize NILIF for being too harsh and somehow cruel, which kind of burns my britches. I do things for my dogs all the time, why shouldn't they do something for me back? Tit for tat. You want food, I want a calm, sitting dog, seems like a perfect win-win situation.

When I give Shadow bits of meat from my plate, he has to sit or down for it. When we got Jade, she would eat out of his bowl sometimes, which he didn't bother stopping when he was already full. When he was growing up with Duke, the JRT, he would let Duke eat out of his bowl. BTW, Duke was older and kind of his leader. Anyway, I started putting up Shadow's bowl to prevent Jade from eating his food so that she would eat the food appropriate to her. The side effect is that I can leave the bowl on a table and neither of them will touch it. It's "available" only when on the floor.

Shadow will "ask" for training because it means treats. He knows that nothing in life is free and doesn't mind working for it because it is always rewarding.

ETA: you will find NILIF in most any of the training books and certainly within the clicker regime. You will also find it with CM. Though I don't use his physical style, I did notice on one episode that he always requires sitting and staying in one's own feeding spot in order to be fed and disallows any bowl surfing. The point being, as the op said, it is an important feature of any training program. I like to think the dog is working for the meal. All dogs work, sometimes with you, sometimes not. Allow them to work with you by getting what you want so that they can get what they want.
 
And, in extension of my earlier description, the moving of the food bowl by me, the asking me for training in order to get treats, reinforces my position as leader since, by Shadow's own acknowledgement, I control the resources.

I've heard people criticize NILIF for being too harsh and somehow cruel,

 
wow, who thinks this?  dogs love NILIF-- it makes everything so crystal clear to them. Dogs like knowing the rules. And it gives them choices-- if dog really doesn't want to sit, he doesn't have to. Of course he won't get whatever it was he wanted. But that's his choice.

I think NILIF has been the single most important thing that I have done for Bubblegum...thank you Anne! She totally wants to take over everything.  Her past life of a show/breeding dog turning into a loving pet was just too much for her to handle,,,and she has not been an easy dog to put up with since I got her at 3 yrs old.  She must be constantly reminded that she has rules...and when you let up a little....she slowly takes over more and more..reminding us to practice more NILIF.    It has made such a difference in our life with her...and I never fail to mention the program to anyone who is having problems with their dog.

I've heard people criticize NILIF for being too harsh and somehow cruel,

Most criticisms that I've seen about NILIF are from people who think that a dog's "feelings" are self-esteem would be hurt. It's as if they view NILIF as "forcing" into some sort of "regime." But I think those people don't realize that dogs don't have egos like people do. Their "status" isn't a reflection of their worth. It's not good or bad. It just Is. (I know, awfully early for doggy Zen). A dog doesn't care if they are at the bottom of the pack or at the top, as long as their needs are being met and they know what is expected of them.

I don't care that my job isn't at the top of the company I work for - I'm doing the job I feel comfortable with. If you did put me in the position of manager - I'd be totally stressed because I wouldn't be comfortable with making those decisions. Just like if you put me in the mail room stuffing papers. Not challenging enough so the boredom would drive me insane. NILIF is a way to both give our dogs a job to do and let them know that we make the decisions so they don't have to worry about it.

The beauty is - it can be customized to any dog of any energy level or ability. There is no force, the dog has a choice. Do I lay down then eat? Or do I stand here and starve? Do I jump all over the door and get stay inside? Or do I sit quietly and then go out and play. The dog gets into the habit of asking what you want in order to get what it wants instead of trying to find it's own way to get the reward. He doesn't see you are the Evil Headmaster who controls every aspect of his life. He sees you as the person he can always trust to give him what he needs if he just knows how to ask.

I think K9 Deb describes it best, I love the program and it was the best thing I implemented for my dog.

[linkhttp://k9deb.com/nilif.htm]http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm[/link]

The way I see the NILIF practice commonly described is to ask a dog to do A in order to get B. Where that goes wrong, I think, is that in interpreting this, some owners end up rewarding a dog for doing SIT while it's standing on its toes with excitement, or, treating a dog while grooming when its overall state is tense or defensive... It is a good way to start working on behavioral issues, but I think if you never raise your expectations and keep on rewarding the action, you might be nurturing the undesired behavior underneath. Wonder if that's why NILIF is not effective for some people...

If I ask my dog to do something out of context, say, twirl before feeding, he would give me that "Okkkey... WHY?" look. All I want from him is to be patient while I'm filling up his bowl... He's learned that long ago, and I don't ask for anything - he just waits and drools []. He processes our "lessons" better if what I want from him is relevant to that particular context... something that he can internalize. This makes it easier for him to apply what he's learned to a totally different context...

NILIF is not at the top of my list for solving behavioral issues (but what do I know []). What helped me most is recreating a situation in which there is a problem and practicing the correct behavior over and over again, then it's socializing and teaching self-control. Paired with all these, NILIF is an excellent way to get a dog to be generally more attentive and patient.

Tina,
 
You bring up the points I was thinking about. []
 
The NILIF concept is very versitile. Even William Koehler used the basic principle many years ago. 
 
Cesar Millan uses it in his own way by asking for "calm-submission" before proceding on into an activity the dog wants to do. So, CM is asking for a state of mind from the dog, rather than just a "sit".
 
It's interesting to see how different people use this basic concept.