Nothing in life is free (again!)
Lynda Oleksuk
to me by my veterinary behaviorist. Any mistakes in this are mine, not hers.
This method is a non-confrontational way of reducing/controlling/preventing
dominance or dominance aggression in dogs.
One thing that I like about NILIF is that it's adaptable to ANY dog. For the
record, Gypsy was mildly dominant (but did not have aggression associated with
her dominance) -- but her main problem was and still is what I loosely call
fear aggression (the behaviorist called it "self-protective aggression").
Gypsy's history is that she was SEVERELY abused as a very young puppy and
nearly psychotic when she was younger. I was her 7th home -- she was 9 months
old when I got her. Dogs can have a combination of causes for aggressive
behavior -- and NILIF only addresses the dominance. But it should
notexacerbate problems with fear if used correctly. NILIF should be used as a
"game" and should be fun for the dog -- NOT a battle of wills. On the
occasions when Gypsy's "downs" have slowed, I've gone back to step 1 and
started the program over, rather than to try to outstubborn her. Mostly
because you cannot outstubborn an Akita. But again, I'm rambling.
NILIF:
(1) Avoid circumstances that elicit the aggression -- at least temporarily.
Later you'll be able to work on desensitization, but only after you've gotten
the dog's cooperation, not resistance.
(2) Maintain an aloof attitude toward the dog. This is accomplished quite
easily by crating the dog (or isolating it from the family in a small area
with a babygate). This crating will be 90% or more of the time for a few
weeks. This seemed to make Gypsy much more willing to do ANYTHING I wanted
her to when she was out -- she was so thrilled to have ANY attention that she
was beside herself.
(3) Two-three times a day for 3-5 minutes maximum practice QUICK sits and
downs for food. (If you don't know how to train this, go to a class.) You
are working for speed and attitude here -- so reward correct behavior
generously with praise and food. If your dog has fear problems, ignore or
minimize the need for corrections. Don't make these training sessions a chore
-- they should be fast and fun, not a battle. When the dog is IMMEDIATELY and
CONSISTENTLY and with ANTICIPATION obeying the commands, she is ready for the
meat of the NILIF program. Gypsy does the most lightning fast downs I've ever
seen -- as fast as a border collie crouches when herding sheep.
(4) At first, priveleges are still restricted, but you'll gradually be able
to add priveledges. Don't rush things -- if you have a bad day, just go back
to the prior level where things were successful and start over. Don't go from
confinement/isolation to full house priveleges in a day -- keep doors shut,
start with limited amount of "free time". (This step is my modification to
the program, but it worked for me, so I recommend it.) Gypsy got 20 minutes
her first day -- twice.
(5) NILIF -- Nothing in life is free. This means the dog must PERFORM to get
anything it wants. For Gypsy, because we were trying to reduce dominance that
was already present, I chose to use the "down" command because it requires her
to throw herself into the most submissive posture available. I have since
started peppering "sits" into the program, just to keep her paying attention
-- but the dominance problem is long gone, so I'm less concerned with how
submissive she is. "Wanna cookie?" -- nothing in life is free, so the dog
must "down" on command for the cookie. (BTW -- when you start introducing
NILIF, carry food AT ALL TIMES -- you're still rewarding the dog for
submitting - this is NONCONFRONTATIONAL. Reward for a LONG time, then wean
off food sporadically, but still praise the behavior.) "Wanna go outside?" -
dog must "down". "Wanna drink of water?" -- that's right. You're catching
on. The dog gets NO freebies. She must *earn* everything -- food (you should
see her slam her body on the floor for dinner!), play, petting, water, going
out, going for a r-i-d-e, getting T-R-E-A-T-S, coming inside. Gypsy even has
to "earn" the right to work on the agility equipment ... partly because I
think it helps her attitude ("Ohboyohboyohboy, Alpha-mom made me down, I must
be about to do something Good"), and partly because she's so excited to be
there that she needs the extra control.
Anyhow, that's it. The infamous NILIF method. I hope everybody who emailed
me finds it here.
BTW -- there are other non-confrontational ways to establish dominance.
Ignore a dog when it tries to initiate play -- and as soon as it gives up, you
initiate the game yourself. Alpha dogs decide when the pack plays, and when
it hunts. And I *do* like the idea of teaching a puppy or a dog to roll on
its back and accept petting ... but it doesn't have to be a battle. Gypsy
LOVES to lie on her back in my lap ... for a time, she was too frightened
because of the more violent alpha-rolls I was using to correct her ... but
since we've started NILIF, she's started flopping down in my lap more often
(which is really cute for a nearly 80 pound dog). Alpha dogs eat first.
I support this method wholeheartedly. Gypsy would be dead by now if I hadn't
found out about it. It worked for me. I hope it helps a few other people
too. I consider it just one more "tool" in my training and behavior
modification "toolbox" -- it's not a magic bullet for all problems. I'll
happily share it with anyone else who cares. And lots of those who don't. :)
"Wanna cookie? Nothing in life is free." -Lynda Oleksuk (akit...@bev.net)
& Edric the Wonder Mutt, Kati the world's hairiest Akita, __ /|__
Gypsy the brindle pinto pogo stick, ah, I mean Akita, / \___/ ^_/
and Battlecat & Cringer, who think all dogs are dumb \ \/ |
(oh, yeah, there might be a husband under all the hair) \ / --\ /
"If I don't vacuum for another year, maybe I'll finally || ||
have wall-to-wall carpeting!"