Can someone explain the "nothing in life is free"

[MollyGirl]

I have read go to the "nothing in life is free" I would love to know what that is I think I have a idea but would love more info.

[RMSChloe]

it also entails that they "work" for everything they get. to deserve their meals, play time, etc. they have to "do" to "get"

[Duramax]

we do NILF with Max, Chevy, and Boog. I'll give you a summary of our day:

in the morning first thing all 3 need to go potty. so i go to the door and they all must sit  while i walk through the door and they hear my release command. then they know it's time to follow me outside to go potty.  and we do the same thing when we go inside, after their buisness is done, all three must sit and wait till i give them the ok to go inside, no matter if the door is wide open or not.

then they have breakfast, they are fed in pack status order, which means Max is first, then Chevy and little Boog is last, they must all sit and wait for their release command to go to their food bowls before they start to eat. this is also done at every meal.

All three of the boys know better than to go ahead of Jeff or I through an entry way. Max still tries it when he's excited, but must always go back out the way he came and wait for me to go through first before he may.

no one may pass a human on the stairs. a bounding dane on the stairs is not a good thing.

also they may not get onto the furniture unless they ask or wait untill after the humans are already seated. (considering we'll be sitting on the same place like the big couch)

of course they always earn treats and anything else fun, it's a very positive and consistant method of training, and it always keeps the house rules remembered. there's never a chance they will for get a command.

since ive never taken any of the boys to obedience training, ive been very strict about the NILF system. and I think it's a very great way to help bring a little bit of sanity to your house.

[Duramax]

I also wanted to add that if you use the nilf as a day to day way of life, which is easy and the best way to use it. it will become second nature to your pup to earn what he wants. EG: Boog now when he wants to come inside....or go outside for that matter, will back up about 6 feet from the back door plop his butt on the floor and wait patiently. it's adorable

[newfie owner]

aww how sweet.it sounds like it works for you.we should try that.

 good luck mollygirl

[People Whisperer]

"Nothing in life is free" is not only for pushy dogs. I believe it should be use for every single dog as it teaches dogs to be polite and patient.

It is very simple...The dog has to earn everything

Want go out? Then sit first
Want to step out of the door? Back off
Food? Wait 2 steps away in the sitting position
Bone? Get in the crate

Ones dogs realize that they have to earn everything they will look for your guidance all the time 

It's funny with Lily...when she is uncertain about something she "sits" when she is still uncertain she goes "down" and looks at me kind of asking "is that right?" LOL 

[Nicole]

HAHAHHAHHAHA! Cabeza sits whenever he wants ANYTHING or if he's uncertain about stuff, too. Its adorable.

Well, wait. I shouldn't say anything. He will actually try and knock me down if he wants to get outside. That's something I need to train my HUSBAND on, because he encourages him to get so excited about going outside that he just can't stand it.

[People Whisperer]

Here is a great link about it 

http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm

[angel101798]

We use it too, a must for a Malinois.  Basically you're teaching them your the boss ALL THE TIME.  We don't step over her, we give her the "Excuse me" command to make her move (she used to snap if we walked over her), she has to "Wait" a minute before she can get out of the car, walk down the stairs or walk through a door.  We also go down the stairs and through the door first.  Of coarse, if we don't move fast enough she'll nudge us from behind and then give us a "What?!?" look.  She has to sit for her meals, lay down for a bone, "kennel up" for a treat, "settle down" for pets, etc.

[sc.trojans]

Plenty of great explanations have already been given, so I will just provide some links for more information:

http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/nothingfree.htm

Patricia McConnell is the authority on NILF and the best guidance on it is in her book "The other end of the Leash" and in her training pamphlet "How to be a Leader of your pack" - I highly recommend these.

[chaosndestruction]

We don't enforce it too heavily here. My biggest thing is that the dogs back up before they go outside and wait for me to tell them they can go outide... 3 husky mixes leaping out of the back door with your arm attached isn't fun.

I'll probably work more on enforcing this when I have my own place and my views on raising my "kids" don't clash with my dads. (ie...he let's his dogs beg and practically sit on his lap while he eats, which I find rather disrespectful and annoying...Kee la knows better).

[sc.trojans]

You could work on teaching her to bark on command. You need to teach bark on command if you want to be able to teach no bark on command - she needs to know what bark means to you.

When you are outside and she is in, she will naturally want to be out with you.  Her barking is demand barking here - get over here and let me out there.  Your best course of action here is to allow her to be outside with you, working on her obedience and silence while out there.  If she barks at a lot of things, and is generally reactive - then teaching a calming focus command should work well.  When I rehabilitate reactive dogs, I teach them a "watch me" command to have them look at me, and not what they want to react to or bark at.  When the dog looks at me, I click and reward. We make a game out of this - once the dog figures out what he his getting rewarded for I can them apply a command/name to it and start saying watch me when he does it.  Once "watch me" is clearly assigned to him looking at me, then I say it to him when I want him to do it.  Always reward for successful behavior.

This is stunningly easy and fast to train and in no time your dog will sit outside with you quietly.  To help re-inforce it, you should also provide something to do while out with you - such as a stuffed Kong.