We practice the "Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF)" program in my home. I enjoy giving special food, treats and toys to my dogs. However, since the pack only gets these things once they have earned them, they aren't spoiled.
For instance, when I decide that everyone would get a biscuit, we practice NILIF. This is how it goes:
- I walk to the kitchen and open the biscuit jar. All the dogs rush into the kitchen behind me.
- I wait patiently, staring off into space, for said pack to figure out what I want from them.
- Ella is usually the first. She sits (look, she has done her work!).
- I say "good sit, Ella" and hand her a biscuit.
- Little doggie lightbulbs flicker on above the other dogs heads.
- One by one, each dog sits: Good sit, Maggie. Good sit, Blackie. Good sit, Duchess. Good sit, Robbie. Good sit, Bear. Good sit, Spirit.
With a new foster, sometimes the task at first is merely to take a treat from my hand once all the other dogs have gotten theirs. Then we work up to sitting with the others. No fighting and no stealing treats. No jumping, either. No treat for misbehaving - once the dog settles, THEN they get the treat.
Please notice that I do not ask them to sit. I am merely waiting for them to figure it out.
NILIF goes both ways. If I want well behaved dogs, then I have to work for it. If they want a treat, then they have to work for it.
So, how do I deal with bad behavior?
First, I try to prevent it. If that doesn't work, I will give time outs in crates and separate rooms.
For instance, I like to give bully sticks to the dogs at least once a week to keep their teeth clean and their breath fresh. Seven dogs = seven sticks, right? Wrong! I always have a couple of extra sticks in various spots, in case someone gets up and has their stick taken - there is usually one lying nearby that they can chew on.
Should two dogs decide to go for the same stick and start an argument, I immediately ask them to Stop! in a calm, loud voice (to penetrate the snarling) and take all sticks away from all dogs. Everyone then gets a time out for a half-hour or so or we go do something else, like go to another room.
Another way to use NILIF is at the dinner table. My dogs, at my home, have learned that if they wait quietly, they will get a treat when I am finished with my meal. I did this by completely ignoring them while I was eating and every once in awhile giving them a treat for laying or sitting quietly. Seems a little counter intuitive, doesn't it? It does work, though. It does take some time, too, and all family members have to do the same thing or it won't work (if you have a child slipping the dog food through the whole meal, this method probably won't work).
All of these things that I do help to make my household harmonious. Not quiet, mind you, but harmonious.
Do I ever alpha roll them, like some trainers suggest? No. I don't need to. And, dogs don't alpha roll each other, either. The submissive animal rolls itself. My dogs and I co-exist as a team, remember, so I certainly do not expect them to be submissive to me nor do I expect them to submit to me - what they do, they do of their own accord, because it makes sense to them - because we are a team. Because of respect. Because I ask, not command.
Remember, they respect me and I respect them. I am a benevolent leader and I think about problems and watch for them before they become problems. That's my job, as the one with the bigger brain. I have a routine that I stick to, morning and night. I provide enough things for my dogs to do to keep their minds and bodies active. I know that they are dogs, not furry humans. I make sure that I teach them what I want them to do, rather than punish them for doing something I don't want them to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment