Six months after adopting Sam, I found out the likely reason why he had been hit by a car. Sam had severe thunderphobia, running blindly, scratching at doors, digging up flooring, and jumping baby gates at even the faintest rumble. After the first few storms of the season Sam saw a veterinary behaviorist who determined that in addition to thunderphobia, he was also very insecure and uncertain of his place in my household “pack”. In addition to medications, we began a program called NILIF, an acronym standing for nothing in life is free. This approach, while not resolving Sam’s fears has proven to be very effective in reducing them to a manageable level.
NILIF is a behavior modification technique that provides structure, helping any dog understand their place in the pack, below their owner. Establishing a reliable hierarchy using these methods allows insecure dogs to feel more secure knowing they have a pack leader, and shows the more dominant that they are not pack leader. Implementing NILIF is straightforward, but should be done only after consultation with a veterinarian, to make certain it is appropriate for your dog. The concept is easy, but results will not be immediate. Simply put, to get anything, your dog has to do something to earn it, he or she has no rights to just get what they want.
In Sam’s case he would hop up on the sofa next to me and nudge my arm until I stroked him, elevating his position in the pack to equal, or greater than mine. I started by simply ignoring Sam’s demands, not reacting when he nudged me, stroking him on my terms when he was not demanding my attention. At the start, Sam seemed to deteriorate, becoming more pushy, even stressed and upset at my sudden lack of response. The hardest part at this time was to not respond in any way – doing so would have told Sam that he could still get what he wanted when he wanted. It took several days, but gradually things changed.
Now Sam stays on the floor until invited onto the sofa, and has to sit before he can jump up, thus working for his reward. There are similar requirements for other areas of Sam’s life, for examples he eats after me and has to sit and shake his paw before being allowed outside. Interestingly, without addressing the thunderphobia directly, Sam seems more at ease and better able to deal with these stressful events. Yes, he still becomes very anxious during storms, but he is nowhere near as destructive, because he now knows he has a reliable pack leader.
This information is great about making the dog work for everything. So many behavioral issues can be addressed by adopting this theory in how you live with your dog.
Even when a dog brings a toy to you and drops it in your lap, waiting for you to throw it is the dog trying to control the owner.
Another thing that the owner should do is make the dog wait at every doorway. If the dog is going outside, the owner must step through the door first. A good pack leader would check the terrain for danger before sending the subordinate members out. If you just send the dog out first, he figures that you are too weak and he should take charge.
About the thunder, that’s great that this worked for your dog. I had a Golden that grew increasingly fearful of thunder and fireworks as she aged. I never did get her over that unfortunately. She is sadly no longer with us.
Great post though. Really good information!
Great job on explaining simply how NILIF can work for any dog and any owner