The principle of NILIF (“Nothing In Life Is Free”) is that your dog needs to work for everything he deems valuable. Under NILIF, nothing should be proffered for free. He needs to learn that you are the one granting him each and every resource – food, toys, affection, access to furniture, going for walks, everything.
How strictly you adhere to NILIF depends on your dog. A dog who is pushy and demanding and disrespectful of others’ space should have a more strict NILIF structure than a dog who is polite, respectful and compliant.
Some trainers insist on an unwavering “one-size-fits-all” approach to NILIF and, I’ll admit, there are some dogs who would be unbearable to live with without such complete compliance. But a majority of dogs and a majority of owners needn’t live such a strict lifestyle. Don’t we live with our furry canine companions so that we can tousle their fur and rain kisses on their wet noses even when they’re not sitting politely at our feet?! I'll admit wholeheartedly that I do!
More to the point, and of greater concern, if such a strict regimen is insisted upon, pooch parents are less likely to execute it consistently, and inconsistency is the devil’s workshop. Dogs trained with inconsistent structure will be less certain of their lifescape and more likely to test boundaries and make mistakes.
So, in my mind, while NILIF may be appropriate for the most challenging dogs, what’s more important, and most achievable, is that nothing good should be granted for undesirable behavior. That is a tenet I think we can all live with!
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