NILIF Training is interesting..
I read Simmons post on the NILIF and dove into the internet for what it really is all about. I have a 2 week adopted Boxer. He does show fear aggression toward grownups. But its weird. One woman in our neighborhood, he met, and she petted him, with tail wagging and everything. She owns dogs herself. But men she definitly has a problem with. It seems like he is selective. So its hard to gauge. Last night my 20 year old daughter who is living alone, came to visit. She hasnt met my Foreman yet. She knocked at the door, and since she used to live with me, she came in. Foreman, barked and growled.. and took a bit of time to trust her. It came to the point at one time, I scolded him, and sent him out the back yard. I let him in after a time, and by the end of the night, he was snuggling with my daughter and wanting her to play. Like I said, he is hard to gauge. I also have a 10 year old daughter, that he never seems to want to play rough with.. always gentle loving and kisses. SHe has a friend that he has no problem with when she comes in.
I did read the part about always initiating the play, and never let him initiate the play. That makes sense to me. We have another dog, who is very mellow, and loves to be petted. So me and the whole family are used to that.
I have Foreman setup to take Obedience lessons, but that doesnt start for another month. I would like to get a head start on training Foreman, especially in the fear aggression part. But I do know that if I do this, I will get a negative reaction from my family members, for upon reading it, I can understand that it seems mean to make your dog, work for every little thing in its life. But I do grasp the concept. Maybe I need to do more research, but if anyone could share their successes with me, I sure would appreciate it!