Canine communication

It was a boiling hot day, and I was standing In the shade of the fig trees, down the local park. Ready for the first appointment with my coach, Victor.

Victor is actually a dog trainer, and my fellow coachee, a Spanish water dog called Phoebe.

Our pandemic puppy is now two years old.

With her fixed stare and thick brown fleece, I’ve always described her as a cross between Paddington Bear and Shaun the Sheep.

I'd also described her as unruly, secretly knowing I needed to show her how to be “ruly”.

I'd finally decided to do something about it.

With Victor’s guidance I chose the "communication codes" - simple commands I would use to be repeated regularly, and consistently.

I started by looking right into Phoebe’s eyes to establish the channel of communication.

Then I walked her round using my specific calls to action.

Once we’d finished - she was really responsive! - I made it clear the work was over with another code. Allez allez… Bravo!

After just one session I could feel the bond with Phoebe deepening.

The key? Clear language. Structure. Conviction.

A desire to connect.

And to turn unruly and distracted, into attentive and engaged.

Truth is, I’d never learnt how to communicate with canines.

But once I knew what Phoebe - my audience - needed, and got my messages clear, I was on the path to progress.

Think about your next presentation.

Who’s your audience?

What's your message?

How will you turn inattentive or distracted…

…into attentive, and engaged?