How to Communicate with Your Dog, from a Westminster Champion | Jennifer Crank | TED

Overview

Jennifer Crank, a world champion in dog agility, shares insights into the art of interspecies communication, using her experience in competitive dog agility to highlight lessons on connection, trust, and effective communication. Through live demonstrations with her Border Collie, High Five, she illustrates how understanding and adapting to another's natural communication style can lead to extraordinary teamwork.

Notable Quotes

- The best relationships are going to be when they trust you enough to run full-speed into the unknown, knowing that you will get them through safely — and not because you asked them to, but because they want to. – Jennifer Crank, on trust in communication.

- Am I speaking their language? Am I communicating in a clear way? Am I being consistent? Am I trying to understand them, or am I just trying to control them? – Jennifer Crank, on lessons from dog agility applicable to human relationships.

🐾 The Evolution of Dog Agility

- Dog agility began as a backyard hobby but has grown into a global competitive sport, with courses featuring 18-22 obstacles in arenas up to 12,000 square feet.

- Competitors must memorize a unique course in just eight minutes before running it at full speed, with even a single mistake costing the win.

- Jennifer’s Shetland Sheepdog, Bee, made history by becoming the first Sheltie to win the Overall Masters Agility Champion title at Westminster in 2022.

📡 Communication Beyond Commands

- Jennifer emphasizes that agility is about communicating with dogs, not just to them.

- Dogs naturally understand cues like motion, location, shoulder position, and eye contact better than verbal commands or hand signals.

- Effective communication requires handlers to adapt to what is instinctual for the dog, ensuring clarity and avoiding conflicting signals.

🏃‍♀️ Demonstrating Communication in Action

- Jennifer showcased live agility drills, demonstrating how her body language and motion guide her dog through complex courses.

- She illustrated how conflicting cues (e.g., body motion vs. verbal commands) can confuse dogs, who will default to their most natural form of communication.

- Training involves reviewing recorded sessions to identify and correct handler errors, as dogs rarely make mistakes at high levels of competition.

🤝 Lessons for Human Relationships

- Jennifer draws parallels between dog agility and human communication, emphasizing the importance of speaking the other’s language and being consistent.

- She advocates for building trust and connection, tailoring communication to the individual’s needs, and fostering a sense of collaboration rather than control.

- Her mantra, Train the dog you were given, underscores the value of understanding and adapting to the unique traits of each teammate, whether two-legged or four.