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

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA2hdDoSM4s
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/VA2hdDoSM4s
Generated: 2026-01-25T16:33:28.428+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Jennifer Crank demonstrates that effective dog agility communication relies on consistent, natural cues like body language and location, rather than vocal commands, to build trust and speed, which is the most crucial element separating winners from competitors.

**Key Points:**
- Jennifer Crank has competed in dog agility since age six, evolving the hobby into a serious global competition.
- At the highest levels of competition, dogs rarely make mistakes; success hinges on the handler's communication precision, often measured to the 1/100th of a second.
- The key communication cues dogs understand best are natural ones: body motion, location, shoulders, and eye contact, not verbal commands.
- Crank emphasizes that if she were to rely on verbal cues alone, her dog would hesitate or run the wrong obstacle, as verbal commands can conflict with natural body language cues.
- Crank's Border Collie, an 8-week-old puppy, needs to be told where to go using motion/body language, not verbal commands, to avoid confusion.
- The speaker won the 2022 Westminster Kennel Club Masters Agility Championship Overall title, making her the first Sheltie in history to achieve this.
- The core lesson is that communication in agility is about building trust so the dog *wants* to run fast and precisely, rather than *having* to.

![Screenshot at 00:18: Crank instructs her Border Collie, who is positioned near agility equipment, to perform an action, verbally cueing "Hi five!" to begin the demonstration of their communication style.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VA2hdDoSM4s/00-00-18.jpg)

**Context:** Jennifer Crank, a dog agility competitor since age six, presents her insights on effective handler-dog communication during a TED Sports Indianapolis talk. She uses her Border Collie, who is present on stage, to demonstrate how precise, non-verbal cues are essential for maximizing speed and accuracy in competitive agility courses, contrasting this with relying solely on verbal commands.

## Detailed Analysis

Jennifer Crank argues that success in high-level dog agility competitions, where runs are timed to the hundredth of a second, depends less on the dog's technical skill and more on the handler's communication precision, which must be instinctual and natural. She has competed in agility since she was six and has seen it grow into a global competition. Crank explains that the most effective cues are body language-based—motion, location, shoulder alignment, and eye contact—rather than verbal commands like 'jump' or 'tunnel,' which are unnatural for dogs. She demonstrates this by asking her dog to perform a sequence of obstacles (tunnel, weave poles, jump) using only motion cues, stressing that she does not use verbal commands for the obstacles themselves, only for stationing the dog. She notes that if she gave conflicting cues (e.g., body language pointing left while verbally saying 'go right'), the dog would default to the natural body language cue. This high level of trust and clear, non-conflicting communication is what allows dogs to run at full speed without hesitation, making the difference between winning and losing. Crank emphasizes that she trains her dogs to run because they *want* to, not because they *have* to, focusing on building a relationship based on mutual understanding.

### Agility Background

- Competing in dog agility since age six
- Turned a backyard hobby into a serious global competition
- Won the 2022 Westminster Kennel Club Masters Agility Championship Overall title (first Sheltie to do so)

### Communication Fundamentals

- Dogs rely on natural cues (motion, location, eye contact, shoulders)
- Verbal cues are less natural and can cause confusion if they conflict with body language signals
- The key challenge is clear, consistent communication, not just teaching obstacles

### Demonstration & Application

- The speaker runs her dog through obstacles using only body motion cues
- She intentionally avoids verbal commands for obstacles like the tunnel to show the dog follows her body language
- The goal is to train dogs to run fast because they want to, built on trust and understanding, not obligation

![Screenshot at 00:04: Jennifer Crank stands on stage at TED Sports Indianapolis, introducing her topic while wearing a denim jacket over a striped shirt.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VA2hdDoSM4s/00-00-04.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:18: Crank demonstrates a command with her Border Collie, who is poised near agility equipment on stage.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VA2hdDoSM4s/00-00-18.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:46: A graphic displays an agility course map, illustrating the complexity of the obstacle sequences discussed by Crank.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VA2hdDoSM4s/00-01-46.jpg)
![Screenshot at 02:24: A clip shows the Shetland Sheepdog 'Bee' running flawlessly through an agility course during a championship run.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VA2hdDoSM4s/00-02-24.jpg)
![Screenshot at 04:58: Crank uses her hands to illustrate the difference between natural \(body language\) and unnatural \(verbal\) cues for dogs.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VA2hdDoSM4s/00-04-58.jpg)