Trust the experts

In October we adopted a dog. It was eighteen months since we lost our beloved 14-yr old Springador, Coco, and my wife decided I needed cheering up. It was true. A house, our house at least, feels a better home when there’s a canine in residence.

So along came Berry, a five-year-old Working Cocker in a home-to-home adoption. But as a result of being left for up to 12 hours every day, Berry didn’t come alone. She came with issues. Chief among these is a tendency to snap when least expected, and a fear of other dogs that can quickly boil over into aggression. I won’t lie, she nearly didn’t make it past Christmas.

But Berry clearly wants to be loved, she just doesn’t know how.

So, earlier this week, Siobhan came to see us.

Siobhan is a dog behaviour specialist who was able to sit in our lounge and after less than an hour of observation, tell us what we’re dealing with. ‘She’s very bright,’ Siobhan said, ‘but also very bossy. She’s touch sensitive, and she needs to learn to settle. She needs another four-to-six hours deep REM sleep each day.’ By this point, Berry had been on a lead in Siobhan’s hands for forty minutes, hanging on her every word. As were we (hanging on the words, not the lead). ‘I’m going to give you a list of things to do now, and then send you a plan on Thursday. Things will get worse before they get better. But don’t worry, things will get better as long as you follow the plan.’

?When she left us after an hour, I marvelled at how this woman we didn’t know had watched our dog for less time than we spent with Berry at our first adoption meeting, and then nailed her character entirely. Not only that, but she had also taken control of our bossy intelligent dog and kept her calmly on a lead throughout our conversation.

But why should I really have been surprised?

Siobhan has grown up around dogs. Her mother is a dog trainer and breeder, whose dogs have won at Crufts. Siobhan was competing in obedience training at the age of eight. She trained over 120 Guide Dogs, completed theoretical and practical exams in canine behaviours from simple obedience to managing aggression. She trains her own competition-winning Border Collies. In short, Siobhan lives and breathes dogs.

?We’ll do exactly what she tells us to do.

?I was thinking about this again this morning, when I reviewed a design concept from our Creative Director, which I know is right because he lives and breathes design. It’s what he does. It’s what he trained for. It’s what he’s qualified in. And just like I have opinions about our dog, so too I have opinions about design. But they’re not qualified opinions, they’re at best educated speculation. I don’t design. It’s not what I do. So just like I trust Siobhan, I trust James.

?And I trust Mei Mei with our media because it’s what she does. And I trust Lisa with our copy because she writes and proofs and qualified in direct marketing. And if I want to know about coding and databases, I have access to a CTO who was writing and selling software to Microsoft. I trust Nic.

?Of all these people, I ask questions and offer advice about customers and strategy. But I wouldn’t dream of telling them how to do their job. Just like I wouldn’t dream of telling Siobhan how to do hers.

Whenever we’re giving feedback across the team, it’s my mission to separate personal preference from professional advice. I’ll always offer an opinion (after all, I have plenty – and if you don’t like them, I have others), but that’s all it is, an informed opinion.

?But I should, as you should, be reassured by placing trust in our experts.

?As for Berry? Well, she’s not happy that playing fetch in the house has been banned. And her penchant for taking and hiding shoes and the tv remote has increased (as predicted). But she’s benefiting from some new independent games to play, and she’s readily accepted a new routine of quiet times in the mornings and afternoons.

Like I said, she really wants to be loved, and with Siobhan’s advice and guidance, we’ll do our best to ensure she is.