Corné with Lientjie and Ndzilo

We all enjoyed the day on the farm with you experiencing "Leadchanges". We didn't know what to expect and therefore we were a bit apprehensive but it was an excellent ice breaker to have the one lady try to get the dog to obey certain commands without the human knowing what the commands were! It taught us several lessons:

• You cannot give direction if you are not clear in your mind yourself which way to go.
• It is unfair to your followers if you are uncertain yourself.
• It is very difficult to rely on others to give you directions.
• The whole outcome is more successful if the leader is clear in his/her mind about what the ultimate goal is.

The different obstacles we had to tackle with the individual dogs were also very thought provoking. Because we were out of our depths, we had to use our instincts, be very alert, ask for help and use trail and error learning. It was also very interesting to see what made each individual dog tick. For instance, the "old lady" dog, was so polite and responded very well to treats! We really had a sense of accomplishment when we succeeded in leading the dogs through the tunnel for instance.

The game of survival gave a lot of food for thought too. When we sat in groups and discussed the various options for survival it was very interesting to see how people responded. Some came through as natural leaders. Others had expert advice to offer because of previous experience and education. It was clear that each individual had a role to play and something to offer. It takes a real leader to get each one to perform at his optimum level.

For me, the walk with the dogs was the ultimate experience. It was so liberating and really gave me confidence after my past experience with my own dog!

At the end of the workshop, the cherry on top was the delicious lunch!

Thank you for a lovely day,
Corné Jooste CEA