Practice what you pooch: Paw friendly corporate session in Bengaluru

Stepping away from the rut, solo-preneur and canine trainer Rajeshwari Ramachandran is out to sprinkle a wave of compassion in the city. The Bengaluru-based lass will hold interesting sessions to help keep you in zen mode while dealing with pets. We catch up with her to find out more, just as she preps up for an experimental paw-friendly corporate session on Saturday.

“Despite the city being habituated so many dogs, I wondered if people actually understood these cuddly paws. Hence, I began conducting interactive sessions for all age groups — which initially started out as dog safety programme for adults. The basic idea is to help people understand and learn from dogs. I run experiential events for corporates using dogs,” shares the 34- year-old trainer, who left a lucrative corporate gig to start this initiative back in the year 2012. She has trained about 200 dogs and covered over 500 sessions since then.

“In these sessions, I engage people to work in teams and learn about various emotions — be it appreciating differences and developing communication and trust between animals and human beings. The intend is to spread empathy; all of which is essential to succeed in professional and personal life,” she adds.

On days when she isn’t conducting sessions, the intrepid traveller loves making craft presentations and networking. “After a long corporate career; making presentations have become a way of life! In fact, I still love doing them, and always help people in coming up with craft persuasive presentations.”

Apart from that, it’s spending quality time with family that matters to this young enterprising lady. “I love catching up on movies with my husband. Also, I’m a proud pet parent to three dogs, Calvin, Hobbes and Susie. So I have my hands full even in my free time!”

While the sessions have been a path to self discovery, Rajeshwari also believes it leaves her with a sense of satisfaction. “The entire attempt is to help people become inclusive, accept dogs and learn from them. I don’t think what I’m doing is something divine and unachievable,” she pipes.

Giving us a peak into what’s next, she reveals, “I plan on focusing on sessions designed to spread awareness on dogs. I hope people experience the benefits of human-dog interaction and stress reduction post my sessions.”