Alpacas are hopelessly untrainable

Of course this title is just a come-on! This is my very first venture with an alpaca and I am amazed at the responsiveness of this animal. He is a suri alpaca. I usually work with llamas, but , although the attention span/motivation etc is very different, I am very impressed by what this smaller member of the camelid family is achieving.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• alpaca
• alpacas
• training
• clicker
• llamas
• operant
• conditioning
• karen
• pryor

[illustratz]

ABSOLUTELY splendid!!!!

I just watched a different video of a fiasco toe trimming attempt, your video is such a breath of fresh air.

[zxzllamazxz]

Thank you so much.

( Mind you, if you were to watch me attempting to do footwork with my llamas, you'd see MORE than a fiasco!! Toenails..I hate them!)

Terry

[illustratz]

@zxzllamazxz

LOL -- Film it and post it, we could all use a laugh to brighten our day. (snicker)

Even though you hate "footwork" ...Would one use the same techniques to get a llama to let his feet be handled as a horse? They're both flight animals that rely on their feet for survival, I would think that their emotions about their feet would be very similar. (Gradual acclimation to touch, then short hold/lift, then adding touching of tools, then light trimming, etc...)

[zxzllamazxz]

Yes, the techniques are very much the same with horses and llamas. (I guess I'm part of both worlds though an expert in neither). But, from my experience and from conversations I've had over the years, the llama is far more difficult. It's the "gradual acclimation" you mention that can be very very protracted; in some cases never being achieved. And it's invariably the rear feet that are so difficult to desensitize in some camelids. Having said that, some llamas can be a dream... not mine ! !

[aknina51]

I love it!!! You just proved my guys are being lazy! But then, you spend way more time intensively training your animals. What you have done with this alpaca is just incredible. Way to go.

[zxzllamazxz]

Thanks, Nina, but you do dont so badly yourself with your two, particularly Gypsy. I love the ball-throwing sequence!

Terry

[Sanshany]

That video is so great.. I like it so mch.

[GerlindesBeardies]

that´s amazing! you are already sooo far - in such a short time! So I am convinced, that you can learn him a lot more!!!

[zxzllamazxz]

Hi Gerlindes,

Yes, it's my farm and yes, it's my alpaca. My only alpaca!

He came in for assessment for trainability in September, and I fell in love with him. I persuaded the owner to sell him to me. It will be interesting to see how far I can get!

[GerlindesBeardies]

well done as always - but it is not on your place/your animal, isn´t it?