LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Understanding a llama’s behaviour is the key to
successful training.
“Their behaviour is often a reflection of our behaviour,” said trainer
Cathy Spalding.
“I learned understanding behaviour was the foundation for deciding what
training methods you want to use,” she said in an interview at the
national llama and alpaca convention here.
Her background is working with companion animals but she switched to
training llamas and alpacas when her family got into the business at
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its Olympia, Washington farm in 1985. They have about 25 llamas and two
alpacas.
Spalding has learned to communicate using body language and by
following the animal’s instinctive behaviour.
Animals require personal space around them, their flight zone. Other
animals or people who get within their flight zone may trigger an
escape instinct.
“Llamas and alpacas are prey animals. They are hunted by predators so
their safety depends on body language,” Spalding said.
Camelids have keen eyesight and hearing. They are intelligent and easy
to train but people must not repeat activities to the point the animal
is bored and resists doing more, Spalding said.
They are also social animals within the herd and with other species
making them good sentinels for sheep and other smaller livestock.
Spalding’s understanding of the llama developed a few years ago when
she watched how some people could enter a pen and calm the animal and
get a halter on while others turned the situation into chaos.
She observed that everything walks in the direction of its nose. If a
person turns in one direction the animal will respond.
Reading those signals and sending the right cues takes time and
experience.
“The basis of everything I do needs to be founded on understanding
behaviour. If you are not exhibiting appropriate behaviour for the
situation, you are creating confusion and probably won’t be
successful,” she said.
Spalding learned animal welfare and human safety are critical in
handling and training.
People have come to her clinics with broken noses or black eyes because
they did not properly handle the animals. The animals may have hit the
people in self-defence when they grabbed it around the neck or put
their faces too close to the llama’s face.
Dealing with frightened animals means calming them down and considering
their past experiences.
“It is my job to show them that life can be different,” she said.
That includes basic things like using proper fitting halters and
understanding the animal’s physical makeup.
People may grab the llama’s long neck and worsen the situation.
The neck and chest area is the animal’s power base and it struggles if
held improperly.
Halters must be designed properly. Many people do not realize these
animals have no protective bone over the nasal and sinus area of the
face. If the halter does not fit properly it can cause breathing
problems and give the animal a feeling of suffocation.
“Halter fit is very critical. It can be very distracting,” she said.
“If you go into a show ring where the halter is down it could be very
distressing.
“They could act up and do all manner of things,” Spalding said.
