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Llama Training
Llama Training It doesn't matter if you want ten trekking llamas or just a couple of field pets, if you haven't had any lessons already, then YOU need some training! Once you know what you're doing, you have a fighting chance of showing your llama what is required of him and how to behave around people. In choosing a basic training course you may be surprised to find that handling methods vary, some just in small detail and some in their whole philosophy. I was lucky enough to stumble upon Camelidynamics, www.carthveanalpacas.com the core principles of which are respect, fun, efficiency and kindness and it has certainly worked for me. I think my llamas appreciate it too! Classes are held in most parts of the UK as well as in Scandinavia, Europe and the United States.
Once you have a good working relationship with your llama, you may want to expand upon what you have both learnt, whether that be with TTeam training www.ttouchtteam.co.uk or "clicker training" (see www.llama-training.co.uk) or even driving a cart, also see Terry Crowfoots site, www.llama-training.co.uk, whatever works for you and your llama!
Husbandry courses are also invaluable as you need to know how to care for your camelid and how to draw up a health plan to include the correct nutrition, a worming and vaccinating programme and learn how to look for any subtle signs of illness or poor thrift as llamas are very stoic animals. Very few drugs and medications have been trialled and approved for use on llamas as the camelid industry in this country is still very small scale. As a result, there is still some ambiguity as to appropriate products, doses and the timing of these treatments in pregnant females in particular, as the side effects are not always predictable or fully understood. It is a good idea to register with a local vet who has some experince with camelids and worth seeking out one who is a member of www.camelidvets.org. Whilst many vets may have little or no experience with llamas, they may have very good knowledge of alpacas which will stand you in good stead.
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