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Join the
club. Most alpacas are uncomfortable with people.
Primarily because most people still grab their
alpacas by the neck. The good news is that when you
stop grabbing them they will settle down very
quickly.
My suggestion is that you begin with your barn
design. I wrote an article which is posted on my
website titled "Let your Facilities do your Training
for You". There is perhaps no better way to create a
sense of safety for your animals than a well
designed barn and pasture arrangement. Time spent
organizing your facilities with non forceful
handling in mind is time much better spent than time
chasing and wrestling with your animals.
You
should be able to call or herd all your animals into
a small contained catching area so that they never
worry about being grabbed when you are just visiting
in the pasture with them. Don't reach out and touch
your alpacas when you are just walking amongst them.
We think we will "desensitize" them by repeated
touching in fact with frightened nervous animals we
only teach them to stay further away from us. Only
touch your alpacas in the catch pen after you have
caught them with a rope and then touch them on the
side you are standing on instead of reaching around
the neck.
Reaching around the neck is guaranteed to make your
alpaca nervous; too much like being grabbed and
held. Put yourself in their place. They feel as if
they are in an alien environment—they don't speak
the language and they don't know what is going to
happen next. Do your best to behave consistently and
safely and they will love you for it.
More on
a step by step training program is available in "The
Camelid Companion"
Marty
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