# how to train a Llama



## MollyDora

Hello,

we finally found 2 Llamas, a boy and a girl (the boy will be gelded) they were both born in October and the women that sold them to us said they should stay with Momma for another moth.

Now we're starting to gather information on how to train them. How should we start off?

We really should have gotten all this information first, but we got an outstanding deal on these llamas and did not want to let the opportunity pass.

Thank you for all the information you can give me!


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## dobe627

Congrats firstly. What are your plans for them? Pack animals would be trained differently then a guardian. Halter breaking is a good step in either scenario. Even if a guard, you may need to lead them, treat them worm and do hooves. Mine started wearing a halter early.if guards not much needs to be done. But pack animals you should try to get into different settings around different things so they are calm when out. And of course get them used to a pack.


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## ksalvagno

CameliDynamics is a great way to interact/train llamas. Marty McGee Bennett teaches it and she has some books out. It really helped me when I had alpacas.

The other method is Gentle Spirit Training by Cathy Spalding. I'm not sure if she has any books out but it is very similar to the CameliDynamic training.


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## MollyDora

thanks guys! 

We are hoping that these guys will turn out as guards for our goats.


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## ksalvagno

Will it be ok if they don't? There is no guarantee that they will guard. Hopefully it will work out for you and they will.


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## MollyDora

of course it will. If they end up not guarding then of course they stay with us and just be part of the herd.


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## DDFN

They are so cute!!! I hope they turn out for you. Well to my understanding for the best guard llama attitude your basically just suppose to turn them out with the herd and let them bond with little human interaction time. Now you do want to be able to catch them and handle them but the more time you spend with them the less of a chance they will turn into great protectors. We got our llama already trained as he came with our sheep herd when we got them it was a package deal. He was basically turned out and not messed with at all. He is the best protector I could ever hope for and I have seen him even go through the fence to attack a coyote and then safely return through the fence to his herd. They can cover a large area and typically work better when either single or with another llama that they did not get raised with, since if raised together they will have bonded to each other and be more fond of other llamas then goat or sheep, but this is not always true in all cases.

The only bad thing about our llama is you have to trick him to get caught to handle him. He does not like to be petted or messed with until you get a halter on him. Once a halter is on him you can do anything in the world with him. He even stands perfectly still to be hand sheared and doesn't try to hurt any human, but if in a large field you have to either use feed to catch him or lure him to a stall. He will come up to us in the field but will not let you put hands on him until you get that halter on him, but he is a lifesaver with our herd. I would love to get another llama for our goat herd as I prefer them over LGD's 

Oh and certain breeds are better for protection then others. The best are the classic llama that actually have the smooth leg hair (have more of a bare belly look to them. they are getting harder to find around these parts though).

Hope this helps and Enjoy your Llama's!!!


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## llazykllamas

Do you realize that male llamas should not be gelded until at least 18 months (and better to wait til 2+ years), and thay can breed LONG before then? Also, a male llama - gelded or not - often will attempt to breed the goats. A male llama can actually kill a goat trying to mate with it.

Your best bet for a guardian llama would be a female that has had a cria - the protective instinct is that much better. 

A cria should remain with it's dam a minimum of 6 months. A good reason for that is that it will learn to be a llama. Llamas with too much human interaction at a young age will associate humans as part of the herd heirarchy. Humans are then subject to herd norms such as spitting, mounting etc.

I'm not trying to 'rain on your parade', but llamas although fairly easy to manage, are not the 'toss out in the pasture and forget animals' that many would like to believe.


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## MollyDora

I'm not sure what Cria is??


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## llazykllamas

cria is a baby llama!


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## geonjenn

ARGH I just typed a long post and lost it before I finished! So here's the shortened version...

Be careful with adolescent male llamas around goats - and around you too. We started with three females in with the goats - no problems. Were given a male/female pair and then another young male (Clyde). We ended up with only Clyde in with the goats and he would chase, but we thought they were playing because the goats seemed more to be playing with him than afraid of him. Then one day he came at me in a weird way and did some really odd things on the other side of the gate, but towards me (the goats were on my side of the gate). He reared up and stood with his front legs on my husbands back, which my husband took care of quite quickly with a kick and I think he actually put Clyde on the ground - not an easy feat. Next day, one of the goats kidded with twins and Clyde got into the pen, took one of the babies and was carrying her off and when my husband got to them, Clyde put her down and laid on top of her - maybe to smother her, maybe to mate - I don't know. The llama guy we bought the first ones from told us it sounded like Berserk Male Syndrom (BMS) which happens when males are bottle fed and don't have the healthy and safe respect for humans. He recommended to put him down. So we made an appointment with the butcher for a few days later, but backed out. We put Clyde with the rest of the llamas (it's not good to have two males with females - all females with one male is ok and all males is ok but the males don't like to share). The older male seemed to teach Clyde some manners but when the females started having their crias and going back into heat, Clyde got a little crazy again. Lorenzo (older male) started chasing him away and we kept getting calls that Clyde was on the highway - NOT good. So, he's in a stall in the barn for now until we get him (and Lorenzo) neutered and figure out the logistics of separating the herd into the girls herd and the boys herd. We have three male crias and one female. OH and at one point we tried to separate them into two herds with a male in each, but they could still see each other and Lorenzo would hop the fence to go beat up on Clyde. We did figure out that Clyde is not a berserk male, but just an adolescent going through puberty, so he's not going to the butcher. But anyway, my point was that you have to be very careful with adolescent male llamas with your goats.


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## ksalvagno

You should never put an intact male llama in with livestock to guard. Their hormones will take over and you will have problems. If you use a llama for a guard, it should always be an older male that has already been gelded.


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## MollyDora

Hey Guys, 

after all the information I got here and I also contacted a Llama Breeder (one that knows what they are talking about...) in my area. (I did not know about this breeder when we bought the Llamas from the other lady) we decided to NOT take the two babies.
We contacted the Women we bought the from yesterday and told her all the information we gathered and that we are not comfortable taking them away from their mom so soon and that we don't want to keep them together because we don't want brother and sister to mate and don't have a way to separate them ect. well she said she can't refund our money, and she would give us 2 more weeks till we need to pick them up and on.... basiclly she's being a B***h. 
But I guess we should not have guessed any different, thinking about how much she lied to us about the two... 

Well, either way, we will NOT bring home these to Llamas. I truly appreciate everybody giving me advice.

I guess it's better to be out the money then have to deal with crazy Llamas


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## sgtknuckles

Cria is a baby llama


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## ksalvagno

That is a shame that you were so taken advantage of.


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## sweetgoats

I am so sorry you are not getting them.  I do not know a lot but I know around here everyone has geldings in with their goats. 

 I hate to say it but yes she does not have to be rude to you about it, but I would not refund the deposit or money you put down either.  In my contracts, it says if you put down a deposit and decide NOT to take the animals, any money make towards them is NON REFUNDABLE. BUT in the case that I would of known they were going to someone that has no idea about them, I would rather them go to a good home then to someone that is clueless. I am NOT calling you clueless, you have goats, so she should of just taken the time and talked to you about what you wanted them for. She was totally wrong in my opinion.

 I am just so glad you were able to get some advice from people here before you took them home and had trouble.


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## MollyDora

We DID tell her what we needed them for!
We told her that we have goats and that we wanted a guard. I find your post a little bit offensive. I know you're not trying to, but we know that we were "clueless" that's why we did ask her 100 questions and explained exactly what we need them for, she just pretty much lied to us.
She knew what we needed them for and told us that would work great, she told us it would be no problem to take them home when she did - which was a lie, she told us it would be no problem for us to just geld the male as soon as he drops, but she did not bother to tell us that that won't be till he's 18 months. She knew we were clueless and she took full advantage of that. 
And we did not put down a deposit or such, we paid the full amount for them.
In my opinion this women is either a total criminal or clueless herself! 
We should have known better by how the place smelled.
I'm just mad at this whole thing...


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## sgtknuckles

MollyDora, sorry you were taken in by this woman. She took you as a newbie and unfortunately scammed you. She is after one thing and one thing only and that is $$$. I am glad you are looking elsewhere, and am sure you will find what you are looking for - even if it takes time. Check with your extension office to see if there is a 4-H llama project in your area - the leaders may be able to actually help you or at least point you to a reputable breeder. Also check with SE llama rescue. (I think it is www.selr.org...or www.selr.com). They are very good at matching llamas to new owners dependent on what the new owner is looking for. They have many more llamas than what is on their website(s). 
While you won't have the cuteness of a baby llama, you will have something that is useful to you. And, they don't stay little forever.


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## llazykllamas

I agree with SGT. take this as a learning opportunity. It is hard to not be won over by cute babies though. The money you are out will be outweighed by the heartache you may have later. SELR's website is www.southeastllamarescue.org. Hopefully they can help you.

Remember if you are visiting breeders etc that claim a llama is a guardian, ask what behaviors the llama is exhibiting that show that. Most llamas are NOT guardians. And actually, they really should be viewed as more of a deterrent than a guardian as they are themselves a prey animal. See if there is a llama group in your area - google Missouri Llamas. You can also check the ILR website(www.lamaregistry.com) to possibly find breeders.

Good Luck in your search.


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## Used2bmimi

MollyDora, I know NOTHING about llamas but it seems to me that you have another option here. You could take the little llamas home put the female in with your goats, and put the male on Craigslist for free. You could tell any prospective takers what you have learned about him. There will surely be a taker.


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## MollyDora

I have contacted the Llama rescue already, they don't have anything available at the moment, but he said he would keep me in mind. 
Thank you for your support.


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## llazykllamas

Molly, the following message just came through on a boer goat list we belong to:

_Natalie Knudston of Elizabeth CO needs to re-home her three llamas, two females and a gelding. All 3 have been "great guards." If you're interested, please contact Natalie directly at 720-308-1643 or [email protected]. Thanks!

Olin Allen
Southwest Llama Rescue

_I don't know how far they are from you, but you could check.


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## MollyDora

thank you for letting me know, but we decided to wait on the Llamas. 
this whole disaster tought us a lesson, then a broke wellpump took our money, so for now we don't have the funds to work on stalls, fences ect.

Thank you very very much for thinking about me!!


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