Reprinted From the John Mallon Web Site http://www.mallonmethod.com/index.htm
A MUST for the New Llama Owner
Llearning Llamas
with John
Mallon
Welcome to the column, and thanks for taking
the interest in improving your relationship with your llamas. I will do my
best to address questions and problems I most often encounter in my
travels conducting training clinics around the world, and attempt to
leave you with a better understanding of the animals we have so
fortunately chosen to spend our lives with. INCIDENTALLY, the exact same
principles apply to horses. So, those of you who have horses, please read on. .
.
I suppose I should get a few "ground rules" out of the way before we
begin:
First, for the sake of simplicity, I will use "llamas" rather than "lamas" throughout these articles, but the same theories and techniques apply equally to alpacas, guanacoes and horses;
Second, realizing that many new llama lovers
join us each month, I will start at the beginning as though we were all new to
llamas, and refer back to the basics on a regular basis in order to keep us
all
up to speed; and
Third, I will venture outside the training arena from time to time to address topics which I feel are relevant to the industry as a whole.
The well-being of the llamas is always my
primary consideration, and my contributions to this column will be based upon
that fact. My chosen path in life enables me to encounter thousands of llamas,
each with problems relating to their humans, and my purpose is to share the
benefits of my experience with you.
There are many ways of doing things,
and I've probably tried at least most of them in my 35+ years of training
various species of animals. The ideas and techniques I'll share with you are
only those which have worked in all cases, but if you are doing something
different from what I suggest, and it is working for you, there is no
reason to change it ("if it ain't broke, don't fix it. . .") With that out of
the way, let's talk llamas.
What are llamas, exactly? Why do they do the
things they do? What makes them tick? What motivates them to alter their
behavior? Why won't they do what I want them to do? Why do they seem to be
afraid of me? Why are they so stubborn sometimes? Don't they know I'm not going
to hurt them? The key to working successfully with llamas is understanding,
because what is often misconstrued as misbehavior is simply misunderstanding on
the llamas's part, brought on by inconsistent behavior and lack of understanding
on our part. Once we begin to understand the animal, the animal can begin to
understand us, and learn to cooperate with us, so that we may work safely and
peacefully together.
When we wrote that check to purchase our llamas, we
signed a contract of care; we agreed to look after them, not just look at them.
In order to properly care for these animals, we must be able to trim toenails,
give shots, administer worming medication, groom, move from place to place for
weighing, etc., and do it all as safely and stress-free as possible. This is
where training comes into play - if a llama is in serious trouble and our
interference escalates his stress, raising blood pressure, heart- and
respiration rates, then there is an increased chance that an animal that might
otherwise have survived, will die. Stress kills.
Unfortunately, some
people have the idea that training is "icing on the cake", not really necessary
if we don't plan to show, pack, or drive the animal. Training is of the utmost
importance if we are to have civilized relationships with the llama,
relationships which are compatible rather than adversarial. With that in mind,
let's take a look at what the llama is, from the inside out. . .
The
llama is a prey animal, the exact opposite of the dogs and cats (confident
predator/hunters with which we are always comparing our llamas) that we are used
to. Expecting, or hoping that our llamas will respond to us in the same general
manner in which dogs do can only lead to frustration and failure - it just isn't
going to happen. Being a prey animal controls every aspect of the llama's life,
a life that is filled with mistrust, suspicion, and self-protective behavior.
Fear is the llamas' friend, his savior, for, without it, he would become prey to
the predator. His ability to flee instantly from any perceived threat is what
has kept him going for all these thousands of years, and his instinct to
do so has served him well, and although his need to be ever-vigilant and
protective has been diminished somewhat through domestication and a looked-after
lifestyle, the instinct has not changed one bit. Only through an
understanding of the psychology of the prey animal can we hope to develop a
trusting relationship with an animal whose job it is to be very highly
suspicious of anything new or different in his life. The importance of
this understanding cannot be overstated; these animals are very different, with
a whole different way of looking at, and experiencing, the
world.
Let's take a look at how the prey animal is physically different
from the predator, specifically, his eye-set and vision. One of the features
that seems to attract people to llamas are their big, beautiful eyes, and
there is no arguing the fact that they do have eyes that are big and beautiful,
but they are not that way so that we'll love them; they are set wide in
the head (as with all prey animals) to provide a very wide range of
vision, their first line of defense. Their monocular vision operates like two
separate cameras, and their color and depth perception has been sacrificed
in favor of highly specialized and sensitive motion
detectors.
The predators, on the other hand, have eyes set
in the middle of our heads for greater depth perception, enhancing our ability
to make the killing strike at the right moment, (hand/claw-eye coordination.)
Our ability to see around us is diminished, but we see in front of us just fine.
If you ever wonder about whether an animal is prey or predator, remember this -
"eyes to the front, they hunt, eyes to the side, they hide." This monocular
vision also explains why prey animals must be taught everything twice - once on
the left, then again on the right, as if he were two different animals. Imagine
sitting in a car that had only side-view mirrors, no rear-view. As someone walks
behind the car, you spot them in your side view mirror, and then they disappear
from view, only to appear a moment later in the other mirror. This is what the
llama experiences when we walk behind him, or reach over to position a pack or
harness on him, or reach around his neck to adjust his halter. Different, isn't
it? This is the llamas' perception of the world, and like it or not, there is no
changing it.
Let's visit a bit more about the differences between prey
animals (llamas, alpacas,) and predators (dogs, cats,). We can't dance around
this issue - I hear people sometimes say "I don't like to think of myself as a
predator; "I don't want to think of this as a predator-prey interaction". Fine,
then, don't; but realize that that is how the llama views it, whether we like it
or not, and there is absolutely nothing we can do to change that simple fact. We
are meat-eaters (whether individually vegetarian or otherwise), lamas are
meat, to put it in its most basic light. This doesn't mean that we have to
approach the llama in a predatory fashion, stalking and "attacking"/ it means
that we have to try to understand another creature's point of view, a
point of view which is far outside of our experience.
Unless you've
ridden a New York City subway or attended a llama association's annual
fund-raiser, you probably have never truly felt like a prey animal,
subject to attack at any moment, in fear for your life, all senses turned up
to "high", alarm systems "hot". Forgive me an attempt at humor there, but
this is the crux of the matter - llamas are different from anything we've
been around before, and we can never change what they are, only how they respond
to outside stimuli in their world, as they see it. Their perception is
every bit as valid as mine, and their perception is their reality, simple
as that.
Let's say I show up in, oh, Oregon, for a clinic weekend. The
temperature at 8:00 a.m. is 50 F., and I, being from Southern California,
am thinking it's a bit chilly this morning, and an attendee, who happens to be
from Montana, feels a bit on the warm side - well, who's right? Where is
the line that separates warm from chilly, hot from cold? If my perception
of this morning is that it is chilly, there is no way on earth that you're going
to talk me out of it or convince me otherwise, any more than I'm going to
talk the Montana person out of feeling warm. We are both 100% correct in
our assessment of the weather. So, rather than fight the facts, let's try to
come to some workable arrangement, say he loans me his sweater. . .
.
In our last visit, we talked about the llama's innate fear of novelty,
his highly-developed sense of self-protection, and his unique (to prey
animals) vision. Another major difference is in regards to touch - have you ever
noticed how much dogs and cats love to be petted and stroked, whereas
llamas seem to prefer that you never lay a hand on them?
"What's the matter with this animal?", we wonder.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with him; llamas do not inherently like
to be touched. Call them touch-aversive, if you will. Llama mamas do not lick
their babies in the manner of cats and dogs (and wolves and tigers..), so
touch is not imprinted as a pleasurable sensation on the cria, and
tolerating and accepting touch later on must be learned. Do not expect your
llama to react to our petting and stroking as your predators do. The only
thing that touches llamas out in the wild are predators about to kill
them.
They are especially sensitive about the face and eyes (first
line of defenses - spotting trouble), and the legs (escape from trouble).
Understand this, accept it, and help the llama to overcome his fear of touch so
that you may work safely with him in any and all
situations.
Another aspect of the physical llama is that he has virtually
no offensive weaponry, no "artillery" to speak of. He hasn't antlers or hooves
or fangs or horns; he has speed, instinct, and a fearful nature to see him
through danger. I'm not saying that he lives his life a nervous wreck, but
that he is ready at the slightest provocation to run quickly from any
perceived threat, and in order for something to be perceived as threatening, it
has only to be new. Novelty is threatening to a prey animal, and for him
to willingly give up his foot to us, making himself totally vulnerable, takes
a tremendous amount of courage and trust.
Movement is the predatory
trigger. Movement toward a prey animal triggers him to move away from it, to put
distance between himself and whatever is "stalking" or "attacking" him. Don't
take it so personally when a llama oves away from you as you approach or
reach out to him - it is an automatic response, requiring no thought
process on the part of the llama. To stand, though, and let us approach
and touch him - takes some thinking about - it goes against his grain; his
natural instincts have to be overridden in order for him to be able to stand for
it. It is just the opposite with predators; the worst thing you can do if
you encounter a mountain lion along the trail is to turn and run away from
it - it will almost certainly attack; that is the nature of the predator;
movement attracts the animal towards it. Interestingly, movement away from
a prey animal will also cause him to follow, once he has established that
there is no danger, because of his highly sociable nature (safety in
numbers) and herd mentality. Using this irony to our advantage is what
makes the round pen work so very effective.
The llama, as a sociable,
herd-oriented prey species, has an innate cooperative nature. This inclination
to accept and respect authority unquestioningly is what prevents chaos and
mayhem within the herd. Call it social order, dominance hierarchy, pecking
order or whatever feels best to you, but recognize the fact that it exists, and
for good reasons, as stated, and learn to use it to your advantage. There
is no such concept as equality in a herd of prey animals - everyone is
either above or below their herdmates. Each animal knows and accepts his
position, and acts accordingly.
Over our past two visits we've talked
about some of the differences, both physical and psychological, between prey
animal and predators. I hope that these conversations have helped you to
understand some of he seemingly "unusual" behavior shown by our llamas, and
helped you to realize that we cannot expect to get any kind of
satisfactory responses from them unless we do a little homework first.
Without a pretty good understanding of the psychology of the prey animal,
his instincts and motivations, we'll be stuck in the rut of dissatisfaction,
frustration and disappointment, a rut we will share with our
llamas.
Last month, I touched briefly upon the concept of equality,
a concept which is unfathomable to a llama, and we'll go into this a bit more in
a moment, but first, I'd like to say something about us, the humans. We all love
these animals and, in our hearts, want to do the very best for them. I truly
believe this, and it is one of the main reasons I travel so much, trying to help
people and llamas with their relationships with each other. Loving these
wonderful animals is a great place to start, but it is only a start. Love is not
enough to make them safe and enjoyable, or even understandable. We have to learn
the rules of this "alien" culture if we're to have success in training (I prefer
"teaching") them.
One of the most misunderstood words among
aspiring trainers is "dominance". In our society, it has many negative
connotations, and rightfully so. For herd and pack animals, though, it is the
glue that holds them together. Dominance has absolutely nothing to do with
"beating an animal into submission" or being heavy-handed in any way, rather, it
is simply a matter of responsible leadership. The "subdominant" animals look to
the dominant one for leadership and security. There are many terms used to
convey this simple concept - "social order", "dominance hierarchy", "pecking
order", but they all mean the same thing. I try to stay away from technical or
academic terms as much as possible (do you really care if we're using "classic
conditioning", "shaping", "applied operant conditioning", etc. or would you
rather concentrate on helping your llama learn to stand still for brushing?), so
use whatever feels best to you. Most people are very comfortable with "social
order", but balk at "dominance hierarchy" due to the aforementioned cultural
bias against "dominance". I say all this to drive home a point - that we cannot
work our llamas on an n "equals" basis and hope to have any success. The concept
of equality does not exist for a llama.
Within the social order of a
herd, every animal is either above or below every other animal. It is a mistake
on our part to think that our llamas are trying to "be the boss", or, as I often
hear, "he's wants to be #1 in our relationship". The truth is that he only wants
to know what his number is, so that he will know how to conduct himself. The
llama does not need an equal or a playmate - he needs a boss. Not a tyrant, not
a dictator, but a benevolent leader who is willing to assume the
responsibilities of leadership and look after the whole society (herd). This is
what gives the herd animal a feeling of security and safety. Understanding this
basic need of llamas, their knowing where they fit in to the general scheme of
things is of utmost importance to anyone hoping to successfully work with them
safely and peacefully.
Think about the last time you saw your dominant
female (or male) kick one of its subordinates into "submission". Still
thinking….? All it takes is a twitch of the ears or way of the tail to get the
attention of the others - actual physical altercation is the exception, not the
rule. Leadership is understood and respected. Those animals that are lower on
the rung are not miserable, unhappy "punching bags", but content and
well-adjusted members of their society - because they have a leader. Okay, have
you had enough of that? Are you ready to take on the job of leader? Will knowing
that the llama needs you in this role help you overcome your natural reluctance
to be "dominant"? Good, I was hoping you'd say that!
Now, what does it
take? Simplicity and consistency - repeat after me…simplicity and consistency.
These are the two most important words in training (teaching). Let's talk about
consistency, and why it is so important. Within the herd, there are certain
rules which must be obeyed ("don't steal my food", don't nurse me, I'm not your
mother", "don't breed me, I'm spoken for", etc.). These rules must be obeyed,
unquestioningly, 100% of the time; llamas understand this concept and willingly
comply with the rules. We have to expect and demand the same. "You will never
spit at me or even threaten to spit at me" is very easily understood and
accepted by a llama. "You may spit at, or threaten to spit at me, once in a
while, if I'm doing something you don't like, or if you're pregnant, or if…"
will only leave the inconsistency. Imagine the following
conversation:
"Okay, Mr./Ms. llama, here's how it is from now on, you are
never to spit at me, or threaten to spit at
me, under any circumstances,
understood?"
"What if I'm having a bad day - may I spit at you
then?"
"Nope".
"What if I'm feeling my progesterone one day - I
can let you have one then, can't I?"
"Nope".
"How about if my
testosterone levels are up and I've just been fighting with another male;
certainly that
would be an exeption, wouldn't it?"
"Nope".
"But
if you were fooling with my tail and I didn't like it, surely you'd understand
my needing to spit then,
right?"
"Nope".
"Let me see if I've
got this straight - you're saying that I may NEVER spit at, or even threaten to
spit at
you, under ANY circumstances, no matter
WHAT?"
"Yep".
"WOW, THANKS! That's EASY! No problem! I sure
appreciate you're clearing that up for me - I just
never knew what to do
before, Thanks, Boss!
"You're welcome".
More about this next time.
'Til then…
Please visit the John Mallon Web site for specialized help
with your llamas, Clinics, Videos and Much more
Reprinted From the John
Mallon Web Site http://www.mallonmethod.com/index.htm