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Llamas and Llama Training

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I used to raise llamas and have written a lot about them.

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Llamas and Llama Training

 

Llamas are highly intelligent animals who make wonderful hiking companions (they carry the load) and all-round friends. I call them "friends" because they have such a zest for life, and so much curiosity about what is going on around them, that they are a delight to be with. They don't typically get attached to you in quite the way dogs do; it's more like the companionship of cats.

Llamas are easily trained. Often about the fourth or fifth time you show a llama something you want it to do, like climb into a van or horse trailer, it understands.

They get a lot of bad press for spitting, which they rarely do. Here's one bit from my book Living with Llamas about that:

******************* 

"Do they spit at you?'' asked a reporter who was doing a llama story for a Portland paper.

"Oh no,'' Kelly said cheerfully. "They do spit at each other now and then, but not at us.''

"How long is their wool?'' asked the photographer.Kelly was holding Lil Bit, and he parted the strands of her wool.

Lil Bit turned her head around and spat. 

First she hit the photographer; next, the writer; then Kelly felt a little pop-pop-pop as the grain he had just given her landed on his forehead. Luckily the visitors believed Kelly's protestations that this was rare; they didn't feature spitting in the article. 

A Little Llama History 

From my book, "Living with Llamas"

The llama is a South American animal, part of the camel family. Like camels, they have padded, even-toed feet and split lips. I was surprised to learn that their common ancestors originated in North America and lived on this continent for over forty million years. These earlier animals evolved into camels in Asia and Africa and the lama family of llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos in South America. They had only died out in North America some ten or twelve thousand years ago.

In South America, llamas live mainly in the high Andes. Vicunas and guanacos are wild. Vicunas are famed for their fine wool; its softness has brought them to the brink of extinction. Guanacos are believed to be the forerunners of llamas; the two species are similar in many respects, though the guanaco's wool is fine and shorter. While guanacos do not have the official status of endangered, their numbers are a tiny fraction of what they were a century ago.

Alpacas and llamas have been domesticated for centuries. The alpaca is a smaller animal than the llama, with wool that is more highly prized. There are far more llamas than alpacas in North America.

Archaeological findings indicate that llamas were living with man by 3000 B.C. The vast Inca empire, which reached its peak toward the end of the Middle Ages in Europe, used llamas in many ways. They were beasts of burden, essential in a mountainous society that had not utilized the wheel. Their wool was used for blankets, ponchos, and other items. They played an important part in the religious and ceremonial life of the Incas: many llamas were sacrificed to the gods.

One of the world's most versatile domestic animals, the llama is still used as a beast of burden and for wool, primarily in the Bolivian and Peruvian highlands. Its dung is used for fuel--it is said to be odorless when burned. Less and less are llamas used for long-distance transport, though, as trucks reach further into remote areas.

LLama LLinks 

DVDs, books, and information on llamas
This site includes the full text of a book I wrote on llamas: "Living with Llamas." It also has DVDs on llama training (I've linked to one below), llama tshirts and other items from Cafepress, and more.
Llama Training DVD with Bobra Goldsmith: What Every Llama Should Know
Learn to train juvenile and adult llamas with this two hour Bobra Goldsmith DVD. The techniques work well with alpacas too.
Llama entry at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
More general background on llamas.

Llama Training with Bobra Goldsmith 

What Every Llama Should Know

Can you handle llamas? It's a great feeling to know that in an emergency, or anytime, you can work with your llamas. Llama training gives you this confidence.

Or-if you don't have llamas but are thinking of it-would you like to know how to do these things?

In just a few days, using Bobra Goldsmith's llama training techniques, many people have trained llamas to:

* accept a halter
* walk easily with a lead rope
* load into a vehicle
* and perform other tasks.

Often llamas understand what you are asking of them after you have shown them only a few times. Once they understand, they tend to remember. They are incredibly smart! Llama training can be tremendously fun because of this. Bobra calls her workshops "Training Llamas for Willing Cooperation."

Bobra and many alpaca owners have also used these techniques for training alpacas.

That's Bobra there with Blossom. To find out more about the program (now a DVD) we made with Bobra about llama training, see the link right to it in the module above this one.

The Llama from the top of this page on CafePress 

This image is our best seller of all the dozens of images we have up at Cafepress, on llamas and other topics!

This image is available on over 80 different items... shirts, mugs, mousepads, etc. To see the rest of the choices, just click on any one of the links below.

Then when the page for that item loads, just above the image there is a "breadcrumb trail." Clicking on Llama Lil Bit takes you to the whole collection.

Dark T-Shirt

Price: 20.99

Buy Now

Organic Cotton Tee

Price: 18.99

Buy Now

Tote Bag

Price: 14.99

Buy Now

Price: 0.00

Buy Now

Hooded Sweatshirt

Price: 26.99

Buy Now

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Training Llamas to Drive 

No, not cars! Teach them to drive to cart!

Would anyone want to drive with llamas, we wondered when we first thought of producing a program on how to do it. The answer turned out to be yes, and this has been one of the most popular llama programs that we created.
Training Llamas to Drive, DVD with Bobra Goldsmith
This detailed DVD goes into all aspects of driving llamas to cart: how to train, selecting carts, safety, etc.

Here's the cover of our llama driving DVD. 

More Llama Designs on CafePress 

As I mentioned above, you can click on any item to go to Cafepress, and once there, you can click on the name of the design (just above the illustration) to see all products with that image on it.
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Here's Living with Llamas, the book I wrote, at Amazon 

It's the story of our years with llamas, with a lot of information packed into it. People tell me that they can't put it down! You *can* read it all at my website listed above, but there aren't photos there.

Living With Llamas: Tales from Juniper Ridge

When Tumbleweed and Levi first come to live with Rosana and Kelly Hart in the rugged mountains of southern Oregon, the Harts are delighted by the endearing individuality of each llama. Soon they acquire more llamas and plunge into the joys and sorrows of llama breeding. Gradually, Rosana and Kelly find their lives becoming far more intertwined with those of the llamas than they had ever expected. What happens as Rosana opens to telepathic communication with the animals, and the crisis that occurs when a dream proves prophetic, provide the final tales in a fast-paces book that will charm and inform all animal lovers. Over 60 black-and-white photos convey the llamas' majesty and inquisitiveness. An appendix provides access to further information.

Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 05/11/2008)

Llama Stuff on eBay 

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