THE METHOD I'M USING

This is really just a fun thing. Fun for me and fun for the boys, in particular Oscar who, it seems, would keep it up all day so long as I threw the bag, ball or glove for him.
Really this is just an extension of targeting. The object to be thrown is firstly given a special significance in the same way as is the target. The object is then dropped and a click and reward is given for nosing it on the ground. Then more is asked of the llama; he has to get a little more vigorous with the object, pushing it around with his nose or mouth. As some point he will open his mouth, usually by accident or randomly and attempt to grasp it. THEN the click and reward comes into its own. And the praise! 

From this point on, progression is made to picking up and dropping, then picking up so that the handler is given the object, then throwing the object a few inches so that the llama has to walk a step to hand the object over... and so on until he is going out several yards to retrieve. If anyone is attempting this, may I pass on a comment made to me by Paul Rose of Roseland Llamas. I had asked him why llamas find it difficult to carry objects and whether there was anything it could carry easily. Whilst Paul could not help with the latter, he made the interesting comment that camelids are one of the few animals that never carry anything in their mouths in nature. They do not carry their young and they do not carry prey or food. So I am asking a lot!

If you can add anything to my work or have any questions or comments, please e-mail me.

HOW WE'RE DOING

The story so far: Oscar has been retrieving for about a year and I have been working recently at increasing the rate of run out and bring back. Toby has only just started to carry the ball back to me.

Nov 16th 2008

RECENT NOTES ON PROGRESS

Oh..training is so much easier in the winter months! The grass has lost its goodness and the llamas are hungry! Oscar has been running both ways in his retrieving today...both running out to get the thrown beanbag and then running back with it in his mouth, with only a few drops. I think he'd keep it up all day if I had the energy to keep throwing.

Toby is coming on. He is still wrestling, at times, with the problem of holding the beanbag and he is finding this frustrating (indicated by repeated pawing of the ground with a front foot). But, once grasped, he is able to walk a few steps to deliver the bag into my hand. I do not reward dropped bags; if dropped the bag must be picked up again to get the click. I have the time of year to my advantage in training at the moment!

 

Oscar's improved run out