The poop on this page was
last scooped on: 11/5/08
Page design, photos, and written content by Gail Berk. Wallpaper: Bucky's fleece. Materials credit: Mandy Steward. © Gail Berk 2008. All rights reserved. |
Chapter 11: Walkabout #2 This time cameraman Bob came along. With our previous experience I decided not to add to the mix with a saddle this time. I fully expected trouble, and trouble is what I got. We barely made it out of Bucky's pasture and certainly not out of sight of other llamas. It was a short walkabout. |
Chapter 12: Grooming Lessons It seems Bucky is quite intolerant of brushing. And with the mats he has it's no wonder. He tolerates neck brushing, even enjoys it. But his back and the the rest is another thing. Perhaps I can scissor him down to a more manageable length for brushing and get some of those mats cut off. Maybe there won't be a Bucky sweater for a few more years. |
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Chapter 13: Gelded (Castrated) and Sheared Yes Bucky's adorable, I know, but he's coming into his manhood so we must cut him off at the pass (amusing myself with the pun). We don't want him passing on the wry face nor testing his manhood on Tammie's stock, male or female. This day was a BIG DEAL. Since Bucky isn't trailer trained it required a $$$ farmcall (housecall) from the vet. I hated for Bucky to know I participated in the ordeal since I'm still trying to build trust, but I was the last thing he saw when he could no longer fight the anesthesia and the first thing when he came back to life. That's gotta count for something. He looked so uncomforable the way the vet had laid his head across a bale of hay so I sat with him and held his head in my lap for the last hour and a half. He had been forbidden to eat for 24 hours prior to surgery so eating was his priority even before he was strong enough to stand on his feet. I knew this event would be the best opportunity to shear Bucky while he couldn't squawk about it. It's a hack job, I know, but brand new, sharp scissors let me work quickly, leaving an inch or so of fleece so he won't sunburn. I had no idea he'd be down and out for 2.5 hours or I could have done a better job. I was expecting him to snap out of it any second or, too, I would have thoroughly brushed him. I got a couple bucketsful of his fleece so will soon start on the sweater project. I can't even guess how far two bucketsful will get me. |
Chapter 14: Spring Morning Walkabout We try to take excursions every day, with or without accompaniment. He's going to have to learn to rely on me, not other llamas, so I welcome opportunities to take him on walkabouts alone. There's usually something little here and there to spook him on every walk and I'm starting to see an occasional slip up where he, in fact, leans on me for reassurance. |
Chapter 15: Obstacles This was a walkabout big deal. We walked around Tammie's farm through some tight squeezes and then off the property past some other nearby farms. Bucky experienced big cows for the first time and was a little bit intimidated by their curious stares (I don't think this is necessarily limited to llamas). We stopped to chat with a shetland pony who beckoned. Then time to walk back to Tammie's farm. A few more obstacles before we called it quits which included a walk up a ramp and down the other side to find a 12 inch drop back on walking turf. I am so proud of him. He is doing very well on his own without other llamas to reassure him and seems to trust that all is well with me instead. |
Chapter 16: Tactile Training Continued Strokes. After the excellent walkabout session we finished up with some tactile training again. He still will not tolerate a brush but in this session he backed himself into a fence trying to avoid my back stroking. Cornering himself there he came to know that strokes weren't so bad after all. |
Sticks. Then we continue with this here brilliant idea of Tammie's, using a stick to teach tactile leg desensitizing. Legs are the vulnurability of llamas. Once he's desensitized with a stick then I should be able to touch his legs with my hand. This needs to happen so I can cut his toenails when the time comes and avoid getting stomped on. First the front legs, then the back legs. Baby steps, baby steps. |
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Click the picture for a larger view. |
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Click the picture for a larger view. |
Click the picture for a larger view. |
Click the picture for a larger view. |
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Snacks. I was quite disappointed that it took 5 months to get Bucky to eat from my hand. This is a trust issue and a few llamas will never do this, while a few take to it right away, leaving the majority to come around to it when they are motivated enough. Bucky, not so much. Llamas can be touchy about eating from your hand when another one has eaten from it first. Or some will not take an apple from you if you've taken a bite of it. Sort of a "you stink" attitude. Which is peculiar to me because they often put their face right in yours to smell your breath (and you have no choice but to smell theirs and it ain't pretty). But for the last couple of months Bucky has finally come to accept food from me. |
Apparently I don't stink so much anymore. Still, he can take it or leave it so this deminishes the possibility of clicker training, a technique that will cut miles off of training. I've been offering a handful of snacks following each training session and using it to condition a "Come" when called. It's still very much a work in progress. |
Chapter 17: Trailer Shopping This is the first trailer that caught my eye. It was a serious consideration but for the cost and labor involved in fixing it up and stablizing the rust, we wanted a steal. Didn't get it. But since trailer training is certainly another thing to deal with before Bucky's ready for our big hike in the mountains (and well, I had taken so many photos while we were contemplating its purchase) I thought it worth a mention. Kinda cute, isn't it? Old Yeller I would've called it. |
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Click the picture for a larger view. |
Chapter 18: New Horizons Today the walkabout was much longer and filled with more new exciting things to experience. Tammie and Ziggy led the way so Bucky would be less anxious about new things so far away from home. It was quite exciting to see him go around a closed road-gate on the side of the canal with only a foot-wide path with which to negotiate, or else fall in the canal. A little balking but his follow-through was terrific. He stayed on the path, didn't panic and fall in. I don't know how well he's gonna do this with packs in tow. He'll have to learn he's a wide load. But today with Ziggy's presence Bucky must have concluded that this, indeed, is what llamas do. |
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Chapter 19: Back to Pack Training First I have to mention in reference to these pictures, this was the first I had the packs on him fully open and I just knew they'd come down to his knees, and they do. One cannot load a pack below the belly line but he will surely grown into this pack. Meanwhile as previously mentioned, the small top packs are best for day hikes. I'm quite sure eventually there will be cobwebs in the bottom packs. So finally we can get serious again about pack training. Over a three day period I think we're finally on the other side of the hump. |
Day 1: He bucked up a storm and the blue monkeys kept jumping on his back. We walked around the pasture until we could walk around once without incident. He discovered if he walked gingerly the monkeys would not jump. But get this. NOW I find out there's a belly strap to connect the bottom of the packs so they don't jump around. Oy vey. And I can't even say the pack didn't come with an instruction manual. And who points this out to me? My new best friend, the pack manufacturer. Color me humiliated. Day 2: Yeah, much better when the packs are strapped down. :-) He bucked a little but was delighted (I'm guessing) that the monkeys didn't jump today so our goal was three trips around the pasture without incident. Day 3: Almost perfect except he kicked the fence. I wonder if that's anything like sticking pins in a voodo doll. And that, my friends, was the only fault to an otherwise perfect session. Three trips around the pasture without incident. Oy, I repeat, had I strapped down the monkeys from the get-go he would not have had any scarey bad encounters with the monkeys and would have saved us two days of work. But thanks Barb, this may otherwise have gone on a whole lot longer. Psst. Don't tell Bucky cuz it'll give him an edge but I'm learning as much as he is. |
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Chapter 20: Pack Walkabout We're 7 months into the game and finally on a walkabout with pack. Tammie and Ziggy accompany us for Bucky's security first time out. Ziggy also dons a a pair of blue monkeys so now Bucky can see it's what llamas do. Before I arrived, Tammie had removed Ziggy and put on his gear elsewhere out of Bucky's sight. She did this so Bucky would not be stirred up by her business with Ziggy, to make my life easier putting on Bucky's pack. Well let me tell you, he was one stirred up critter just because Ziggy had been taken away, and I'm the last to know because I didn't even notice Ziggy missing and could not figure out why Bucky was so stimulated. But coincidentally, the moment I finished putting on |
Bucky's gear, along comes Tammie and Ziggy to find out what the hold up is. Ah HA! Now me sees the whole picture. So away we go with Tammie and Ziggy. It was as if there was no pack on him whatsoever. No hip hops, no hissy fits, no nothing. He was just glad to be near Ziggy again. Tammie intentionally took us back to the closed road-gate that we had to go around before. This time there's water in the ditch. Remember, there's only about a foot of path to walk on between the gate pole and the ditch with irrigation water. Ziggy goes first. Then Bucky. Uh then Bucky. Okay we had a little balking but with some coaxing, feat accomplished. Even though he'd forgotten he was a wide load, he still negotiated this like a pro. YEA BUCKY! One last major training endeavor (trailer training) and we're on our way to the hills. I do believe a day hike by the end of summer is within reach. |
