I have recently joined the guild, and have a question on llama behavior and training.. I recently purchased an 8 yo female llama, named Begonia, from a breeder in Portland, OR. Upon visiting her farm and being in the catch pen with several other llamas, Begonia approached me, and I was able to catch and touch her without chase, and felt she was right for our farm and 4 small shetland sheep she would be guarding and herd with. After bringing her to our farm, I was able to approach her with a small pail of feed she would eat out of, but once I tried to reach out and grab her halter she ran off and has since been stand offish and will only let me approach within 5 feet or so, and will not let me touch her or catch her. She is on a 2 acre pasture during the day and at night we keep her in a small pasture with the sheep, she comes into the smaller pasture with ease. We tried to catch her by trapping her behind a small barn, but it seemed to be stressing her, which was about 3 days ago. Since then I have not made a effort to catch her in fear of stressing her , and that I am scaring her. I feel I need to be able to handle her for grooming purposes ie nail clipping and shearing and to lead her by a halter. I would appreciate any advice and training tips from Marty or other folks out there that can help. Regards, Penn B.
