We purchased a two year old female with lovely conformation and stunning fiber... but shame on me for not checking "handling manners" prior to bringing her home. She is obviously from the "corner, grab and restrain" schooling, and perhaps not worked with much at all... very evasive in the catch pen, resists being haltered, and Will Not Take A Step on the lead. Plants herself and will not even move out of the catch pen. When encouraged with others leading the way, she walks out of the catch pen and then bucks and carries on like a wild woman. After wand and rope work, she’s more receptive now to the mid-line catch. And haltering is improving. Regarding leading, however, we’re really stuck… alpaca and handler both. This girl lives with four other two year old maidens who are also being halter trained. She is able to observe that work and progress, which is going well. We usually work 2-3 times per week. We’ve worked in the outside handling facility as well as the indoor facility. Changing venue makes no difference. Have tried various distances from the head, even with the ultimate lead, to no avail. Have tried varying “strengths” of signals on the lead. Have not tried the body wrap. What am I not thinking to do? This girl should be shown this spring if we can reprogram her responses. Thank you in advance for your advice/solutions/support!
