Sunday, August 19, 2012

Trailering

My goal is to expose The Boys to as many different things/places/situations as possible in a controlled environment before I take them out solo on a trip.  I want my Boys to be as prepared as they can be so we can all have enjoyable adventures together  smile

So with this goal in mind, getting The Boys in and out of the trailer is essential.

The Boys loading easily into trailer = Many wonderful adventures

When I bought The Boys, there seemed to be a bit of commotion getting them loaded into the trailer to come home.  I do not want to have to deal with any drama whenever I want to go somewhere with them, so I set out to work on trailer training.

As usual, Indiana has been-there-done-that.  He got in and out of the trailer with no problem whatsoever.

Harry was kind of hesitant at first, but he figured it out pretty quickly – he was easy to bribe with some llama pellets.  After he went in on his own the first time, I took him in and out a bunch of times and he totally cooperated  woot   Over the next few days, I loaded him in and out just to make sure that he really did “get it” and that the first day wasn’t just a fluke.  He performed like a champ  smile

…Then we got to Dalai.  sigh3   He just didn’t get it.  He would get to the bumper of the trailer and then just stop.  Over the next few days, no matter what kind of coaxing, bribing and pleading I did, he just wouldn’t pick up his feet to get in.  I tried working him by himself and then with the other Boys.  They showed him how easy it was, but he just wouldn’t follow their example and go in.   How are we supposed to go anywhere if they all didn’t get in the trailer????

They say that  you are supposed to keep training sessions with llamas to no more than fifteen or twenty minutes.  For everything else so far (haltering, moving backwards, touching their head and feet, etc.), the short sessions seemed to work great.  I decided that Dalai needed longer than fifteen minutes in a session to learn to get in the trailer, so I prepared myself for what could be a very long afternoon…  I got Dalai up to the trailer and as usual, he got to the bumper and just stopped.  I ended up tying the lead to the inside of the trailer – it was long enough where he could back up a little bit, but not long enough where he could focus his attention anywhere except the inside of the trailer.  After a bit of tugging, pushing, petting, tickling and bribing, I just couldn’t think of how to get him to understand what I wanted him to do. About an hour into the session, I asked him, “What’s going to happen if there is a fire or a tornado or something and I can’t get you out because you won’t get in the trailer???”  I’m sure it was a total coincidence (it had to be, right?), but a minute later he just calmly stepped up and into the trailer.  For a second I was totally dumbfounded.  Then I threw my arms around him and gave him a huge hug…he was probably wondering why the crazy lady was hugging him and squealing all of a sudden  laughing   And then I let him eat the container of llama pellets I promised him if he ever did go in the trailer.  Just to make sure, but not to push my luck, I took him out and brought him back in one more time, just to see if he really did mean to go  in.  He did  smile

He did it!

Over the next few days we practiced just to make sure, and he acted like he had been going in and out of trailers his whole life and it was no big deal  rolleyes

I tried to get a picture after-the-fact of Dalai just standing at the bumper like he was doing before (because I never thought to take a picture of him doing something he wasn’t supposed to), but he wouldn’t stay there – he kept getting on the trailer… Maybe now I need to work on a ‘Stay’ command  laughing

Anyway, I am so proud of all my Boys… they all load into the trailer very nicely - I couldn’t wait to take them on their first field trip…  stay tuned!

Getting ready for an adventure!

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