ABC'S: ANIMAL BEHAVIOR CONCERNS & SOLUTIONS
A Question & Answer Forum For Animal Professionals
Copyright © By Diana Guerrero

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Welcome to the ABC's! Animal Behavior Concerns & Solutions is an animal behavior column written by animal behaviorist and animal trainer, Diana L. Guerrero. This section is dedicated to animal training techniques for all animals and pets, and topics related to operant conditioning and reinforcement. This page is dedicated to clarifying a camel training question. This animal training topic appears in two parts. For pet training please visit the pet section, see our pet behavior booklets in the shop, or visit our teleseminar section.

Camel Training Question: Part One of Two

Question
We are working at our first attempt at training a camel. Can you give us some guidelines and talk about how to address the friskiness?

Answer
Traditional camel training involves three steps. Teach handling tolerance, lead manners, and weight bearing. Weight bearing acclimation is important to introduce but needs to be trained when the animal is a bit older. I am going to chat about a few points related to your question and then get into more specific areas and useful resources in part two.

Handling Tolerance
Activities should include husbandry work such as brushing, cleaning (hosing), picking up feet, examining any part of the anatomy, etc. The camel trainers say that 90% of the work in training this type of animal stems from the foundation you set up early on to make this animal gentle and not afraid.

For young animals you could use a small dog collar on the neck from an early age and ease into leading the animal within a week and through about three months. At that time you could introduce a halter and lead with that. I don't know when you started work with this animal but hope that you are already in the halter.

Babies don't have much brain matter and leading them back and forth while working with the mother is a good strategy…unless the mother is not amiable to training. Teaching your critter to tie only for short periods of time and under strict supervision.

Don't forget to train the baby to load and unload into a trailer or similar transport medium and get the baby into a wide variety of environments. Many of the camels you see in public have been going to events and outings since they were very small. This desensitizes them to a wide variety of noises and other activities and makes them into more stable, calm, and reliable animals.

Cush?
Cush (kneeling) is popular but is probably not high on the priority list. The rule of thumb is that if you are going to teach "cush," do so between six months to a year of age and after you have some good behavior patterns established.

Frisky Dangers
Young animals are always frisky but the earlier you start work, the better your chances of establishing a solid foundation and good manners. Teaching limits and nipping bad behavior in the bud before it escalates are you best approaches here.

Nipping and bouncing can be very dangerous to handlers or the public. To develop a stable and well-mannered animal you need to remember to be consistent, assess and predetermine your training steps and any consequences.

You did not specify if the mother is in proximity when you are working. If the animal is still really attached to "mom" you will experience "acting out" during separation. It might be best to work in close proximity and teach tolerance to husbandry behaviors, restraint, and acceptance of tack. Then you can begin to increase distance from the yard, barn, and other animals.

Training to Lead
I'd suggest using a horse with a rider (or use mom--if she is trained) to lead this animal initially. That way you keep moving even though the animal is kicking up a fit. The handler rides and holds (or secures the lead rope to the saddle horn). As you move forward slowly, it requires the animal to follow. This takes advantage of the natural predisposition of the youngster to follow behind the lead animal.

The perk is that as you continue to move forward, you are not reinforcing resistance and the animal does not learn that bad behavior (bouncing, kicking, screaming) stops the procession or gives her control. If the keeper is currently waiting on the ground for the animal to quit kicking up a storm--it could be reinforcing that behavior and you certainly don't want to do that.

The leading activity on horseback also trains the animal to yield to the line, just as tying does. The added perk of this strategy is that the keeper handling the animal is not put at risk from the young animal's acrobatics.

When you take advantage of the instinct to follow you will also want to keep her safely moving forward. If using a horse is not an option and you have to do ground work, then use team training methods. Two keepers are needed. One keeper on each side will have a lead rope that connects to the head halter. The two leads allow you to maintain control and distance. However this poses more risk to the animal and to the handlers.

You didn't specify if you were using a collar on the young animal or a head halter. Most camels are halter trained at about six months of age. So if you are not on the head halter yet, train the animal to accept it.

Other Tidbits
Many camel experts recommend the separation of animals for training. Check the natural history of the species you are working with to determine optimal times. Generally short separations should occur at a young age and removal around six to seven months or so would reasonable. The ideal situation would be if you had a youngster group to integrate your trainee into.

If you are going to attempt saddle or cart work, train the cart first and wait until 2-2.5 years before you seriously begin teaching weight bearing. This is an age where the animal is physically and mentally adept so that you can avoid stress and injury of both the animal and the humans!

Part Two: Seven Camel Training Suggestions

Are you a reader with a question? Be sure to submit it--and good luck in all your training endeavors!

About the columnist: Since 1978 Diana L. Guerrero has worked professionally with both wild and domestic animals. Guerrero has been affiliated with and certified by a variety of animal programs in the USA and Europe. Based in California, she writes, consults, and leads safaris. Information on her animal career programs, training courses, and her books, What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality (SkyLight Paths, 2003), Blessing of the Animals (Sterling, 2007), Help! My Pet is Driving Me Crazy (Guerrero Ink, 2007), Animal Disaster Preparedness for Pet Owners & Pet Professionals (Guerrero Ink, 2007) are available through this web site. Questions for ABC's should be submitted to Diana directly through the ABC's zoo questionnaire on this web site, or contact her now.