Marty McGee Bennett
08-03-2005, 01:50 PM
Marty. I have an 16 month old male alpaca who becomes extremely
submissive in his posture when people (and especially I) walk into his
presence. He drops his head with a crooked neck, lifts his tail and
bleats in a pose a friend calls a classic "Groucho".
As a bit of history, he has always been people friendly and a bit of a
whiner, however, he has exceptional fleece and conformation and his
juvenile behavior has hurt him in the show ring.
He was shown starting at age 6 months because he seemed so relaxed and
comfortable and went through 3 shows in the space of a month catching
a case of some disease that hit several crias in the east last
spring. He was given a shot of Nuflor at a show last year with instructions to repeat twice at 48 hour intervals. When I got him home and gave him the second shot he reacted badly dropping onto his side and rolling and bleating. He recovered to limping in about 2 minutes and was fine physically within an hour but his submissive behavior became much more exacerbated after
that incident.
I hoped he would outgrow this at he hit puberty and perhaps he will
still, however he is still acting out this way around people (we live
in a tourist area with a lot of visitors who give him extra attention
because he still comes up to people quite willingly). He acts
normally with his pasturemate and looks magnificent when he is running
the fence line with our dog, very erect and self-possessed.
Some friends have suggested that you might have some ideas as to how
to get him over this hurdle and I would greatly appreciate any
guidance you could furnish.
Just right off the bat I would suggest keeping the
public away from him and limiting his human interactions to people that
know how to be around alpacas and not to encourage the wrong behavior
ie overly familiar behavior with humans that could turn to aggression
later on... at that point putting his tail over his back would be the
least of your worries. I would also work him over obstacles the more
varied and challenging the better. I would also make sure to check on
your halter fit and to read up on leading with a light hand. All of
these factors could be affecting his overly submissive behavior.
Thanks for the tips. I've been to a couple of clinics and am pretty
familiar with handling alpacas, been at it for 3 years and have had to deal
with some pretty varied behavior on the farm and in the show ring. I am
familiar - in theory only - with the Berserk Male Syndrome and was concerned about that with this young male earlier, however, he is quite tractible and leads easily and well. The problem is that I can't even take a picture of him without his going into his "pose" although I might be 30 yards away. Is this behavior a precursor of BMS or something different? Will there be signs of increased aggression
or will it simply blossom?
He's an exceptional male I'd hate to lose him.
I am not sure what the submissive crouch means when applied selectively to some humans other than a gesture of subordination. I guess get someone else to take the photos! It is a troubling sign and I don't think that every male that exhibits the behavior goes around the bend. I guess I would be very vigilant about making sure that he knows that you are to be respected allow absolutely no invasion of space. I do think work over obstacles can't hurt and might help. If he keeps his distance and doesn't begin challenging you, you are probably ok. I would be really aware of any behavior that indicates disrespect. Obstacles and more obstacles.
some photos of the Camelid Cavern of Confidence attached... a great obstacle... whoops opportunity!
submissive in his posture when people (and especially I) walk into his
presence. He drops his head with a crooked neck, lifts his tail and
bleats in a pose a friend calls a classic "Groucho".
As a bit of history, he has always been people friendly and a bit of a
whiner, however, he has exceptional fleece and conformation and his
juvenile behavior has hurt him in the show ring.
He was shown starting at age 6 months because he seemed so relaxed and
comfortable and went through 3 shows in the space of a month catching
a case of some disease that hit several crias in the east last
spring. He was given a shot of Nuflor at a show last year with instructions to repeat twice at 48 hour intervals. When I got him home and gave him the second shot he reacted badly dropping onto his side and rolling and bleating. He recovered to limping in about 2 minutes and was fine physically within an hour but his submissive behavior became much more exacerbated after
that incident.
I hoped he would outgrow this at he hit puberty and perhaps he will
still, however he is still acting out this way around people (we live
in a tourist area with a lot of visitors who give him extra attention
because he still comes up to people quite willingly). He acts
normally with his pasturemate and looks magnificent when he is running
the fence line with our dog, very erect and self-possessed.
Some friends have suggested that you might have some ideas as to how
to get him over this hurdle and I would greatly appreciate any
guidance you could furnish.
Just right off the bat I would suggest keeping the
public away from him and limiting his human interactions to people that
know how to be around alpacas and not to encourage the wrong behavior
ie overly familiar behavior with humans that could turn to aggression
later on... at that point putting his tail over his back would be the
least of your worries. I would also work him over obstacles the more
varied and challenging the better. I would also make sure to check on
your halter fit and to read up on leading with a light hand. All of
these factors could be affecting his overly submissive behavior.
Thanks for the tips. I've been to a couple of clinics and am pretty
familiar with handling alpacas, been at it for 3 years and have had to deal
with some pretty varied behavior on the farm and in the show ring. I am
familiar - in theory only - with the Berserk Male Syndrome and was concerned about that with this young male earlier, however, he is quite tractible and leads easily and well. The problem is that I can't even take a picture of him without his going into his "pose" although I might be 30 yards away. Is this behavior a precursor of BMS or something different? Will there be signs of increased aggression
or will it simply blossom?
He's an exceptional male I'd hate to lose him.
I am not sure what the submissive crouch means when applied selectively to some humans other than a gesture of subordination. I guess get someone else to take the photos! It is a troubling sign and I don't think that every male that exhibits the behavior goes around the bend. I guess I would be very vigilant about making sure that he knows that you are to be respected allow absolutely no invasion of space. I do think work over obstacles can't hurt and might help. If he keeps his distance and doesn't begin challenging you, you are probably ok. I would be really aware of any behavior that indicates disrespect. Obstacles and more obstacles.
some photos of the Camelid Cavern of Confidence attached... a great obstacle... whoops opportunity!