alpaca that bites

[Anonymous]

There is this lady who is working at a farm and she is having trouble with a male. She said it wasn't bottle fed, but I am not sure with the pushiness of this fellow. I sent her your article about the frisbees. Should I tell her to just let the owner work with it since she is not responsible for this mess? She is a newbie and I would hate to have her turned off of camelids over this. If this guy bites I'd get a shotgun!* Well, not really, but would consider having the vet put him down because he is not safe for anyone.

What do you think? I will definitely suggest your class so she can prevent this from happening. Read what she wrote me.

Hi
I was out training alpacas again today and that mean alpaca bit me again! This time on the thigh. I read the article you sent. I wore my frisbee on a rope around my neck. When the alpaca went after me... Wham! I smacked him right in the face with the frisbee. Bad idea. He was up for the challenge and ready to take on any frisbee! It was all I could do to get him back to his pen. I thought there was a very fine line that he would soon cross -- as soon as he figured out that he was stronger than me. Showing him the frisbee did keep him out of my face til I had him locked up again. I won't take him out anymore. He's not even cute.
*
Any thoughts?

[Marty McGee Bennett]

I would definitely suggest that this new handler not work with this alpaca any more. I would need more history to really offer much in the way of advice but I think when animals start to bite people offensively, they have crossed a line and they must be either euthanized or kept away from people with no chance of an escape.

Biting defensively such as when trapped and cornered is a totally different issue that can often be remedied with facilities and human behavior

Remember the frisbee is not to be used as a defensive or offensive weapon, it is to create boundary. When you use it don't follow through with your movement. Use a very short staccato bip on the nose along with a firm "STAY BACK." You are creating a force field around you. It is important that every human in your young llamas life behave consistently and show this male the force field exists for all humans.