Sunday, January 11, 2009

Clicker Training

Guess what--more snow today. Church was canceled, so we had a surprise day off. We all watched the video on clicker training that we borrowed from the GALA library. Then Ed, Nancy and Danny headed to the barn to try it out. We managed to have 15 minute sessions with 5 llamas before our fingers got too frozen. Ed worked with Macey, Nancy with George and Whoopie and Danny with Anakin and Willie. All the llamas caught on to the idea that the click preceded a reward. Interestingly, the younger llamas progressed more quickly and started working on targeting. It's a fascinating method and we are excited about trying new things with them once we get the hang of this.

Thanks for the clickers, Julie. Did you ever try them out with anyone?

2 comments:

  1. I'm intrigued by the clicker training, but worry it will be too hard to 'click' when one of my crazy horses tries to spook, bolt, or what-have-you. I can't whistle either. We tried a sports whistle and the horses ran off to the other end of the field. Go figure. Do you treat them after the 'click'? Will they get pushy with the treats? Keep me informed on the progress. Cute pics. V

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  2. Yes, you treat after the click. The click is a message that they have done the right thing. The video was fascinating. I'll keep you posted on how it works in real life. We'll try more when it gets a bit warmer!

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