Medicine and Surgery of Camelids. Группа авторов

is to lift the foot off the ground from a point higher on the body closer to the center of mass (above the knee in the front and above the hock in the back). This affords the handler less leverage, making the animal feel safer and more balanced.

Another technique in training a camelid to allow a handler to work with its feet is allowing it to put its foot back down immediately after the animal lifts his foot. Though this sounds counterintuitive, this process should be repeated 5–10 times (up and down, up and down, up and down …). This teaches the animal to expect that if he wants his foot back, he will get it back. If, during the procedure, the animal wants to have his leg back, GIVE IT TO HIM! The biggest mistake to make is to hold on to a leg for even a split second as the animal struggles. The animal should be permitted to have its foot back, you can simply pick it up again (Figures 2.20–2.27).

Once the foot is off the ground, the animal is stable and in balance, you can transfer your hands from higher up on the body, down the leg in order to hold the foot. If you are in balance and the animal is in balance, the method by which one uses to get their hand into trimming position is personal preference. The author's approach is as follows: To trim the left front foot, she stands facing the rear with her left hand on the top line and her right hand above the knee. With her left hand she adjusts the animal's weight to the right foot and asks the animal to lift the left foot with her right hand. Once the animal is in balance and is not leaning on her, she takes her left hand off the top line and uses it to support the cannon bone. Her right hand is now free, and she uses it to get her nippers out of the holster on her lower right leg and trims the toenails with her right hand. Trimming the left rear is essentially the same except her right hand is originally placed on the front of the rear leg above the hock. Since she is right‐handed when trimming the right front and right rear, she follows the same process (switching right and left in the above directions) until she gets the foot in her hand, then swaps hands so that she is operating the trimmers with her stronger right hand. Trimming with the foot as close to the ground as possible; lifting the foot only a few inches still gives you room to work but feels much safer for the animal. Keep the leg under the body for balance; do not hold the foot out to the side (note the trade‐off here is less visualization for increased balance of the animal). A common pitfall is that many people will squeeze the nippers with one hand and simultaneously squeeze the foot with the supporting hand; it is important to avoid doing this because the animal will react to having his foot squeezed and struggle to get his foot away from the handler.

Figure 2.20 Preparing to pick up the left front foot. The handler is using her left hand on the midline to keep the weight on the foot until asking for the animal to shift his weight and allow the foot to be lifted. The handler contacts the leg above the knee with the right hand which is less threatening.

Figure 2.21 The handler has now moved the left hand from the midline to the canon bone to support the foot for trimming.

Figure 2.22 On the opposite side, the hands are switched so that the handler can use the dominant hand for the trimmers. A second handler is balancing this alpaca and the animal is next to a wall which makes trimming feel safer for the animal.

Figure 2.23 The handler is managing the animal's balance using the right hand on the topline keeping the weight on the leg until the right hand is in place just in front and above the hock.

Severely overgrown toenails, particularly those that curl out to the side, can be trimmed while the animal is standing on his feet. Many animals are not as concerned with the trimming as they are with having their legs handled. You can slide the nippers under the toenail and “nibble” the long bits away. Most animals are unconcerned about this procedure if their legs are not touched (Figure 2.28).

The balancing technique described earlier, and a hand placed on the animal's top line can be used to bring the weight onto the foot being trimmed. If the animal is bearing weight on the foot, it cannot lift it. Trimming toenails this way is a compromise but is preferred to making the animal averse to the trimming process with a fight. The author has used a rotary (Dremmel) tool on toenails, both with the foot on the ground, and with the foot elevated. It can be an effective way to trim without the risk of quicking the toenail. Box 2.1 lists some tips that will facilitate toenail trimming.

Figure 2.24 The handler uses the left hand on the back to ask the llama to shift his weight to the right at the same time asking this llama to lift his left foot.

Figure 2.25 The handler now moves the left hand off the back and uses it to support the foot freeing up the right hand for trimming.

Figure 2.26 Trimming the toenail is best done by trimming small pieces of the nail. Care should be taken to avoid quicking the nail. Longer nails will have to be trimmed incrementally. Ideally, the nails will be even with the pad of the foot.

Handling for Veterinary Procedures

      Medical procedures can be distressing and dangerous for the owner, the animal, and the veterinarian. The techniques described below make things easier for all parties. The author does not advocate any technique that sacrifices the safety of handlers or veterinarians.

Figure 2.27 Trimming nails inside a trailer is much easier with difficult animals and much less threatening than using a chute.