Marty's News

It has been a whirlwind of a winter.   Since I last posted we finished up our second and largest advanced training.  It was a great group!  We had a ton of Crescent Moon animals to play with, Liz McDannold kept us fed and the staff of Camelidynamics practitioners kept everything running smoothly.  We added a number of Camelidynamics Handler, and many handler moved up and joined the teaching program. 

 

 

 

The rest of the year and this winter took me to Pennsylvania, Canada, Ohio, Tennessee, California, the Caribbean cruise for alpaca owners and Sweden to speak at the largest agricultural fair in Scandinavia!  This year Camelidynamics will take me to twelve states in the USA, England, Germany and Switzerland.  Julie Taylor-Browne our P2 in England will spread the word to Sweden, and England her previous haunts but will expand her reach to France, Scotland and Spain! 

We are planning three trainings at the Camelidynamics Training Center in Bend Oregon for this year.  June 13-16 is our annual two-day basic clinic and shearing day with Practitioner Tracy Annis doing our shearing!  Shearing day is followed by Dr. Cheryl DeWitts neonatal clinic.  Dr. Cheryl is a Camelidynamics Handler and supporter.  Bend is a hike from many parts of the country I realize… but think about how much you can do in such a short period of time ALL IN ONE SPOT.

1. Attend a two-day basic Camelidynamics clinic
2. Learn to set up and handle animals for a easy no-stress shearing day taught by a Camelidynamics practitioner AND shearer Tracy Annis.  You will be able to practice the skills you just learned in the two-day basic in a real world situation with plenty of hands on coaching.  
3. Attend a neonatal clinic with wet lab that will give you the confidence you need to handle any birthing situation you may be faced with.
4. See a really good small farm set up (ours).  Have an opportunity to work with the Camelidynamics Handling Facility.  This is something I can usually only talk about not demonstrate because many of the two-day hosts don’t have the set up that I do.  
5. Visit some of the largest and or well-known alpaca ranches in the world.  Right here in Central Oregon we have Flying Dutchman Alpacas (Amanda VandenBosch), Crescent Moon, Panorama Ranch Benvenuti Ranch and Dakini Alpacas.  These represent both suri and huacaya big and small.
6. Experience Central Oregon. No Bugs, snow capped mountains, golf to die for, white water rafting, hiking, biking and restaurants galore.  I have lived all over the world and the US and Bend Oregon is one of the finest places on the planet for having fun. 

 

For more information about this clinic and the Camelidynamics Training Center guide click here.

We are also hosting two advanced trainings here in Bend.  The first is June 20-24.  If you have the time you can just stay on after the basic clinic and get another dose of kind, respectful, efficient, safe, and FUN camelid handling.  See above for what to do in between the two events.  The second advanced training is August 8-12.  Both advanced trainings are filling fast so don’t delay SIGN up now!  The Camelidynamics Center Guide has all of the information you need to plan your trip as well as register for the clinics.  Early bird prices are available for all events if you sign up and pay in full at least 60 days before the event.  The Camelidynamics Center guide will help you plan your trip. 

Camelidynamics and Pookhurst Farm will also be collaborating with Crescent Moon and Flying Dutchman alpacas August 28-30 2009 in what we are calling Education with a Destination.  Visit Central Oregon, view a lovely selection of alpacas and learn all about selecting handling, managing and training your favorite four leggeds-even learn how to back a trailer with a professional trucker as your teacher!  Speakers include yours truly, Amanda VandenBosch, Scott and Debbie Miller, Dr. Julio Sumar, and Dr. Rachel Oxley.  For more information about any of these events contact me.  

It has been a long and complicated road but we are now able to offer the Camelidynamics Guild Member direct discounts on our on line store.  It has been a much more involved process than I ever imagined and our wonderful web designers have been fabulous.  Guild members receive 30% off of the Camelid Companion regardless of quantity and 20% off of the Zephyr halter the official halter for Camelidynamics.  It is my hope that you will use these discounts to pass along the book and halters to your clients as part of any animal sale.  Specific instructions about how to log in and activate the guild member store discounts have been sent to all guild members.  If you didn’t get these instructions email me. If you have trouble as you log in and establish your guild member account email me. 

On a side note many of you are Liz McDannold fans.  Liz is a truly amazing crafts person and many of you have her wonderful jewelry.  Liz has recently discovered felting and now has a website/blogspot for her work.... Check it out here: http://littledogstudio.blogspot.com  As for me and Brad... it has been a great year with some lovely and healthy alpaca babies looked after by our wonderful llamas… the ever beautiful Nordica and the greatly mellowed Hayley, the chickens are still laying eggs, the dogs are still as cute as ever, the cats are still cats and life is good.   We are looking forward to spring and hope to see many of your around the ol’ paddock!   
Marty

“I can't express how very impressed I am with you and your wonderful program, it literally changed the way I thought about approaching my alpacas. (Already, I have been able to put some things into practice, and my husband is suitably impressed.) The clinic ran so smoothly with so many people doing so many different things; you are a magician when it comes to logistics. And of course, all of the Practitioner staff were wonderful as well! And the food!!! Think hard about putting some of those recipes on the Guild website!
My husband and I are agreed on where we are setting up a special area in the pasture for the Camelidynamics Handling Facility demonstrated at the advanced training and will be able to herd alpacas from anywhere on our ranch into the area. I can't wait until it is finished, perhaps by the end of this week ...I'll send pictures when it is done. I think it will be a perfect area for breeding as well.”
Nikki

“I think this training session was the best you've ever done, and I think the difference was the hours you spent with the practitioners going over everything in such detail that when they taught us, they were able to break everything down to it's smallest detail. I know it really helped me, and I find myself practicing the catch rope on a fence post and the 'rope management.’
Again, I must commend you and all the practitioners for their patience and excellent teaching, I can't say enough about what a thrill it was to follow what they were teaching and to see the result when done correctly. The 'morning exercises' the unbendable arm and particularly the 'pushing hands' exercise were incredibly helpful. I've used these two exercises in particular with one of my clients who is very willing to learn, and it made a huge difference in her handling techniques.”
Robert

“You are amazing with the animals and it was a pleasure to work with you! I started working with some of the techniques as soon as I got home (actually the minute I got home I walked in the barn and worked with one of my boys who was never haltered before). It was fun and he was not ready to lead, but the halter lesson was great. Hubby was impressed. I said - if you think that is good - you should see Marty do it. You and Brad have a wonderful place and a great set up!! I enjoyed the hospitality and the surroundings. It was a great experience in many ways. One important thing I learned from the clinic (among MANY things) is that I have A LOT to learn!! I thought I was doing good - but I can be SO MUCH better. I also started using TTouch on my dog and horses - they LOVE it. Very funny - the dog gets all glassy eyed like he is drunk.”
Rose

“I really did come back a changed person… in many ways. I actually have my first “ story” of how changing the way I am handling worked! I came back and we had to milk out one of my girls who has too much milk.. She always fights and kicks… I put her in the catch pen, did a nice midline catch, the bracelet and some TTouch on her side and belly and udder.. (Llama touches) and then my daughter was able to milk out 8 ounces of milk!! It was amazing.”
Val

At the end of this Advanced Training several members of the program moved up a level:
Dick Sabath (Oregon) Apprentice Practitioner to Practitioner

 

Jeannine Anderson (New York) Apprentice Practitioner to Practitioner

Linda Buttolph (Oregon) Apprentice Practitioner to Practitioner

Congratulations to these new teachers. Look for their events on the Practitioner calendar page.
Several graduates of this advanced training will be entering the practitioner program as apprentices. So far
Yvette Jacoby and Robert Applegate, both of Oregon have declared their intentions. Welcome!
Many graduates have been awarded the Camelidynamics Handler Seal and will be using it to promote their new skill. If you are looking for breeders or services, be sure to look for the Camelidynamics Handler Seal when you are shopping. These people have gone the extra mile to incorporate Camelidynamics into their herd management. As a consumer you will benefit from their commitment to kind, safe, efficient and respectful handling and training.

 

The new website is just about a month old and while we have had a few challenges, things are sorting themselves out. I appreciate everyone’s patience with the transition. The new website has created a new set of glitches with the Guild Forum in the form of broken links. Broken links are the work of the devil in my opinion, so if you find one please copy the URL and the surrounding text and send it to me at marty@camelidynamics.com. I will fix it!
We have added a number of new features to the website including this Marty’s News feature, a Practitioner Calendar, and other goodies so make sure to cruise around on the website and have a look at what is new.