Lessons learned…you little baby face

Did you ever just sit and watch a young animal or child interact with the world around them ~ going about their day unguarded by self imposed restraint? Restraint and self control will come; but now is the time to test limits. We had a young cria, Foncie; who tested every thing and everyone in the pasture with him…at times he would come into the barn for the evening..with whole side of his head covered with spit(this is how llamas establish and maintain a pecking order and acceptable llama behavior), he was always pushing the envelope, putting his nose where it didn’t belong.

Frankie, the visiting pup, from a few blogs ago..he is still testing his limits with Lexi..and in no uncertain terms, she lets him know…”My butt is my butt ~ not yours to sniff, this is my Mom and my ball, everything else is ok…you can even have my food”! They establish their own limits for young ones, to make life peaceful.
Andy, (our orphaned llama) lost his Mom early, lots of things he would have learned from her have to be learned from others, haphazardly ~ it seems. He is finding his own limits, different limits, with various members of the herd, there are some who will tolerate more from him, because of his circumstances, KatDoll even let him attempt to nurse, even though she is a maiden, and this behavior is almost never tolerated; He then pushed the envelope, tried to nurse from Shangrala, the herd’s Alpha..this didn’t go as he had planned, not only did he get a stern spitting, he got a bit of run down. Mind you, he will never make that mistake gain..lesson learned. Others are more gentle with the discipline..Penelope simply nudges him away…he then runs back to KatDoll or Breezy for what he thinks may be protection. He sleeps between Breezy and KatDoll at night..it is very, very sweet. Always the same nightly configuration…KatDoll, Andy, Breezy, then her Mom…Shangrala. Shangrala, is not the eldest, not the largest, not the flashiest llama, she is the boss, none the less, and that is hard work to maintain…just ask her. Princess is always challenging her, always ending the same way, Shangrala positions herself perpendicularly to princess head held in a very up right – chin pointed to the sky fashion…and it is over; Princess accepts defeat for now. You see, llamas do not like physical conflicts, therefore, it is usually all about spit and posturing (body language). If it does become physical …watch out! You have never heard such a sound…this is usually left to the boys. I am fascinated by their familial characteristics on a daily basis…with out fail.
Perhaps, we as parents could learn a thing or two… about establishing boundaries.

Some faces of youth…

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Be well,
Jess