Instructions
Habituate your alpacas to human contact. Domestic alpacas should be conditioned to trust people. If the only physical contact you have with your animals is for uncomfortable events such as grooming and trips to the vet, your alpacas may grow to fear your presence. By interacting with them and regularly handling them in nonthreatening ways, you will build their trust. This trust will make subsequent training activities easier for both you and your animals.
Teach your alpacas to obey basic spoken commands. Alpacas respond well to aural cues and can be taught to obey simple commands such as "stand" (to request them to stay standing in one place) and "touch" (to request that they stay still in order to be touched or examined). A straightforward way to do this is to regularly say "stand" whenever the animal you are working with is standing in place, and "touch" whenever you touch it.
Begin harness training when your alpacas are young. Alpacas should become accustomed to being put in harnesses and guided on a leash, and should be introduced to the harness as early as possible. Harness training is essential if you ever need to transport your alpacas from one site to another, and particularly if you are considering entering your animals in skill competitions in alpaca shows, such as obstacle courses. Even if you do not plan to train your alpacas competitively, harness training makes them more marketable should you plan to sell them. Alpacas can generally be harness-trained in only 10 days, with 15 minutes of training per day.
Train your alpaca to understand your nonverbal cues. Alpacas are sensitive to commands and, once they have mastered simple oral commands, they can be conditioned to follow subtle nonverbal cues instead. Advanced obedience skills of this sort are particularly useful for show animals.
Work with a reputable trainer. Once your alpacas are harness-trained and comfortable responding to your commands, they are ready to start cart training. For this, you should consult a professional trainer. A number of on-site courses, following different but well-established teaching philosophies, are available to train your alpacas this challenging skill. These courses are often designed for both alpacas and llamas, which are closely related to each other.
How to Prepare Alpacas for Cart Training
Alpacas are gentle, attractive animals valued for their fur, which is treasured for its softness and beauty. They can also work as pack animals and be used to drive carts. While alpacas are generally docile and easy to train, new alpaca owners should work with reputable trainers when learning to handle their alpacas. The guidance of a trainer is especially necessary when teaching alpacas complex behaviors such as cart driving, something not all animals take to well. Before your trainer starts assisting you in cart training, there are a number of steps you should take to make sure your animals are properly prepared.