I am a big bad Momma

Aren't you just glad that (human) teens don't (usually) spit as llamas and alpacas do! It really is sometimes quite humbling when a large animal (who could easily do a human a great deal of damage) gives its owner or keeper a respect which may, I suppose, be sometimes due to a kind of fear but must much more often be a result of trust and acceptance as the 'leader'.

Lol, wouldn't it be great if we could get our kids to listen like that and know from hand signals what we meant. They do, but just don't pay attention. I remember my parents just had to give me a look and I knew that I better shape up or else.

hahaha, not what I was expecting from the title!! I think llamas are ok to look at, but my mom's friend used to have them, and they were so viscous! Teens are a handful! I remember being one of those :)

I wish that I could get that kind of respect out of my two children. No, the only respect that I get out of them when I use a firm voice is that it will bring them to tears. My daughter tends to pull back like I am going to hit her and I really don't understand that at all because I've never hit my children. I guess it is the tone of voice that will scare the kids. However, I really wish that they would listen to me when I speak and ask them to do something for me.

Hiya SP, Are they difficult to keep Llamas I mean? Do they get really irritable that easily then? The only time I see things about them and it´s not very often is that they bite and bite. I don´t suppose that they do bite all the time and if they do it´s between themselves. For them to fight for Food would be normal too and you control them so well how do you do it then? Me too I wish I could have had that kind of power when my youngest Son in particular was very small he was like a Tornado and still is but in a different way the other one is much easier to manage. My youngest now is like trying to keep hold of a very slipper fish. Think that you are very brave to look after them like that. My Husband had to look after Mules for a certain amount of time and he learned things and how to get round them and he did. Everybody else used to get kicked all the time.

All herd animals look to a leader. A human being can easily become that leader, after all, all good things come from the human, we feed them, keep them safe, lead them to good pastures, we show them a firm hand when one is needed and we share affection when it is time. My own experience has been working with horses, cows, sheep, dogs and a few wild animals that wandered in... Horses play rough and much of their play is practice for defense, and they do fight among themselves for position in the herd. Cows are pretty docile, they will protect their young and will fight when they are frightened or even uncomfortable with what is being done to or with them. Sheep are sheep, they are followers they butt for attention more often than not, unless one is another ram during breeding season there isn't much to fear. Dogs, of course want to please us and it is our failure when we don't understand their needs...dogs don't think the way we do and we too often attribute human thought to them. The wild animals are just that no matter how tame they appear, they are wild and are to be respected as such. On the subject of teens...don't even get me started, I raised my own and now have two of my grandchildren living with me...can anyone say I am a glutton for punishment?

Personally I think animals are a lot easier to train and such more than humans as they get used to the sound of our voice especially if they have been with us since they were small. They do not have other people and peers telling them what they should do or shouldn't and they have less things out there to distract them as well.

All that comes to my mind is the chilrens book "Is Your Mama a Llama" I guess you are a super llama momma. I think you have become their parent and their leader both.

Hi savypat, Maybe we have more power than we think, we just need to believe in ourselves. Blessings.

lol, they know who is boss and who it is that feeds them so they will respect you, teenagers are a whole different species! They do grow out of it as we both know though. Huggles. Ellie :D

LOL! I had trouble when my kids were teens, too, but I was fortunate not to have as much as some parents I knew. I guess you are the alpha of your llama herd!

Those teens can be a hand full when they start fighting for food or freedom...LOL. I saw a girl one time stand in front of a horse that was running down the hill towards us..it was her horse. I was hung in the barbed wire trying to get out of there and she just stood there and he stopped right before he reached her! I was amazed.

i agree with you if i could of got that kind of respect from my teenager i would of eat it up so everytime you get that respect enjoy a min of it for me

Well, I'm only 26 and I feel old already taking care of my new dog. Dogs are also a lot of hard work. They poop and pee everywhere and of course I have to go fetch those and clean the floor afterwards. This is not my very first dog, though. I had one when I was a kid. It was easier to manage the wastes coz we had a backyard then. Now, I'm living in an apartment, 4th floor, so there isn't a place where the dog can dig and poop other than the floor. Everytime I get home I have to hunt for those brown submarines and clean them. Extra work, especially considering I'm already tired after coming home. It's too cute to give away, though, I'm still hung up on it.