Join us for an immersive and interactive conference where we will have an opportunity to learn and network by directly engaging with others in our global camelid community.
This camelid themed conference will take you on a virtual journey like no other:
Exciting topics covered by the keynote speaker, Marty McGee Bennett:
Attend lectures by our keynote speakers three of the most influential animal trainers and teachers of our time.
Our stable of incredible topics and speakers and topics include:
Marty McGee Bennett’s first llama jumped off the back of a pickup truck and into her heart in 1981. Since then, Marty has devoted her professional life to the well-being of llamas and alpacas and the education of camelid enthusiasts. Marty brings a variety of experience and qualifications to her work with camelids, including a B.S. degree in Animal Behavior and many years spent as a professional fiber artist. Marty’s knowledge of the science of behavior, combined with 35 years experience with TTEAM (The Tellington-Jones Every Animal Method) and TTouch and the principles of balance and leverage have made Camelidynamics popular with owners and veterinarians alike. Her second sense with both animals and people make “Camelidynamics” the world’s most enduring training/handling system for camelids. Her best selling book The Camelid Companion is the most comprehensive training book ever written for llamas and alpacas.
Conducting hundreds of workshops in North America and around the world, including numerous trips to Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia and Europe have kept Marty on the road for much of the past 35 years. In 2005, Marty founded the Camelidynamics Guild that includes an online forum and the Camelidynamics Consultancy Program. For more information, log on to www.camelidynamics.com.
Linda Tellington-Jones has been an innovator in the horse world since the 1960s and the companion animal world since 1993. In the horse world, her show career included Combined Training, dressage, hunters, jumpers and English and Western pleasure. In 1964 she set a record in 100 mile in one-day endurance riding that was unbroken for 7 years.
Her contributions to equine and companion animal behavior, performance and communication are recognized and acclaimed around the world by both veterinary professionals and owners. Today there are certified practitioners of the Tellington Method teaching in 37 countries. Linda has authored 21 books in 16 languages on her work with horses, dogs, and cats, and wild-life as well as books on TTouch for humans. Her work is a key aspect of CAMELIDynamics and has changed the lives of camelids, as well as their owners, the world over.
Linda is a recent recipient of the Torch-Bearer award and takes her place next to other recipients including Desmond Tut, and Olympic legend Carl Lewis. She was nominated for this award because of her lifelong devotion to the development of the TTouch, a heart based method that nurtures a unique, peaceful connection between animals and people.
When she and her husband, Roland Kleger, are not traveling, they reside in Hawaii. For information about her innovative approach to all animals including books, videos, webinars and trainings go to www.ttouch.com/ or see her on FB at Tellington TTouch World.
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. Susan has co-authored chapters on behavior change in five veterinary texts, and her popular articles have been translated into 15 languages. She teaches seminars and courses on animal learning online (How Behavior Works: Living & Learning With Animals), with students from 55 countries so far. Susan also consults with zoos and animal organizations around the world. Susan was appointed to the F&WS California Condor Recovery Team from 2002 – 2010, after which time the team was retired due to the success of the birds in the wild. She is the Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee of American Humane Association (AHA) Film and TV Unit, and a member in good standing of ABAI, ABMA, IAATE and IAABC. See behaviorworks.org and facebook.com/behaviorworks.
Robyn Hood is a Senior Instructor of the Tellington TTouch® Method, LindaTellington-Jones’ youngest sister, and talented teacher for people and their animals.
Robyn began riding horses before she could walk and has been involved with breeding, training and showing horses ever since. In 1975 she started importing and breeding Icelandic horses, at one point there were 200 Icelandics on the farm, and now the numbers are down to about 45.
Since 1986 she has been teaching the Tellington TTouch® Method on a full-time basis in Canada, the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Russia. TTouch started with horses and in 1994 we started teaching TTouch for dogs and other companion animals. Robyn has given demonstrations and lectures at various venues including Spruce Meadows; Equitana USA and Australia; APDT Australia Conferences; CAPPDT Conference in Saskatchewan, Veterinary Schools and Conferences; International Humane Society Conference in Vienna and Murdoch University in Perth.
Robyn has also written and published several TTouch related publications to enhance the ongoing development and refinement of the Tellington TTouch Method including; “All Wrapped Up: For Pets”, “All Wrapped Up: For Horses”, “All Wrapped Up: For You”, and “Harnessing Your Dog’s Perfection”.
In early 2020, Robyn launched a range of online learning courses for people to learn the Tellington Method for dogs including courses towards becoming a TTouch practitioner.
Robyn’s fun, skillful and detailed oriented teaching style makes her a sought after instructor at trainings all over the world, helping people and their animals enhance their relationship through improved communication and understanding.
Dr. Nanci Richards, DVM, is a large animal veterinarian and owner of Eastern Prairie Veterinary Service located in Illinois, USA. Nanci’s veterinary passion lies with camelids, and she spends as much of her practice time on their medicine as possible. As a mobile vet, she travels multiple states and works with Old World and New World Camelid owners and breeders to assist with overall animal and herd health. This includes veterinary procedures but also consideration of proper animal handling and management.
Nanci has owned camelids since 2004 and her focus when becoming a veterinarian, after a previous 20- year career in agriculture, was on camelid physiology, pathology, and reproduction as she wanted to help fill the void of species-specific knowledge in the veterinary community.
Since meeting Marty McGee Bennett in 2009, Nanci has attended several CAMELIDynamics clinics and is a CAMELIDynamics Consultant, using these techniques on her own herd and with veterinary patients. She participates in the CAMELIDynamics Guild Forum as a veterinary consultant. Nanci has also been a co-author with Marty authoring a chapter for the veterinary journal Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, entitled “Camelid Wellness”.
A homeschool mother of four, Cindy and her husband Mike live on McFarland’s Farm with Cindy’sparents, Don & Sue McFarland, in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Since 1995, their three generation farm hasworked hard to make a positive impact within their family, their community and the lama industry.With a degree in Interior Design, Cindy is an avid fiber enthusiast. She is an ILR Llama Fleece Judge,an ALSA Llama and Alpaca Fleece Judge and an ALSA Llama Fleece Judge Instructor. This is Cindy’s 26th year the advisor of Llamas-R-Us 4-H Club. She is the Superintendent of the Hartford Fair Open Llama & Alpaca Show, and a certified Camelidynamics Senior Consultant.
Julie Taylor-Browne came to alpaca farming after a career in social policy in the UK. Finding out very quickly that handling alpacas was not as easy as everyone had said it would be, she gratefully stumbled across Marty McGee Bennett and Camelidynamics in the early 90’s. Many trips to the US later she qualified in both Camelidynamics and Tellington Touch and her camelids (she had llamas as well by then) miraculously become calmer and better trained.
Many years of teaching Camelidynamics clinics in many countries led Julie to understand that not only was she getting older and creakier, but that people found it difficult to move, breath and relax whilst working with their camelids. Fortunately, a four year training programme in the Feldenkrais Method in London in 2011 was about to start. Fast forward to 2022 and she now has a thriving Feldenkrais practice in Cornwall, England whilst still having about 30 alpacas and llamas - some habits are harder to change.
This session will illustrate how our own habits and tensions prevent us from being the best Camelid handler we could be. Moshe Feldenkrais said ‘If you know what you do, you can do what you want’. We will look at how we can become aware and how can we change? Join in this session and learn how to: “Make the impossible possible, the possible easy, the easy elegant.”
Nina Faust admits falling in love with alpacas after seeing an alpaca TV ad. A year later in 2004, she bought two 1 1/2 year-old males. Unable to find much information online, she finally found Camelidynamics, a perfect fit for how she wanted to treat her boys. Simultaneously, a clicker training class was offered in Homer, Alaska, where she lives. She says, “Camelidynamics and Clicker Training are a dynamic duo of training techniques for teaching my alpacas everything, from husbandry needs to enrichment games. I was committed to filling these two alpacas’ lives with all sorts of fun activities.”
She created ways to engage them daily in fun activities from toys and agility exercises, to competitive games, and off-lead winter treasure hunt walks. That sometimes difficult toenail trimming task became the “Alpaca Toenail Parlor” where her boys let her trim toenails solo without restraint. In 2014, she got her dog, Chipper, creating enriching challenges for all three animals. As a lifelong teacher and learner, all of this was a way to engage her professional skills.
Nina, retired from teaching English and Mathematics, is an avid hiker, self-taught naturalist, photographer, writer, and conservation activist. Nina has spent more than 14 years filming and making videos of Homer's Sandhill Cranes and her alpacas, all published on Youtube and Vimeo. Animal behavior continues to be one of her passionate interests. Using footage from her alpaca videos, she will take you through the journey of enriching the lives of her “Poos.”
Victoria used to be a full time paramedic but found her heart stolen when she took delivery of three pregnant alpacas. That was in 2009 and it took a further 7 years before she could say that alpacas and llamas became her full time job.
When Victoria entered the world of camelids, she found Camelidynamics almost immediately, enrolling in basic and advanced courses in very quick succession that year, finally gaining Senior Consultant status.
As a paramedic, Victoria studied to became a counsellor, working with staff members suffering from stress and trauma, also medical practise. Having achieved Consultant status, it occurred to her that there was a great deal of synergy between working with humans in emotional turmoil and working with alpacas using the Camelidynamics approach. So she created Camelid Connection, the training and therapy arm of SimplyAlpaca.
Her field of interest currently is exploring the world of human alpaca interaction within the context of animal assisted activity and therapy. Currently there is very little in the arena about the effects of working with alpacas, so it was Victoria’s aim to create an educational course highlighting to owners and therapists what needs to be considered from both human and animal perspectives before embarking on programme development and implementation.
Jane Lee Rankin is a farmer and founder of Apple Hill Farm, an award-winning first-generation farm in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. In 2021, the farm team led over 1,670 educational walking tours of the farm.
How’d the farm get born? In 2001, Lee Rankin found herself in a corner. Having recently fought breast cancer, she was a solo mom with a toddler in Kentucky and what felt like very few options. Her family didn’t support her. Her health had told her the future wasn’t guaranteed and society didn’t offer a clear path for her to soar. What better time to start a mountaintop farm in the high country of North Carolina? Armed only with a dream and a toddler, Lee marched into Banner Elk, North Carolina to open an alpaca farm.
Today, Apple Hill Farm is an agritourism destination for thousands every year who tour, shop, and learn about raising a farm family of animals, how to raise fiber animals, and how to start a farm. She speaks frequently as a first-generation woman farmer on topics of alpacas, agritourism, entrepreneurship, and the benefits of diversifying your farm portfolio. She consults with farms and teaches a class titled Agritourism Works! Using the analogy of setting your ‘agritourism table’, she takes participants through examples and exercises to develop a unique vision of what to offer visitors when they open their farm to the public.
Jane Lee Rankin is a farmer and founder of Apple Hill Farm, an award-winning first-generation farm in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. In 2021, the farm team led over 1,670 educational walking tours of the farm.
How’d the farm get born? In 2001, Lee Rankin found herself in a corner. Having recently fought breast cancer, she was a solo mom with a toddler in Kentucky and what felt like very few options. Her family didn’t support her. Her health had told her the future wasn’t guaranteed and society didn’t offer a clear path for her to soar. What better time to start a mountaintop farm in the high country of North Carolina? Armed only with a dream and a toddler, Lee marched into Banner Elk, North Carolina to open an alpaca farm.
Today, Apple Hill Farm is an agritourism destination for thousands every year who tour, shop, and learn about raising a farm family of animals, how to raise fiber animals, and how to start a farm. She speaks frequently as a first-generation woman farmer on topics of alpacas, agritourism, entrepreneurship, and the benefits of diversifying your farm portfolio. She consults with farms and teaches a class titled Agritourism Works! Using the analogy of setting your ‘agritourism table’, she takes participants through examples and exercises to develop a unique vision of what to offer visitors when they open their farm to the public.
5:30 AM ESTMarty McGee Bennett 6:00 AM ESTThe world has discovered what we have all known for a long time. Llamas and alpacas are incredible! There are llama gummies, alpaca pajamas and stuffed animals that don’t seem to be one or the other. If you are an owner, breeder, veterinarian, shearer, packer add the designation and knowledge that comes with being a Camelidynamics Consultant to your resume! If you want to offer training to your customers or you want to teach training clinics featuring CAMELIDynamics techniques… you could benefit from certification as a Camelidynamics Consultant or CAMELIDynamics Senior Consultant. In this talk I will go over the program the learning process, the skills required and the cost.
Marty McGee Bennett 7:30AM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and Lounge where you can speak with representatives, speakers and CAMELIDynamics consultants
8:00 AM ESTThis talk is aimed at alpaca and llama owners who have an interest in working with their animals in Animal Assisted Interventions. As public awareness of the benefits of animal-assisted interventions increases this presentation will give an insight into what is required to ensure a consistent, responsible and safe approach to these interventions for the benefit of both human and camelid participants.
Victoria Barrett 9:30AM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
10:00 AM ESTWe will learn by looking at farms who have opened for Agritourism. Like farming of any kind, opening our farms to visitors is a creative process and there are no right answers, just different ways with different results. Instead of focusing on the end result, we will delve into how to set our ‘Agritourism Table’, by building a table with 4 strong legs or elements. Inspired with a unique farm vision and direction, the next steps will flow naturally.
We will talk about the nuts and bolts of how to build a strong agritourism endeavor based on safety, integrity and solid business practices and have time for questions and answers.
Lee Rankin 11:30AM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
1:00 PM ESTThis talk is an overview of four fundamental topics in animal behavior consulting and training. They are 1) “The Significance of Science” to our work as behavior-change practitioners. 2) How the different science perspectives represent different questions of interest and so, our “Model Matters.” 3) The importance of “Functional Assessment” for problem solving and intervention design. 4) The relevance of the least intrusive procedure to “Ethical Considerations.”
Dr. Susan Friedman 2:30PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
3:00 PM ESTHaving companion alpacas is a serious commitment, just like having a family dog. Learning to care for, train, and just spend time with them is a journey of self-discovery and an adventure in animal/human interaction revealing the alpacas’ personality, temperament, intelligence, fears, and needs. Nina will share her 15-year journey with her companion animals as she found creative ways to engage them daily with toys, games, on-site adventures, and to make working with them easier when doing needed care or vet visits. Join her on her memorable adventures living, learning, and loving these amazing animals.
Nina Faust 4:30 PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
5:00 PM ESTJoin Marty and Robyn for a discussion of training terms and scientific terms and how they are used AND abused! Desensitization, Flooding, A Discussion of Terms and Words we use to describe training…. you may be surprised about what these words really mean.
Marty McGee Bennet Robyn Hood 6:30 PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
7:00 PM ESTLet’s talk kids, families and camelids! When we incorporate the methods of CAMELIDynamics into our youth programs, we are building an efficient, kind and respectful foundation that will be a positive influence on the kids AND the camelid industry for years to come. Whether a child visits your farm one time for a hike with their family, weekly for 4-H or they are your own kids/grandkids who are around your animals regularly, this presentation is for you. We will learn ways to introduce kids and camelids, types of youth programs, the benefits of offering youth activities on your farm and how CAMELIDynamics is key to the success of your program.
Cindy Ruckman 8:30 PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
9:00 PM ESTIf you are looking to improve the relationship you have with your llama or alpaca, look no further than the way you catch him. The corner-grab-hold approach may seem like a simple accepted approach and not very important. To your animal it is a VERY big deal. In this presentation you will learn WHY this common approach to catching is so dysfunctional and about the science that supports this approach. Learn simple alternatives that create a profound difference in the relationship you have with your animals.
Marty McGee Bennett 5:30 AM ESTMarty McGee Bennett 6:00 AM ESTThe Berserk Male Syndrome, The Aberrant Male Syndrome…Maybe a better name for it is The Novice Handler Syndrome. What is aggression? How does problem behavior start? Is it a genetic tendency? Does that matter? Is it only males? Can it be fixed? For over 35 years I have been consulting with people about problematic potentially dangerous behavior in camelids. In this talk I will share with you what I have learned about what the problem actually is, how you recognize that you might have a problem and how to change the dynamic.
Marty McGee Bennett 7:30AM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
8:00 AM ESTThis session will illustrate how our own habits and tensions prevent us from being the best Camelid handler we could be. Moshe Feldenkrais said ‘If you know what you do, you can do what you want’. We will look at how we can become aware and how can we change? Join in this session and learn how to: “Make the impossible possible, the possible easy, the easy elegant.”
Julie Taylor-Browne Ph.D FG(UK) 9:30AM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
10:00 AM ESTAs camelid owners you provide food, water, shelter, proper care, and enrichment for them. As a participant in CAMELIDynamics you embrace the idea of respectful handling while spending time with your animals. But have you thought about how to set up the proper environment for when your veterinarian comes to visit? Today we will talk about some of the things you can do before your vet arrives and help during the visit to minimize the withdrawals from the trust account with your camelids.
Dr. Nanci Richards 11:30AM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
12:00 PM ESTNegative reinforcement is a bit like a train wreck: You know you should maintain speed and drive past, but you just can’t help slowing down to satisfy your curiosity. Recent interest in basic research on negative reinforcement sets the occasion to check our understanding of why animals need trainers who support the least intrusive principle for selecting behavior-change procedures. In this presentation we will 1) examine the rational for a hierarchy of behavior-change procedures according to the least intrusive principle, 2) consider its impact on animal welfare and trainers' skills, and 3) address concerns with the adoption of this ethical guideline as it applies to the animal training profession.
Dr. Susan Friedman 2:00 PM ESTLinda Tellington-Jones has been a force in the animal world for decades. Her intuitive approach to working with animals would be amazing if she were the only one who could do it, but she can teach you too! In this session learn how the TTouch came to be and how it has evolved to encompass not only horses but all animals and humans too. Learn about specific TTouches for llamas and alpacas. Learn about using the playground of higher learning with your llamas and alpacas and why it is such a powerful way to connect with your camelids.
Linda Tellington Jones PhD (H) 3:30 PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
5:00 PM ESTFor over 25 years the Tellington TTouch Method has incorporated many unique, simple, low-stress exercises and techniques that look to offer an animal novel or new experiences. TTouch Bodywraps, various leading exercises and other components of the method give the nervous system new information in a non-threatening way; allowing for new, more functional habits, increased relaxation and enhanced cooperation.
Robyn Hood 6:30 PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
7:00 PM ESTShearing season is just around the corner and whether this is your first time shearing, or your 20th time, there is typically a level of anxiety that comes with Shearing Day! Organizing your upcoming shearing day can be one of the best ways to avoid unnecessary stress.
My name is Tracy and I am a Camelidynamics consultant, I have been working with llamas and alpacas for over 20 years. I've shorn thousands of animals, and from a shearer's perspective, I hope to offer you some valuable information, insights and tools in helping you create an environment that is kind, safe, efficient and possibly even fun for you, your animals and your shearer. I realize how important it is to find a good shearer, They are out there! But more importantly, you want to find a good shearer and keep them for years to come. There were a few shearing days that I do not wish to repeat and most of the time it was the result of a lack of organization that led to wasted time and frustration. Shearers are on a tight schedule and wasted time is not only hard on them, but on the animals too.
"I regret organizing my closet" said NO ONE EVER!
Tracy Annis 8:30 PM ESTVisit the exhibit hall and click on chat to initiate a conversation with reps. Visit Lounge and talk to our consultants
9:00 PM ESTThe Problem with Weight is NOT Losing it! 13 Years Ago I was invited to teach llama and alpaca handling on a cruise ship. No problem really, I teach with inflatable training aids all the time but this time I would be in a bathing suit! I did what I did over and over in my life I went on a diet. But this time I discovered something that would change my life… I would figure out the secret to maintaining a healthy weight. Losing weight is hard it requires sacrifice but people lose weight successfully ALL the time. I lost 30-40 pounds over and over again— it is maintaining a weight loss, as it turns out, that is much harder. Maintaining a specific weight is a completely different process and mind set and the reason that so many people are unsuccessful is that they don’t understand how to do it. I lost 40 pounds when I went on that cruise and I have kept it off for 13 years- all the while traveling eating out socializing and not spending hours and hours in the gym! AND believe it or not it has everything to do with training llamas and alpacas.
Marty McGee Bennett
