5 Tips on How to Choose a Camel Trainer

I remember how much it sucked in school when you couldn’t choose your teachers to learn from. One year you could be thanking your lucky stars the next you want to quit school. Truth be it we don’t learn well when we don’t resonate with our teachers. There has to be a personality match somewhere and also similar values to life. For this is what shapes us as human beings and this is also what shapes camel's and their behaviour.

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It's hard to find someone you resonate with to be your camel trainer and or mentor to assist you learning to train your camel, because camel trainers can be numbered and are a limited breed it's easy to simply get information from anyone you can if they've been involved with camels, even if it’s the slightest bit of contact. But, just like raising children you want to make sure this is a good start for you (as the parent) and the child (the camel).

To find a mentor that you can relate to is like sitting on a gold mine. We all learn best when we find that connection and resonance with our teacher or mentor. No one learns properly from someone they don't relate to.

Sometimes this can mean similar stories of their life, or particular characteristic, admiration or sometimes just an 'all roads lead to this path' type of situation (gut instinct).

When a camel enters your life it’s very soon after you realize that they are not like any other animal you’ve had,besides the obvious things, their nature and instincts are different to any other animal. You realise you need help and you need is A.S.A.P so Dr Google to the rescue and the 'Camel Training' search begins. You might find something you're looking for or you might be certain that any camel trainer is a good camel trainer for you and your camel, which isn't true, but  is an easy thing to do since they are few and far between.

Being camel trainers ourselves we are not a retail store. We don’t serve everyone. We don’t help and train everyone. We’ve turned people down before and told them that we can't help them because it was clear that they did not have the camel’s best interest at heart. We simply and physically cannot help people like this, it's against all our values. We’re not interested in their money (regardless if they are offer to pay ‘double’ the price). It’s not in our nature. The camel’s best interest is close to our hearts. We believe that camels are not ‘just’ an animal, they, like us, also have a spirit to nurture and connect with. Russell often says “they are like us, just with a different costume on”. And, if we don't stand for something then we don't stand for anything. This is what you need to keep in mind and investigate when choosing a camel trainer for yourself.

5 TIPS TO CHOOSE A CAMEL TRAINER/MENTOR

1. Make sure their actions meet their words. Research the trainer. Get feedback from others who have experienced the trainer.

Like any industry there are camel trainers willing to 'compete' to gain clients. This can result in cheaper rates to get more clientele. Looking for authenticity and consistency in their wording and actions is a good way to judge. Don't rush it. Just because someone appears well presented on social media channels it's doesn't mean they are all they say. Do some cross checking between the camel trainer and their website and look for consistency in their wording and camel training style.

2. Call the potential trainer and ‘interview’ them as you would for choosing a school for your child.

What sort or trainer do you want? Do you want to be mentored or would you prefer for someone else to train your camel? We're advocates of training YOU - the camel owner and handler, to us that makes complete sense, but not everyone want to do the hard work. You need to be clear on how involved you want to be with your camels training, how much you want to understand them and to what lengths you'll go to get there.

3. Use your gut instincts - they never lie!

I learnt this from a mentor of mine when trying to decide on hiring someone. If it's not a "Hell Yes" then it's a "Hell No". People are nice  and willing to give you what your looking for if you'll pay, but having a camel training is like hiring good staff, you'll call on them often so you not only need to like them, but if you can't imagine yourself having a drink with them at a bar and eating french fries, then it's a "Hello No".

4. Ask or research on the camel trainers website what their core values are as trainers and compare it to other trainers you come across.

Do the camel trainers care enough to have great and detailed information on their website that answers all your questions about their camel training style? If its not clear on their training style then you'll be just wining it "hoping for the best". Every camel trainer and mentor has their own method and unique style of training, if their website doesn't say it, then call them and ask. Way too often new camel owners take the first trainer that appears on Google thinking that there is only one way to train camels. There's not one way to train a camel. And you need to find YOUR way that you're comfortable with and that's doable for you when you're not under instruction.

5. Speak to them over the phone. Get an idea of who they are and what they can offer. It may or may not be a personality match.

Going back on point number 3. It's so important you LIKE your camel trainer or camel mentor, because your camel will pick up on it too (like dogs do).  Get the camel trainer to explain how they train camels in their own words and how they would address challenging behaviours in a camel. If they're not willing to answer or think you're interrogating them then they are a NO GO!

Again, it’s so important to follow your gut instincts. If it doesn’t feel right keep searching!