Training Camels: How to Turn Fear into connection with Camels

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think “camel”? “Big”, “large,” even “intimidating” maybe?

I love the story of when a mob (or clan) of Australian Aboriginals saw a camel for the first time – (once the government ‘employed’ the camels and their handlers to help ‘open up the outback’).

The Aboriginals thought they were seeing a spirit, and a very bad one at that. This animal-like ‘thing’ was like a horse, but it had some sort of growth on its back – ‘maybe another head,’ they thought. ‘This has got to be bad news!’

It had a kangaroo-like head, but its feet were like nothing else.

The Aborigines were scared, and for all good reasons too! Although this story has been told over and over and the details vary depending on who you speak with, the message was clear – the camel was a creature to be feared.

In Bedouin tribes, they are brought up to ‘fear the camel’ as they are a powerful creature.

Maybe even Aunt Maggie went to Egypt once and reported how cantankerous these vile creatures were, even though she continued on her safari with them – go figure.

In Australia, nowadays, camels are officially classed as pests by the government. It’s no wonder the poor camel has a bad rap! I spoke about this topic in Episode number 15.

The reason anything is feared is because 9 times out of 10, it’s misunderstood and therefore something to be feared.

Why doesn’t everyone own a dog? Because not everyone understands dogs, but those of us that have a dog know they are one of the greatest companions you’ll ever have.

Most people can’t understand why I live and breathe camels. The look on their faces shows signs of disbelief that anyone can ‘love’ such a cantankerous or ‘temperamental’ animal.

You might be able to relate?

What’s the first question I get from those who don’t know camelids? “Oh, don’t they spit on you all the time?” People will ask this while standing directly in front of one of my camels… I’m sure you can relate!

So why do camels have such a bad rap on their reputation?

Camels will only ever display their spitting, biting, growling, and the like when they are scared.

Side note here: camels actually don’t ‘spit’ with their saliva; they involuntarily vomit when they are scared, nervous, or unsure about a situation (each camel varies). You probably know or have heard of someone who starts to feel sick and they involuntarily vomit when they feel nervous? Well, a camel is no different.

After many years working with a variety of different camels, from dromedary (one hump) to Bactrian (two humps), from camels straight out of the wild to hand-raised camels, they all have one thing in common.

They are all hanging on a fine line of nervousness...

They have this natural instinct in not being able to regulate their fear like a human would.

When fear arrives, so too can all the external ways of showing it (like vomiting, biting, sitting down with no intention to get up – ever!).

Camels are one of the most sensitive creatures I’ve ever met.

I became a horse trainer after leaving school – I created my own take on natural horsemanship. Horses also have a ton of fear and fight, flight, but they will see it and run for the hills. Camels are different in that it’s often hard to pinpoint when they are in fear (as they seem very aloof), but it will always get to a point where they feel like their fear has frozen them, and they will ‘fight’ – kicking, vomiting, sitting down, you get the point…

I’ll let you in on a secret: the more gentle you are with a camel, the better they will respond and the faster the results will be.

Now, this isn’t something I found off Google (because you won’t find it, except on my website), this is my tried, tested, and proven method that works! Even if a camel is seemingly aggressive, they are only doing it in defense.

My job, with the owner/handler (as a rule, I don’t train camels, I train their owner/handler, the reason is obvious), is to break down all the fears, all the barriers, and have a good heart-to-heart with the camel.

So, what does training a gentle giant like a camel look like?

It looks like two best friends who have just had a misunderstanding.

They want to try and understand what has happened between themselves because of the love they have for one another. So, obviously, when I run my camel clinics or people take my online courses, the goal is to get the owner/handler to love the camel like a good friend. This is not a hard thing to do, but I do get people who just want to handle and train the camel, but by the end of their time with me… They are in love and they ‘get it.’

So, love is first (the easy part).

Then there is connection.

Love and connection are two different things, as connection comes with different personality traits.

The idea of connection is building trust between two beings – the camel and the human.

I’ve worked with camels for a long time, and there is no camel I’ve skipped this step with – no matter how experienced with humans the camel is.

This is the make-or-break point because without trust with a camel, what’s left?

Fear and only fear.

Camels crave connection.

You only have to observe their herd behavior to understand that they truly value connection, a strong bond, and trust within their herd. The goal when training and handling a camel is to be a trusted, connected, and well-bonded herd member with a leader mentality.

That’s another thing you’ll always see in herds of camels: leaders.

A mentor, someone the camel can look up to, and it’s usually the older camels. As a camel owner and handler, your goal is to become this as soon as a halter is put on and/or near them by giving instructions. Sure, they’ll test the relationship – just like they do with their elders – but mostly it’s just bluff, which leads us into the next point.

When a camel bites, spits (vomits), kicks, etc., I hate to disappoint, but it’s mostly bluff, and they’ll usually almost never go through with it, unless you really don’t get the point or the camel has a sense that humans cannot be trusted – I met a bull (intact male camel) like this once. It was really sad, but he just couldn’t get past his ‘past issues,’ and fair enough for him too!

Camels are incredibly patient creatures, and like elephants, they never forget.

Before a camel bites, vomits, kicks, etc., there are always warning signs, and it’s often in their eyes. It takes time, invested skill, and a sense of intuition to pick up on warning signs before they ‘level up’ to more physical demonstrations – hence the importance of connection, what I call Camel Connection.

After a solid Camel Connection has been formed and trust has been built upon, only then do I ask the camels to do things.

I use the word ‘ask’ for good reason because if I implemented force, we’d be back at square one in an instant – a camel filled with fear.

In my training courses, a big chunk of that time is spent forming a connection and building trust, almost 2 days of it. But you know, by the second half of day two and day three, they are putty in our hands – like [really] big puppies!

Within days, using my Calm CamelTraining, I’ll have a camel sitting on command and walking on lead out in the bush, 100% looking to their new handler for comfort and trust.

The process always seems like a miracle to me, even though I’ve seen it time and time again. The camel's intelligence never ceases to amaze me.

Camels are incredible animals, and I believe that everyone should have the chance to experience their magic – even just once in their lifetime!

So, you can see the advantage of this kind of training and handling method – it works with the camel’s natural instincts and abilities to have a large animal manageable and as a great, long-term companion animal – don’t tell my dogs that!

I offer in-home camel training courses and special camel training camps in Australia and internationally too. If you want to find out more about experiencing the Calm Camel Training Method, you can get more info on me and my training and other services HERE

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