Goats (pictures, stories, tips, etc.)

[res]

Lead training serves no purpose other than if you need to move them around between pastures, to the barn, milking stand, etc.

If you want to take an animal on walks, I hear dogs are great for that.

.... They will never walk perfectly, as it is not in a goat's nature to, but at least you can get them to move.

Wow...

Complete opposite experience we have had....

Ours walk BETTER than most dogs. They don't pull... If we run, they run. If we stop, they stop. They are a blast to walk around, we love walking them. There are also people that HIKE with goats, and have the goats carry some of the gear. We have goats at the therapeutic riding center I work at, and they get walked all over the place, too - sometimes being led by wheelchair bound kids.

I just took one of my big "momma" goats to the vet clinic for some wound repair surgery. She walked into and out of and all over the clinic perfectly, and got tons of comments from other pet owners that they wished their dog behaved as well.

There is no reason why an owner should be discouraged from walking their "pet" goat.

 

[waddles99]

Wow...

Complete opposite experience we have had....

Ours walk BETTER than most dogs. They don't pull... If we run, they run. If we stop, they stop. They are a blast to walk around, we love walking them. There are also people that HIKE with goats, and have the goats carry some of the gear. We have goats at the therapeutic riding center I work at, and they get walked all over the place, too - sometimes being led by wheelchair bound kids.

I just took one of my big "momma" goats to the vet clinic for some wound repair surgery. She walked into and out of and all over the clinic perfectly, and got tons of comments from other pet owners that they wished their dog behaved as well.

There is no reason why an owner should be discouraged from walking their "pet" goat.

Personal experience I guess. I have never seen or walked a perfect goat. I show them....thats why I lead train them. In the show ring judges will ask showmen to swap goats, so I have the opportunity to walk other people's goats. As well as sometimes walking others goat's for miscellaneous purposes. All of them pull, it is not in a goats nature to walk around perfectly while a human tugs at their neck. The closest goat to perfect was a senior dairy doe shown by a very experienced showman. Probably has been worked with a couple times a week for the past 4 years. She walked nicely, sometimes pulled back on the lead, but that didn't matter. My point is, your goats seem to be an exception. Goats aren't "fun" to walk around for everyone I know...it isn't a recreational activity, its a chore. Showing is fun, of course, but only because it is more than just walking around. Next thing you know people will be saying they enjoy hoof trimming, or stall mucking...

 

[res]

We show, too, though we have never been in or witnessed a class where we are asked to swap goats. We show Boers, so maybe it is a difference in Boer vs. Dairy. But I can say that EVERY meat goat at the show DOES walk well on a loose lead, and willingly follows. It is generally a long, long walk from the stalls to the washrack, and sometimes to the show ring, and it would be a major PITA to fight the goats all the way.

Many times, the entire show ring fence has goats tied to it, waiting for their class, and close to the ring so owners can swap out. If they didn't tolerate pressure on their necks, they wouldn't stand to be tied, they would flip out when they hit the end of the tied rope.

Meat goats HAVE to be walked in some manner for exercise to build muscles. Sometimes it is by hand, sometimes it is a "chariot" pulled by a 4-wheeler, golf cart, lawn tractor, etc. That could account for the difference between dairy and meat breed shows....

There are few meat goats that enjoy being walked in a show collar, though. Even ours balk at the show collars and the manner in which you have to lead in the show ring - you do have to keep them darn near choked.

I don't enjoy hoof trimming (goat or horses!), but I do LOVE mucking stalls... Even when I am not being paid for it. (I am a barn manager...)

 

[waddles99]

We show, too, though we have never been in or witnessed a class where we are asked to swap goats. We show Boers, so maybe it is a difference in Boer vs. Dairy. But I can say that EVERY meat goat at the show DOES walk well on a loose lead, and willingly follows. It is generally a long, long walk from the stalls to the washrack, and sometimes to the show ring, and it would be a major PITA to fight the goats all the way.

Many times, the entire show ring fence has goats tied to it, waiting for their class, and close to the ring so owners can swap out. If they didn't tolerate pressure on their necks, they wouldn't stand to be tied, they would flip out when they hit the end of the tied rope.

Meat goats HAVE to be walked in some manner for exercise to build muscles. Sometimes it is by hand, sometimes it is a "chariot" pulled by a 4-wheeler, golf cart, lawn tractor, etc. That could account for the difference between dairy and meat breed shows....

There are few meat goats that enjoy being walked in a show collar, though. Even ours balk at the show collars and the manner in which you have to lead in the show ring - you do have to keep them darn near choked.

I don't enjoy hoof trimming (goat or horses!), but I do LOVE mucking stalls... Even when I am not being paid for it. (I am a barn manager...)

I show boers too....and the judges I show under are strictly meat judges. They always ask for swapping for showmanship classes in order to see how you handle someone elses goat and then ask you about that persons goat. I.e. name the breed or what you would like to improve. Anyway, my point is that I have never walked or seen a perfect goat. They all pull on the lead. Its great that yours dont do that, but mine do and all the goats I have seen do.

You cant tell me that the goats tied up actually enjoy it. They do pull, yes. They dont flip out, but they do tug on the leads.

I dont pull my meat goat on a chariot at all. I walk him by hand. That could be why he looks like garbage. Maybe its because all he eats is pizza.

And, yes, whenever I am walking him, I use a pronged show collar. Never use a regular collar. The prongs help him move as he is stubborn. He doesn't like walking in them, and I had to get a pronged one as the regular chain ones didn't work. Thats just how it is.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I've been meaning to leash train mine but haven't gotten around to it yet. I have heard either one, but if/when I get around to it I'll probably use a collar. Just seems more comfortable for them.

I think it definitely does seem more comfortable.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

I understand it's not exactly common to walk a goat and, from both of your experiences, it seems it can either be very difficult and frustrating or easy and fun, but the reason I wanted to do it is because I want them to be able to eat more brush. We have almost 3 acres but only about an acre or acre and a half is lawn, the rest is woods and connects to neighbors woods, none of who use it, plus we have a few overgrown/weed & PI filled places on the property so I wanted to walk them around so they could have access to that. I don't want to have to fence the whole property. Can't anyway, too expensive. So it's not just because I think they're a dog or anything, I want them to be healthy and get browse. I guess I could always fence in part of it or make a movable fence or tether them but I want to go with them. Plus it's probably good to get exercise. And of course I've always thought it might be fun to walk them even a little bit down the street, would love to see people's reactions. So I suppose it might be partly like a dog ha and I do have a dog but the difference is you don't have to worry about a goat being reactive to stuff or sniffing and marking everything. My dog is pretty good but can be reactive with some dogs so hasn't been walked much so he's a little rusty with obedience but was perfect at one point. But a goat just walks. I think that if I get them as babies and work with them every day, as well as making it worthwhile for them, they could learn how to walk decently? And if they don't want to walk one day then we won't. I would never force anything or try to drag a goat along. But if I get them, I'd most likely get Nigerian Dwarfs, Boers, or a Dairy breed (around here it's mostly Alpine, Nubian, LaMancha, with a few Oberhasli and Toggenburg) and they would be mostly pets and brush clearing. I thought about does for milk but I don't really need the milk or want to go through the work of milking and cleaning it or whatever and finding a buck and homes for kids every year. So I was thinking wethers for pets and brush clearing. And to me, walking them around and even potentially training tricks is another way of interacting with them that I feel would be fun and probably would find it to be. If you don't think it would be fun or would be a chore then that's fine, personal preference, but I definitely want to at least try. But I'm not 100% set in my ways, if I find the goat doesn't enjoy it then I won't force it. And that's the thing, I really think it depends on the goat and owner. Clearly some goats love being walked and some don't. I hope to get one who does enjoy it but it's not a big deal if they don't. But I do thank everyone for the input because now I am prepared for getting a goat who may hate walking.

 

[cassie]

Lead training serves no purpose other than if you need to move them around between pastures, to the barn, milking stand, etc.

If you want to take an animal on walks, I hear dogs are great for that.

If you must, start them off on a halter so you have more mobility over them. Use a bucket of cracked corn or some treat to get them to move. No matter how frustrated you get, don't hit them or smack them. It will only make them less agreeable. When you can get them to move alright, transition over to the collar. Gradually wean them off of any treats. Keep working with them, don't let them stop, let them know you are in control. They will never walk perfectly, as it is not in a goat's nature to, but at least you can get them to move.

Really? I raised goats for many many years. ALL of my goats were trained to lead and all of them led well. It wasn't difficult to teach them either. I have no idea why you had trouble.

 

[waddles99]

Really? I raised goats for many many years. ALL of my goats were trained to lead and all of them led well. It wasn't difficult to teach them either. I have no idea why you had trouble.

Could just be my experience. But I had a big pain training my goats. If I had that much trouble I wouldn't recommend others doing it just for the purpose of walking. I remember you said you only have dairies...maybe because he's a meat goat? I dont know. But others I talk to have the same trouble. One girl told me she just smiles at the judge and drags them around the ring.

 

[cassie]

Could just be my experience. But I had a big pain training my goats. If I had that much trouble I wouldn't recommend others doing it just for the purpose of walking. I remember you said you only have dairies...maybe because he's a meat goat? I dont know. But others I talk to have the same trouble. One girl told me she just smiles at the judge and drags them around the ring.

I had Boers as well as dairy goats and they led too. I started my kids when they were young. That may have made a difference. All I can tell you is that ALL of my goats led, including the bucks, and I didn't put much time or effort into training them. They all had collars made of jack chain and they got used to being led around by their collars from a very young age.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I think it must just be different experiences and/or different goats or perhaps different methods? Whatever it is is interesting and surely not all goats are the same, just like not all dogs are the same.