How to tame goat?

[sassysarah]

Hi! I was wondering if it is possible to tame my three month goat and how?

This is him.

 

[tmelber]

He is so handsome!

Okay: I have never had a goat. But I do have extensive experience training animals professionally.

Do you know what this goat likes? Food, toys, otherwise? Make a list of what you think he likes, and what you think he LOVES.

If he doesn't come up to you, then you can start tossing him things he LOVES whenever he looks at you. If he doesn't like human voices, then don't praise him - yet. If he doesn't mind human voices then soft, quiet praise. Use the food as a reward for coming to you. Over time, you can switch to things he likes, rather than loves, but each time you move along in the process, up the reward value temporarily.

If he comes up to you but is aggressive: 1) read up on signals of aggression and stress in goats.
2) start from a distance where he can look at you without looking stressed or aggressive and toss treats. If he looks stressed you are too close.
3) slowly (very slowly- over the course of weeks) decrease the distance, always going at his speed. You want to see that he looks happy to see you (again, read up on this- don't rely on what you think *might* be happy in case you misinterpret)


That's a very generalized protocol for dealing with fear/stress/aggression that I've used in other species iwth a lot of success.

Good luck!

 

[sassysarah]

Thanks! Thank you so much for the advice! I will try giving him oats he loves those! I was giving him some the other day he came up to me but when and was eating them from my hand, but when I reached out to pet him he ran away. I just cam in from walking him on a leash I tried petting him while walking it seems to be helping. Thanks again for the advice!! Do you think it is possible he can not be tamed?!?!

 

[tmelber]

I forgot to mention how cute he is, by the way!

In my experience, every animal has its own pace. You just have to respect that. I would also sit down and think about what, exactly, "tame" means to you. Walking on a leash and accepting petting seems pretty tame to me. If you have more specific goals, then you'll want to build a positive association with those (again, at his pace- rushing things usually ends in a set back).

Happy goat training

 

[sassysarah]

Thanks! When I walk in the pen he looks at me and when I walk near him he runs away

I hope he will be tame soon! Thanks again! Goodnight!

 

[cassie]

Thanks! When I walk in the pen he looks at me and when I walk near him he runs away

I hope he will be tame soon! Thanks again! Goodnight!

You would be a lot better off not to approach him. By doing so you are frightening him. He needs to come to you. Just sitting in the pen reading a book and ignoring him would help. Truly the fastest way to tame him is to tie him up. Lead him and work with him every day. Offer him some treats but it may be a bit before he feels secure enough to take them from you.