hurt goat feelings?

[agnes_day]

my goats are great...but they keep trying to sit in my lap! if i try and get them off they act all hurt and end up leaning on me and refusing to budge. how can i get them to give me a little bit of space outside without making them feel bad?

 

[Chirpy]

Yup - you have perfectly normal goats. First - you have to be boss.. don't let those little whiners fool you into thinking that you've hurt their feelings (well, you have but that's Ok, they'll get over it). If you are working with kids then decide from day one if they will be allowed to be on your lap when they are adults. If not (you don't want a 150 lb. Alpine trying to sit on your lap!) then NEVER allow them on your laps as kids. If they are already older then you need to enforce the no lap/no rubbing on you rule EVERY TIME they try. Gently but sternly move them away when they try. NEVER push on a goats head. If they have a collar use that to move them away, or you can move them away by pushing against their bodies and use your voice to enforce it.

I've not had to 'retrain' a goat from this behavior so hopefully someone who has had that experience will chime in and give you better, first hand experience.

 

[Chatychick]

Good luck ...my bottle babies think I'm momma and thats where they stay...I just dont sit down when in the goat pens...Mine love to chew on my clothes and even my shoelaces...I have had goats for years and they are just curious and want to have love and kisses...also they love to see if it tastes good too...I have some that bite and some that dont...good luck

 

[dixygirl]

My bottle baby keeps trying to nibble on the wires of my charger of my laptop.
I give him a SERIOUS tap on the nose with a finger immediately. Better that he learns the cords are a no no than bite it and get shocked!

If it were me, I would let them jump on my lap and pet them!!!
Why don't you want to pet your goats ?

 

[agnes_day]

see thats the weird thing...they were really skittish when i got them..and they arent little anymore!

they are 5 and 6 months old now.
they also love going for walks around the neighborhood now too..they are like dogs in goat clothing or something.
oh i love petting them..i pet them constantly..brush them..take them on walks and to the store with me..trust me, they get tons of attention from me. its just a pain when you have this heavy goat trying to jump into your lap when you sit down.

 

[PotterWatch]

All our goats like to try and chew on us, but our favorite one (Tonks), thinks she is a lap goat. That was fine when she was smaller, but she is getting heavy and those hooves hurt! It would be ok if she would jump up and then lay down in our laps to be petted, but she wants to stay standing so that she makes sure we reach all the good spots, lol. We have started pushing her down and I think she is getting the message. One of my does, Bella, tries to punish me if I push her away by chewing on my clothes (it really does seem as if she is doing it to try and punish me, lol), I just give her collar a tug so that she can't reach, or if she is behind me, I put a hand under her chin and push her away. Don't worry about hurting their feelings. They will get over it. Eventually they will learn to give you some space (I think...).

 

[agnes_day]

Quote:
maybe if they were still little..i dont think you would like my big girl jumping on you haha!

 

[Chatychick]

Well I have a 100 lb plus bottle wether that I raised and he is very demanding and when he trys to get his way I just pinch his ear...goats bite each others ears to correct each other or when they are in their way. If they try to jump on you just pinch the ear...they get the message after a few pinches. Mine get a thump or pinch ever once in a while. Yes it hurts when they are over 100 lbs...these are large type goats and the smaller type like my Nigis hurt also when they jump on you. They get over it pretty quick. Sometimes you can just move their heads and give a puch and they will go on...Their attention gets redirected to something else.
Yes with my bigger type goats I have to correct my DH about the bad habits he causes and then I have to correct them as he wont. Its better to stop the habit before it starts. Most forget that the cute little babies will be big soon and still want to do what they do when they were little.

 

[Goat_Walker]

If one goat was in my lap the other would butt her out and take her place, as if she were queen. Not sure what to tell you to make them stop, I like having goats in my lap , hehe xD

 

[MissCluck]

hee hee! This is why I love goats! The stinkers!

Once again, my naughty La Mancha brothers are the ones that want to "snuggle". They are over a year old now and they were bottle fed so of course they want to sit on my lap.

We compromise when they are being good boys and I sit on a bench and they come up and lay over my lap and get a hug (one at a time!). If they do any kind of head tossing or naughty behavior (they are horned) then we end the snuggle session.

I kind of like it. I have to approach my other goats to get a hug. They all like it but the La Mancha boys are special.