AndreaS
Chillin' with the herd
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2010
- Messages
- 15
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- 5
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- 29
Hello everyone!
Yesterday we got our first goats. They are Nigerian Dwarf X Pygmy. Very cute. The Momma is 5 years old and the little buckling is 2 months. They came from a farm that has Corgis. Before we even went out to see them, I asked the girl who was selling them how they do with dogs and she said they were fine. When we went out, their dogs were inside the house so I did not get to witness this myself.
We have 2 dogs, an older Beagle (Sammy, 20lbs) and a 40lb Mutt, Ellen. They are both extremely well behaved dogs. They leave our cats and chickens alone, and they are afraid of our neighbors cows. We've never even had them kill a squirrel or possum, and they aren't into chasing. The beagle is mainly interested in eating the poop of whatever new animal comes around
We got the goats settled in last night in the little gated shelter my husband built for them and hand fed them for awhile to help them get used to us. This morning I brought the dogs out, one at a time so they could smell the goats and see each other through the gate. The dogs both did fine, they didn't even bark- but- Star (Momma goat) was not pleased. She kept head butting the gate when I would bring the dogs by.
Of course I understand that there is a natural predator/prey dynamic at play here, and she will be protective of her baby. I am not worried in the slightest about my dogs causing any harm to the goats, or even bothering them or harassing them like some other dogs might do....I am more worried about Star head butting my dogs and actually hurting them. She is not polled.
I do not intend to just throw them together haphazardly or anything like that. With all of our animals, we always go for very gradual introduction processes with lots of praise and treats involved. I was just wondering if you guys have any tips to help ease the process. Being new to the whole goat thing, I don't have a good handle on what makes them feel safe.
I'll attach a picture below, since I know how we all love pics! it's not very good- this was taken last night when we got them settled in. It was dark, and the little guy was moving around a lot.
Thanks in advance for any helpful advice you can give! - Andrea
Yesterday we got our first goats. They are Nigerian Dwarf X Pygmy. Very cute. The Momma is 5 years old and the little buckling is 2 months. They came from a farm that has Corgis. Before we even went out to see them, I asked the girl who was selling them how they do with dogs and she said they were fine. When we went out, their dogs were inside the house so I did not get to witness this myself.
We have 2 dogs, an older Beagle (Sammy, 20lbs) and a 40lb Mutt, Ellen. They are both extremely well behaved dogs. They leave our cats and chickens alone, and they are afraid of our neighbors cows. We've never even had them kill a squirrel or possum, and they aren't into chasing. The beagle is mainly interested in eating the poop of whatever new animal comes around
We got the goats settled in last night in the little gated shelter my husband built for them and hand fed them for awhile to help them get used to us. This morning I brought the dogs out, one at a time so they could smell the goats and see each other through the gate. The dogs both did fine, they didn't even bark- but- Star (Momma goat) was not pleased. She kept head butting the gate when I would bring the dogs by.
Of course I understand that there is a natural predator/prey dynamic at play here, and she will be protective of her baby. I am not worried in the slightest about my dogs causing any harm to the goats, or even bothering them or harassing them like some other dogs might do....I am more worried about Star head butting my dogs and actually hurting them. She is not polled.
I do not intend to just throw them together haphazardly or anything like that. With all of our animals, we always go for very gradual introduction processes with lots of praise and treats involved. I was just wondering if you guys have any tips to help ease the process. Being new to the whole goat thing, I don't have a good handle on what makes them feel safe.
I'll attach a picture below, since I know how we all love pics! it's not very good- this was taken last night when we got them settled in. It was dark, and the little guy was moving around a lot.
Thanks in advance for any helpful advice you can give! - Andrea