Free's goat training attempts

[freemotion]

So Dorian, the buck, went into solitary confinement today and is out there crying his head off for his herd mates. Ginger is getting huge and clumsy and he is not bothering her yet, but I don't want to risk it so he went back into the buck pen with the almost 8' fence. Poor boy.

I may put Plummy in with him tomorrow since they were starting to pair up, but if she is pregnant, she will have to be taken away from him in June. If she isn't, well, I don't want babies to deal with when the winter temperatures are below zero, so she can't stay with him either way. I will probably keep a buckling to live with him, but that won't be for a while. Poor boy. What to do?

Cesar Milan says exercise, discipline, affection. Why not for goats as well as dogs? So his training began today.....as dh headed out for a quick walk with the dogs before we left for our teaching jobs, I grabbed a collar and leadrope and took bucky with us.

It was a hoot and a half! Although he is not trained to walk nicely on the lead (my bad) since I figured he be in freezer camp by now, he does respect the pressure on the collar and will lead roughly and safely. We did about a 15 minute walk. I let him dance around a bit on the lead, making him stay within the confines of the length of the leadrope minus a couple of feet, so he had about a six foot radius around me to work with.

He really settled down about half-way through, and it went quite well. I hope to take him out several times a week and get him leading more like a dog that heels, teaching him a few voice commands like "walk" and "whoa." If all goes well, I'll make some packs and increase his exercise level....then.....maybe....just maybe.....we will start some work in harness and ultimately he can pull a sled or cart and earn his keep in other ways. Who knows?

Gotta find some info on training goats to pack and pull. Maybe I'll rent the old version of the movie "Heidi" for ideas!

 

[Henrietta23]

Cool! I want to train Thomas for packing so I can take him on hikes with my Cub Scouts.

 

[Wannabefree]

Maybe I should teach my nag to walk with me. I'd have to walk her on the road though, but it would trim her hooves too But then there are all the dogs...watching dinner parading up and down the street would be um...a bit too tempting me thinks. Darn, and I was starting to like this idea. :/

 

[freemotion]

I did a little online research yesterday and am not sure which direction I will go in....I learned that he shouldn't do any serious work until he is 3-4 years old (fully grown) and I figured as much. But we can do a lot of training and he can carry some light packs this year.....maybe I can take him on foraging trips with the dogs and he can carry what we get....if he doesn't eat it first!

I realized today that I need to have clearer objectives when I take him out. We went on a slightly longer walk and I decided my first objectives are simply to get him used to the idea of walking on a lead and going with the dogs.

Check. Done. Goats learn FAST!

So by the end of the walk we added walking through water as there are lots of shallow snow melt puddles, and next time I will wear waterproof boots instead of my barn sneakers so I can slosh through deeper puddles with him, and maybe play in the stream.

I will continue to work on him not trying to eat things until I give him a command. This is easy now since all that is tempting to him are the xmas trees. So I brought him to where they dumped the unsold trees and gave him the command, "Foodies!" Had to think of a word that is unlike any that might come up in conversation. I used it again later when I spotted a few blades of early grass by the pond....I picked them for him and said, "Foodies!" again. He is getting that idea rather quickly, too.

The next objective is to get him to walk nicely rather than dance around on the lead. So after he is a little tired we go off the wide road and down a path between the xmas trees, where I have to keep him closer so he doesn't nibble. Those short segments of demanding better behavior seem to be just right for now.

What does the future hold for him? I'm open to suggestions. I'm trying to think of situations where I wished for a hand moving stuff and came up with spreading compost in the spring and fall, and the rare occasion when I need to move some dirt, sand, or rocks. If I can come up with a cart that holds a muck bucket, that might be just the right amount that he can carry....in a well-balanced cart, a full-grown goat should be able to pull up to twice his own weight. He is a dairy breed, Alpine, so I can't expect too much from him.

At the very least, he will be much easier to handle as he gets bigger and will have more value if/when I offer him for sale.

Meanwhile, our walks are lots of fun. Today it was me and Dorian, my two poodles off-leash, and the neighbor's yellow lab who comes with us when she is loose in their yard that we have to walk through to get to the farm. I did notice cars slowing down on the nearby busy road!

 

[justusnak]

Yup....I can see it now... a woman, her "3" dogs, and a goat...on a walk. I think him pulling some brush tied up...like clearing brush..make him pull it to his pen, where you then offer it as a treat! You know, working for his own food.
Heck, maybe fashion some sort of plow...for the garden...LOL Goats are very smart...its just that most people dont give them credit.
I saw a woman the other day, when I went to get that brooder...walking with her turkeys from the mailbox, up her drive. She had a pair of Royal Palms...my favorites!! They were following her like pups...the Tom all fanned out...show off!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Just learned last week that my personnel director's husband used a pack goat to haul firewood on a cart when he was a boy.

Dixie (my older girl) has been trained to Up (get on the stand) Down, Come and Back. They really do learn quick!

 

[freemotion]

Cool! It is snowing now and is supposed to turn to rain, so he is not getting a walk today. He cries towards the house anytime he sees movement up here....letting a dog out, getting a log for the stove, etc.

I am getting WAY too fond of him! In a way it was better when I looked at him and thought, "Can't wait for freezer camp!" when he would try to get me with those horns.

No, not really. I'm enjoying him now.

 

[mlynd]

Dose it have to be a wither or can we train does too I have two young does right now, tho they are for milk when they get bigger but why not a dual purpose

 

[freemotion]

Sure, you can train does, but I would not work a doe that was pregnant or lactating. That is her job and it takes a lot out of her. I look at my giant Ginger and she could pull a truck! But she is always either gestating or lactating so she gets a pass. If I ultimately had all does like her, I'd train them all to pack and alternate breeding them. Maybe. Isn't it fun to run your farm in your head? Then the buck climbs the fence at night and all the plans change whether you like it or not!

 

[Denim Deb]

Sure, you can train does, but I would not work a doe that was pregnant or lactating. That is her job and it takes a lot out of her. I look at my giant Ginger and she could pull a truck! But she is always either gestating or lactating so she gets a pass. If I ultimately had all does like her, I'd train them all to pack and alternate breeding them. Maybe. Isn't it fun to run your farm in your head? Then the buck climbs the fence at night and all the plans change whether you like it or not!

It's much easier to run it in your head than in RL!