# Teaching Goats Dog Tricks



## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

Has anyone taught their goats tricks? I'm curious about methods that work. I'd like to try to teach my goat their names, to walk on a leash, and to do other dog tricks. I have two goats together do they have to be separated to be trained.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I've trained many of my goats to shake hands, spin, go down on their knees and "repent", and dance on their hind legs. A couple of mine also fetch, lay down on command, jump through hoops, etc. I think all of my goats know their names, but my packgoats know them best and come when called. They also must of course walk on leashes with good manners. Clicker training works very well with goats. They are incredibly smart and well-motivated by food. They are not like dogs who are motivated to learn just for the sake of pleasing you. They are more interested in pleasing themselves so treats work very well. I separate mine to train them, but I know it's possible to work with them together once they've learned to do things individually. I haven't really worked on this, but goats in circuses learn to do tricks independently and wait patiently while another goat gets rewarded. (Mine like to hog all the treats and haven't learned to wait patiently for their turn so we don't train together much.)


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Both Destiny and Gizmo know when harnesses come out they are being taken for a walk. They know what up, down, no, yes, wait and pee mean. We are going to start taking them to yhe park to walk them there. Destiny was trained first then Gizmo. And they both know their names and nick names. Destiny is katesbes and Gizmo is Gazebo. And if they are disruptive the command to show our displeasure is stop. Loud means they are in trouble.
Destiny also knows cuddle. That is her treat for being good. But only from Chevani. If I say it she pees on my foot.
Gizmo knows scratch if he is good. On his belly. And only I can do it. Any one else tries it and he bites them.


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

@Damfino WOW! I can't wait to start training. The main thing I want to teach is leash walking, so I can walk with them casually. Do you have any tips for leash training? I don't want them to stop to eat constantly or pulling on the leash, or me having to pull them on the leash.


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

@Tanya Thank you so much for answering all the questions I have so far posted. I have never really had goats before and this is my goat's third home. I want to have a good relationship with them and give them a good life but I have no idea what I'm doing... Just trying to keep them alive for now. And I can't wait to start training! Is there an order you think I should train them in? Like their name, then to leash walk, than to lay down or something? And do you use a clicker?


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

I have Clyde leash trained he is an intact buck. He knows his name, stop, etc. He will stand up on command and like @Damfino said they are highly motivated by treats to learn but like she also pointed out, its mostly for them to get treats. 
Takes time though like a dog, but it is pretty rewarding to see what they can do. 
@Damfino how is the gang?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Kenny Battistelli said:


> @Damfino WOW! I can't wait to start training. The main thing I want to teach is leash walking, so I can walk with them casually. Do you have any tips for leash training? I don't want them to stop to eat constantly or pulling on the leash, or me having to pull them on the leash.


What size are your goats, or if they're still young, what size do you expect them to be? I have full-sized goats and my wethers top 200 lbs. and have horns. I also take them out regularly in public so it is vitally important for them to have good manners on a leash. Because my goats are so large and strong, I favor halter training. It's easy to choke a goat with a collar and it's also easy for a goat with a collar to pull me right over if he gets a mind to chase after a flower bed! A halter gives me the leverage and control I need to keep my goats by my side with minimal pulling, and it makes it easy to control the horns, which is especially important if a bunch of children decide to run up and pet my goat. My goats have never hit anyone and are very careful with their horns, but kids are the exact wrong height and a goat only has to turn his head to look at something and bash a child in the face by accident. I use halters to minimize these kinds of accidents in public.

On the other hand, if your goats are very small (Nigerian Dwarfs, Pygmies) it can be hard to find a halter that fits properly, and you may not need the extra control for a smaller, less powerful animal. I buy my halters here: 
https://www.soprisunlimited.com/halters

I start leash training by tying my goats to a fence while I brush, trim feet, etc. I might also leave them there for a while if I'm working outside where I can keep an eye on them. They soon learn to give to pressure and then it's easier to start leading them.

For training them to lead it's best to start heading toward someplace they want to go and teaching them to stay back by you instead of pulling ahead. I tug on the leash if they start to pull and when they come back to my leg I reward with a treat and a pat. If I have to take them somewhere they're reluctant to go, I pull on the leash in a series of strong tugs (not one long pull) until they move their feet. Then I reward with a treat for even a little forward movement. It doesn't take long for goats to figure out they get rewarded for staying by your side.

However, be careful never to reward them if they are mobbing you for treats! They'll figure out where your cookie pocket is and they'll start trying to get into it and will probably also start jumping on you at some point. Firmly say "NO!" and push their feet down or redirect their head. Never let them have a treat under those circumstances. Once they move away from you and start walking nicely they can have a reward. Be consistent and it won't take long for good habits to form. You can reward less and less frequently as the skill increases. Soon you'll be able to walk both your goats at once with a leash in each hand.

I can't even describe the proud feeling I get when I take a leash loosely in each hand and stroll through a park with a huge, majestic horned goat on either side. People stop and stare, some crash their bicycles, dogs go nuts, and my goats just float above it all like they are too royal to be bothered by such trifles.

Leash training is a good life skill for any goat to have. We sometimes take goats for granted because they're small enough we can physically drag them in a pinch, but it's much more pleasant for you and the goat if he comes along willingly (especially if he gets to be as big as mine are!).


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## friesian49 (Jul 2, 2018)

Mine know a couple commands, I've found it's just a matter of repetition for the girls and some kind of reward, usually food. The latest is an unspoken command, where after our walk, they go in the gate by themselves and turn around, waiting to get their apple or banana treat! Nothing will stop them now, so I just bring up the rear and enjoy them being good!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

MadCatX said:


> Takes time though like a dog, but it is pretty rewarding to see what they can do.
> @Damfino how is the gang?


The gang is good, thanks! We're in the middle of rut right now which is always pretty entertaining. Right now my girls seem to mostly prefer to be boys and it's making it difficult for the real boys to do their job. It's funny but it means I'm not sure anyone is actually getting bred! My bucks are kind of small and my big bossy girls seem more interested in frightening and bullying the boys than mating with them. Instead the girls are happily mating with each other and don't seem the least interested in entertaining the boys' advances. Twice I've separated an in-heat doe with a buck and she wouldn't have anything to do with him but was happy to stand flagging all day for the girls in her own pen! I've got one doe, Skeeter, who has decided she's the male and she keeps blubbing, swatting, snorting, mounting, and even humping away at every doe who comes into heat. The girls seem to prefer Skeeter to the real bucks so things have been rather interesting lately.

Our theme song this year is definitely _Lola_, only I call it _Rutting_: "Girls will be boys and boys will be girls. It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world because we're rutting! Rut-rut-rut-rut-rutting!"

Sorry for the off-topic but hopefully it's at least amusing.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Kenny Battistelli said:


> @Tanya Thank you so much for answering all the questions I have so far posted. I have never really had goats before and this is my goat's third home. I want to have a good relationship with them and give them a good life but I have no idea what I'm doing... Just trying to keep them alive for now. And I can't wait to start training! Is there an order you think I should train them in? Like their name, then to leash walk, than to lay down or something? And do you use a clicker?


I use a whistle. The way you do a Colly dog. Voice command and hand signals worked for me. Halter training started from a young age.
Both my goats are small so I use a medium dog halter


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

@Damfino I have Nigerian Dwarfs. Should I get a halter? Would it mess up their training if I take them on a not official walk in the woods to munch a bit and then later take them on an official walk where I don't want them to stop? I don't know if that makes sense. How long did it for your goats to get good at walking on a leash to the point where you can walk casually with them?


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## Ana (Jan 29, 2020)

This sounds awesome I might try these as well!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Kenny Battistelli said:


> @Damfino I have Nigerian Dwarfs. Should I get a halter? Would it mess up their training if I take them on a not official walk in the woods to munch a bit and then later take them on an official walk where I don't want them to stop? I don't know if that makes sense. How long did it for your goats to get good at walking on a leash to the point where you can walk casually with them?


I think you should wait on halters and see if you actually need them. Any goat can learn to cooperate well in a collar--it's just that the process is easier with small goats so the need for a halter is much less.

There's no such thing as "official" and "unofficial" walks to a goat. Everything you do with them is a form of training--even if you're only training them to ignore you in certain circumstances! The main thing is that if you tug on the leash, the goat should stop eating and come with you. This just takes practice. You could even walk them into the woods on their leashes and then let them loose to browse so they don't get confused about when it's ok and not ok to eat. If they are bonded to you they won't run off--especially if they also know you have treats! My packgoats seldom walk with leashes when we're on the trail. Since they are bonded to me they become distressed if they ever lose sight of me in a strange place so I don't need to worry about them running away or even wandering off by mistake. The tendency for goats to bond with humans is fairly innate and usually very easy to develop--especially if the goat is already friendly.


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## Jubillee (Dec 22, 2017)

This is so awesome. I was thinking about training the other day. There is a couple online that RV all over and they have a goat that goes everywhere with them. She said they trained her to pee on command and I think a few other commands. It's really cool to keep up with! But...I think it would be cool to train tricks. Mine are highly motivated by treats. They all know their names as well. That was the first thing I trained them to.


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

@Damfino Ok. I'm a little weary on letting my goats free because I don't know if they trust me or not yet. I was asking this question in another thread: What are the signs that goats trust/ love you?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I think you mean "leery".  

I totally understand. You don't want to let your goats off a leash if you have any doubts that they'd stay with you. The last thing you want is for your goats to see a strange dog and then bolt off into the woods, leaving you behind. A well-bonded goats looks to its owner for protection and if he trusts you he'll almost certainly run to you if he sees a strange dog or other "spookum". My goats tend to bolt straight in my direction and hide behind me when they're frightened, but until they know and trust you they may run away instead so it's important to be smart about when it's safe to let them off the leash.


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## MadCatX (Jan 16, 2018)

Damfino said:


> I think you mean "leery".
> 
> I totally understand. You don't want to let your goats off a leash if you have any doubts that they'd stay with you. The last thing you want is for your goats to see a strange dog and then bolt off into the woods, leaving you behind. A well-bonded goats looks to its owner for protection and if he trusts you he'll almost certainly run to you if he sees a strange dog or other "spookum". My goats tend to bolt straight in my direction and hide behind me when they're frightened, but until they know and trust you they may run away instead so it's important to be smart about when it's safe to let them off the leash.


I would let Clyde Roam with his leash, he didnt seem to care and I was fairly close. Well one day we walked up on one of hills and was foraging..all the sudden he bolts towards me runs behind my legs looks up and hit the metetetetet..big scary deer lol.


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

After I saw this thread I thought I'd try to teach our goat Anne to shake hands. She learned it in less than 30 minutes! Anything for a carrot


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How neat.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

21goaties said:


> After I saw this thread I thought I'd try to teach our goat Anne to shake hands. She learned it in less than 30 minutes! Anything for a carrot


Goats are so smart, aren't they? I was at a dairy goat show one time and I thought my class was about to be called so I went ringside with my little 4-month-old doeling Pepi. The class ahead of mine was bigger than I realized and the judge was slow so I realized I had a little time to burn. I also had treats in my pocket so I started teaching Pepi to shake hands. She was a quick study and within 15 minutes she had it down. Some fellow competitor walked by, saw my goat shaking hands, and said rather derisively, "I'd love to do that too if I had enough time to burn!"

I guess he must've thought I'd spent hours or something. It's amazing to me how people who have had goats for years and sometimes even decades have no idea how intelligent they are and how easy it is to teach them tricks. A judge at that same show noticed me playing with our milk doe, Petunia (Pepi's mama actually) next to the ring before our class. He was bowled over and he asked me to stay in the ring after Petunia's class and show off our entire performance. Petunia knew quite a few tricks, and she was fantastic at walking on her hind legs, which looked pretty impressive on a girl with a big udder!

I think all goats can learn tricks, but some are better at it than others. Petunia was very quick at picking up new things, and all of her offspring are the same way. That line seems particularly clever. Or maybe they're just particularly eager for food!


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## SandyNubians (Feb 18, 2017)

21goaties said:


> After I saw this thread I thought I'd try to teach our goat Anne to shake hands. She learned it in less than 30 minutes! Anything for a carrot


I was surprised too! I started teaching tricks about 2 years ago after seeing how awesome damfinos goats were with their tricks(specifically helping a person off the ground). Within 6 weeks, and generally only 30-60 minutes of training per trick, I had 3 goats who knew a combo of, shake, spin, help off the ground, target/touching(very helpful with my current boer x buck to get pictures), dance, stand, bow, hippo(don't ask(rofl)), weave, jump, jump over(fence, stick, leg, another goat, etc), knee/back(stand on my knee or back, and rope(use horns to get the rope off the fence). The possibilities are endless. They are so incredibly smart.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Ok so I'm asking... what's "hippo"? Sounds like one I gotta see!


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## SandyNubians (Feb 18, 2017)

Damfino said:


> Ok so I'm asking... what's "hippo"? Sounds like one I gotta see!


Haha, that one was taught just for my amusement. I had one doe who would open her mouth a little bit and flap her tongue if there was treat just out of reach. Slowly I shaped it so she would keep her tongue in and open her mouth as wide as it can go when I say "Hippo goat". It is quite hilarious when I walk into the pen with treats and she stands next to me with her mouth open as wide as it will possibly go until I dump, yes, dump treats into her mouth. Like a hippo!


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

I want hippo goat pictures too please!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I need to see a video!


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

Damfino said:


> I think you mean "leery".
> 
> I totally understand. You don't want to let your goats off a leash if you have any doubts that they'd stay with you. The last thing you want is for your goats to see a strange dog and then bolt off into the woods, leaving you behind. A well-bonded goats looks to its owner for protection and if he trusts you he'll almost certainly run to you if he sees a strange dog or other "spookum". My goats tend to bolt straight in my direction and hide behind me when they're frightened, but until they know and trust you they may run away instead so it's important to be smart about when it's safe to let them off the leash.


I finally tried letting them free yesterday!

And they bolted off  What does this mean?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

It means they aren't bonded to you. Where did they bolt? If they were in sight of home and they bolted home, then that's not too surprising. Goats want to go where they feel safest and if they feel safer at home than with you, that's where they'll go. 

Have you had these goats since they were babies, or did you get them when they were older?


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

I opened the gate to their enclose and they trotted away. I panicked and quickly got them back in with treats. Maybe I should have given them more time.
I had these goats for about 5 months. I spend so much time with them, I don't know what else to do to bond with them. I thought by now they would have bonded.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

So did they trot away as if they were scared or eager? Were they trotting toward things to eat? They may associate going out of their pen with going out to eat fresh browse and this isn't the same as running away. It's just eagerness for something new and yummy. You can work with that! Some goats are reluctant to leave their enclosures even when tempted with tasty forage and I find that those "Nervous Nellies" are more difficult to work with than the ones who are curious and eager.


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

They did go to anything in particular- I think they just felt free. Should I let them go for longer? I just am worried about them leaving our property.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

While not unheard-of, it's unusual for goats to completely leave their property once they are used to it as "home." You just have to be sure they can't get into trouble--like going on the neighbor's property or running into the road. 

Sounds like they need a good call-back command. I've trained my goats to a whistle. Every time I blow the whistle and they come to me, they get a treat. Now when they hear the whistle they come running from wherever they are even if it's a long way away. The nice thing about whistles is that they are a very clear signal. Sometimes our voices are muddled and I don't think goats are very in-tune to human voices. They can learn their names and various voice commands, but they don't latch onto our words in the same way as dogs so they're harder to teach by voice.


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## JML Farms (Jan 1, 2021)

This is all so fascinating! I never realized goat could be trained to do so many tricks and obey commands! I think mine have me trained. About all mine do is come when I yell "Here goaty, goaty, goaty, goat!" and clap my hands.....they know its feeding time!


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## Feira426 (Dec 11, 2019)

I agree - this is super fascinating! I’m so glad I stumbled across this thread. Now I want to try training my goats to do some fun things!


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Chevani whistles to Destiny and Gizmo. They also know that an open gate doesnt mean they can go bully the springbuks


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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

Can any give me tips on how to teach a goat to lay down and on how to teach goat to kneel?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I start with easier tricks first. "Shake hands" is always the first one I teach, followed by "Spin". I've also started teaching them to touch their nose to a "target" (which is just a tennis ball on a stick). Once they "learn how to learn" it's easier to try more difficult tricks like kneeling and laying down. When I want a goat to kneel, I say "Repent!" along with my hand signal, which is a slight bow with penitent hands clasped at my chest. Then I hold a treat down near the floor with one hand and pull the goat downward using his collar. Sometimes they kneel on their own right away, but other times I have to reach over and manually bend their knees one at a time to get them to go down the first few times. Once they have both knees on the ground I give the treat. They learn pretty quickly after that. 

Teaching to lay down is just an extension of teaching to "Repent!" But once again, start with easier tricks like shaking hands, spinning, targeting, and walking on their hind legs, which is a great one to teach after targeting because you can use the target to encourage them to stand up and then walk without them being close enough to you to put their feet on you.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)




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## Kenny Battistelli (Nov 29, 2020)

@Damfino 
I'm guessing that for the shake hands you just grab a hoof and put a command to it? Do you have a different command for each hoof?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Yeah, I just say "Shake hands" and I reach down, grab the foot and shake it then give a treat. I always shake their right foot with my right hand just like a human handshake. I don't teach left-to-left until they are very solid on right-to-right. I don't use a different verbal command. The change in which hand I offer is enough to prompt them to lift the correct foot in response. Goats are actually more tuned into hand signals and body language than they are to verbal cues so I try to use this to my advantage. Every trick I teach has a visual cue attached to it in addition to the verbal command, whether it's a specific hand signal or body posture or both. 

Once goats learn how to shake hands, the next trick is to teach them NOT to shake hands all the time! Once they get the handshake down, they often tend to paw at your knees in an attempt to get a treat. Of course I never give a reward for them initiating a handshake so eventually they realize that pawing doesn't work and they give up.


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