# training goats to show?



## myfainters

I am rather new to showing and would love to hear how everyone trains their goats to the lead and also to allow proper feet placement?


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## RowdyKidz

When I have little kids I put collars on them and get used to that. I also handle their feet alot and just get them used to it. When walking them and setting them up, it takes alot of patience. But in the end it will be worth it.


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## StaceyRosado

I rarely actually work with them to a great extent. But I will lead them around from time to time with their collars so they are already use to that as well as they are tied to the fence for feeding so collars are not a new thing to them. 

Standing still: haha! You will see that some goats will stand still and some just wont. Unless the goat is very comfortable at shows you will see the handler constantly moving them back into position and stacking them. 

I have some who are terrific in the ring while others are terrors.


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## RowdyKidz

Ditto Stacey, terrors is right! That sums up 99% of my show goats! :slapfloor:


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## AlaskaBoers

start handling them young..touching their feet, messing with their head, and udder etc. that way they'll be easier to show and will be used to be handled.


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## myfainters

Now... what do you do when you have an adult doe that gets ring fright?? LOL One of my does is perfectly trained to walk on a lead.. and she stands well... allows placement of feet... baits well. I took her to her first show and she wouldn't walk, hunched her back and kept her head down between her legs the entire time!!!! pic of her in the ring attached ( try to control your laughter everyone!!! LOL) She placed last (obviously since... she made herself look awful!!!) :GAAH:

http://faintheartedranch.net/index.php?pr=does I couldn't get the pic I took of her at home looking pretty to upload?? but it is at the bottom of my does page.

Do you see my frustration?? LOL Should she just be retired or do you think that more shows might make her come around?


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## StaceyRosado

I would continue to show her -- she may come around. I had doe who I had to pull through the ring dragging her on the ground last year and this year she pranced into that ring like she owned it


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## sweetgoats

WORK WORK WORK. I have most all mine will lead just fine but I have had those that just refuse to no matter what. Try putting some treats in your pocket. let them know they are there.

I finally sold one of my does that just refused to walk in the ring. She would be fine out but when you went in the ring, she would brace her legs and there was NO WAY she would walk. I sold her becasue the judge could not see how she moved. Now that is after 4 years of working with her.


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## sparks879

Try taking her to a show or two and not showing her. Just have her be there ans see the sights and chaos. Sometimes that helps a lot. 
beth


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## pelicanacresMN

lol, I know exactly what you mean. Some goats just want nothing to do with it & some think everyone is there to watch them & all of their greatness. Sometimes it helps to have a goat in front of you as a leader..especially if you have another goat in the same class from your own herd that your goat knows. This isn't always possible..just know that you are 100% not going to be the only one that may need to "drag" your goat around the circle. I've also heard that some people put grain in one hand & hold it in their fist in front of the goat. I haven't tried it but my goats seem to want to do anything for a mouthful of grain--which might not be a good thing in the showring too! 
Just try to handle your goat on a regular basis right from when they are young. Get them used to being touched & practice walking them around your home each day for two weeks before the show & see if that shows any progress.


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## jdgray716

I had a Dane that did this. I learned that under a good Judge they see the true figue behind all the retardation, as I called it, she never grew out of it but she did place enough to get completed. It was just a matter of the judge, and boy did we, well I, feel stupid most the time. LOL


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## pennylullabelle

How do ya'll practice walking your goats? I tried walking one of my doelings and she just squealed at me and did this like mad-death-roll thing. You'd think I was torturing her...I just stood and stared and let her throw her fit. Then she came along with me a few feet, too a treat, and then started throwing a fit again! Now, of course, she won't have anything to do with me... :roll: Any strategies?


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## heathersboers

First thing i do is tie them up to a fence with a dog collar on for a while to let them pull all they want!! I know it sounds cruel-but I dont want to be dragged by a grown boer-Most of mine I start off at about 2 months-You are gonna have to pull somewhat. I then try to walk them-If they dont walk-grab their tail to help em a little- I stand at their withers and get them to walk a few feet-stop-and praise them with a treat!! They will eventually get the hang of it.As far as setting them up- That takes practice!!! I had 1 buck that did great at home-he would stand stock still-but get him in the ring and -he did the hokey pokey- put one foot down-move the other foot-slide sideways,turn around....He still does it...Im still working on him!!


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## Dover Farms

I gave up working with kids at home, unless I'm planning on them being future showmanship goats. I bought a kid and worked and worked with her, but it didn't matter. I swear she looked like she was going to die out there in the show ring. Then the next year as a yearling she walked just fine with no extra work. I've also had one that walked perfectly as a kid and then was just terrible the next year and even as a two year old! :shrug: I _might_ put a collar on them and walk them and set them up just playing around, but they get their training in the show ring. Hehe  They scream, jump and lay down sometimes on their first outing, but they do get the hang of it. I find they do better at shows because they don't know where they are at(you know when your home they always try to go to their pens) and they have other goats to follow at shows, too. I don't worry about it too much...because mine aren't the only ones throwing temper tantrums! :greengrin:


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## MagnoliaFarms

Just first put the collar on them and them get used to it for a week and then if you have other goats separate them they will try to get out but in the pen sit with them for them to bond with you for a couple of days or until your able to walk up to them and touch them. Put the lead on them and try to walk around the pen if they don't listen and lay down yank there tail as you do in the shows to get them up or get a branch and hold it in front of their nose to lead them around also I find that if you put some feed outside of the pen and walk them to it after you circle the pen they will always associate feed and walking which helps. And after awhile once there used to being handled you can return them to the other goats.

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.607989437371583410&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0


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## Trickyroo

Being brand new to the idea of showing , I like the idea of leading them to grain once they walk a circle. For my own training , even if i never show , Im going to try breaking that down for the young ones to across a small paddock to grain , then lengthen it. Im wondering if that might not work cause goats are just too smart sometimes and will realize that i wasn't sticking to the rules of giving them grain at the same shorter distance as before , lol.. :ROFL:
I know i got lucky with my first goats teaching them to lead , they just did it !
Probably cause i didn't know that they could be so stubborn , i had it in my mind that they led just like my horse did , lol. And thats the mind set i had when leading them  My girl Mocha learned the milk stand without a collar or lead. I "shaped" her behavior with grain rewards . Worked like a charm , but I'm sure i won't get that lucky again


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## HoosierShadow

Trickyroo said:


> Being brand new to the idea of showing , I like the idea of leading them to grain once they walk a circle. For my own training , even if i never show , Im going to try breaking that down for the young ones to across a small paddock to grain , then lengthen it. Im wondering if that might not work cause goats are just too smart sometimes and will realize that i wasn't sticking to the rules of giving them grain at the same shorter distance as before , lol.. :ROFL:
> I know i got lucky with my first goats teaching them to lead , they just did it !
> Probably cause i didn't know that they could be so stubborn , i had it in my mind that they led just like my horse did , lol. And thats the mind set i had when leading them  My girl Mocha learned the milk stand without a collar or lead. I "shaped" her behavior with grain rewards . Worked like a charm , but I'm sure i won't get that lucky again


Laura, if you are raising and training your own babies, start young when they are about 6 weeks old. Just put an adjustable halter with a lead & snap on them <we buy them on Jeffers.com for about $3.95 each, they work GREAT>. Just get them used to it while you are visiting with them, then after they get the feel for it a few times, start putting some space between you and the goat, and let them 'throw a fit' until they get used to it. Some people tie them to a fence post.
When leading, we encourage them to go forward with baby talk & praise. We try not to use feed or anything of that sort. BUT, we have in the past, and it worked great on a stubborn doe 
The bunch the kids have this year for 4-H can be bratty. They are all trained to walk on the halter/lead since they were young, but they tend to go through a phase <every year they go through it> where they don't want to walk.
We actually ended up buying prong collars to assist in training this year. So far they have worked great! I don't recommend them unless you look into the proper way to use them 

For foot placement, you just have to work with them. The more they are worked with, the better they will learn to stand.


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## Trickyroo

Thanks for the advice Candice  I will surely do this !


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