# Nothing should bother a pack goat



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Since my beach trips are mostly for training we always include a little chaos. From dangling straps, loose dogs, etc. Nothing should faze a working goat. It helps that I have the old man to help teach the youngster. Click picture for video.


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

Photobucket makes me sad. I can't see the videos....


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I've up loaded the video into the video storage on the site. You can see it there titled working goats or on my profile page.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Very cool.


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## Used2bmimi (Oct 3, 2012)

That's neat! and one unflappable goat. Thanks for taking the time to put it on the site


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## erikrarn (Sep 29, 2012)

I was scared that he would buck and the poor pup would fly out. lol


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

that's great goathiker! I bet you get some strange looks  So do you haul in a trailer or a pick up truck?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Erik, that dog and goat have known each other their entire 12 years. I got the dog in March and the baby goat in April of the same year. Schatzi is very protective of "his" goat.

Clearwtr, I have a 5x7 foot trailer with a stockrack top. It's built on a volkswagon car front axle so it has springs for a smoother ride. I'm going to have a canvas cover made for it at Tent and Awnings and put a clear lexon sheet across the front for a wind break and something down the sides. It's still a work in progress. Right now we put blankets and fly masks on the goats to protect them from bugs and grit.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

That's very cool. When I brought my first goats home some time ago ( I think the first ones I haven't hauled in my poor explorer ) we had one of those 4x8 trailers with short sides, I put the extra large dog wire crate in it and a tarp- the gal working the toll booth at the bridge couldn't stop laughing.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

For years I had my Chevy Suburban. I had a box that slid right in the back perfectly. It had 6 inch sides on it so that I could put down pine chips. We would take the goats in that. People would pass us and then slow back down to look again on the freeway. The truck had this beautiful blue headliner in it and the one boy I had would spend the whole trip staring in awe at the ceiling.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Goathiker , your amazing  I love watching your videos , just 
wonderful. Your goats walk better with you then some dogs 
I have seen with their owners , lolol.

That is very impressive  Thanks for posting it.


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## Jodi_berg (Oct 29, 2012)

He's a rock, nice job with him!


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## KarmakeeFarm (Jun 3, 2012)

Thats so cool! My BF loved it-he knows that area well~~ TRYING TO CONVINCE HIM TO TRAIN A PACK GOAT! Thanks!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Thank you everyone. Next year I'll be starting a young Alpine and getting a Saanen/Boer to bottle raise from Tenacross. I plan to document everything I do with them here on a training thread. Looks like we're going to Washington, Idaho, and Utah next summer. The SOLV beach clean up is in March, I'll start then.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I need to start teaching my Boer wether to walk on a lead. I got him a harness to wear. Now that I don't have to go car shopping anymore, I will have a little bit of time for other activities. Now if it would just warm up some I would be more motivated.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

By the way how do you lead goats? Collar/halter/harness?

This is a bit off topic but mum was saying something about buying a big dog harness to transport my goat when I get her but I thought a collar would be better for a goat because they're so round haha


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Piccolo, what type of goat and how old will she be? Are you transporting in a trailer, back of truck/crate or like me -back of the explorer. Normally I just have collars on mine, even when they are new and not cooperative. I've had a collar and lead and had to do the walk push behind walk push behind (on one big stubborn skittish goat). Then up and into the back of the explorer w/ the back seat down. I take my ex-pen (for dogs, like a wire crate but folds accordian style when not in use and use it to make a little corral for dogs) I just fold it up to fit the width of the back seat for a small barrier between me and them.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

She's a miniature goat and she's nearly a year old. They're a bit bigger than NDs
And we were thinking of hiring a trailer but it's expensive so we're going to put a rug on the backseat (the picnic kind with a rubber back) in mums Toyota land cruiser. 
Also how would I keep them restrained with a collar in a car?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I use halters for leading and sturdy collars for tying.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

If you ride in the back with her you can just keep her on a lead. Just pet her and feed treats once in a while and she'll probably lay beside you most of the way.


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## WillowGem (Aug 3, 2011)

Wow, goathiker, I love the video!
You are amazing, my dogs don't even walk that well on a lead.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yeah well, the little Eskie dragging my neice around is mine


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

I'll also have a 6 week old bottle baby so I probably will sit in the back hugging them for the 4 hour trip home. 

Thanks for the help/advice and satisfying my curiosity.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I bought a 'dog fence' thing you put between the seats and the back of an SUV that keeps the dogs or goats in the back of the SUV (instead of the lap of the driver). It fits any size SUV. It worked great and I used it several times. Loved it. But now I do not own an SUV, but a pickup. So I don't see a need for it anymore. I think it would be kind of hard to ship but maybe I could find a box it would fit. If anyone could use it let me know. All I ask is the cost of shipping and a few dollars over.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I decided to put Sport's new harness on him for the first time today. We went for a walk with the 3 month old twins in hot pursuit (well actually 2 inches in front of me as we walked). Sport fought at first but he eventually got use to the harness and did very well. 

One question I have is how to you train your goats not to want to stop and eat on walks?


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Can you walk at a faster pace so he doesn't have a chance to put his head down ?

I dont know if the same principles that I would use for a dog would work for a goat , lol.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

clearwtrbeach said:


> Piccolo, what type of goat and how old will she be? Are you transporting in a trailer, back of truck/crate or like me -back of the explorer. Normally I just have collars on mine, even when they are new and not cooperative. I've had a collar and lead and had to do the walk push behind walk push behind (on one big stubborn skittish goat). Then up and into the back of the explorer w/ the back seat down. I take my ex-pen (for dogs, like a wire crate but folds accordian style when not in use and use it to make a little corral for dogs) I just fold it up to fit the width of the back seat for a small barrier between me and them.


I do the same thing , lolol I use a x pen as a barrier in our explorer , it works really well too


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

Right now the grass growing in the middle of my driveway is dead but when I tried walking him with a dog lease hooked to his collar he kept trying to eat the grass. I would pull and he would start chocking so I gave up and decided to try using a harness. The harness I think is working better, he can't choke on it but the silly goats love Mountain Cedar tree needles and will run over to start munching on them whenever possible. Today I allowed it as the goal was to just get use to wearing a harness, but I know he needs to learn there are times for eating and times when you don't eat.

p.s. I took the boys over to were there is a Mountain Cedar tree and an Oak tree (more of a bush) growing together like they are one big bush. I wanted the boys to eat the oak leaves but all three ignored the oak leaves and went for the Mountain Cedar needles. Funny thing is deer and other animals won't touch Mountain Cedar.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Trickyroo said:


> I do the same thing , lolol I use a x pen as a barrier in our explorer , it works really well too


Is this the kind of thing you're taking about?









It's got a few panels with little metal sticks you push into the ground, we used it when I had a rabbit to let it graze.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I have something similar . They work really well in my truck as a barrier to keep the goats from trying to drive


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## emilieanne (Oct 15, 2012)

Texas.girl said:


> I decided to put Sport's new harness on him for the first time today. We went for a walk with the 3 month old twins in hot pursuit (well actually 2 inches in front of me as we walked). Sport fought at first but he eventually got use to the harness and did very well.
> 
> One question I have is how to you train your goats not to want to stop and eat on walks?


What I do, is I sit there for the first 10-15 min of training mine for show, and hold the collar just behind their jaw, in their throat kinda, and just hold it, not too tight, but right enough and when they bend down to get food I flick them on the back of their leg cause mine hate that, or I get a water bottle and spray the front feet and they don't like it and get moving.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

When training a young dog ( not puppy ) to leash walk with me for distances I would give them a quick correction with the lead if they attempted to put their head down to sniff.

I wouldn't do that with a goat though. Maybe like emilieanne said, a spray bottle or maybe just a light touch with a crop on their rump when he goes to put his head down. At the same time I would use words like 
" walk on " when giving the correction .
I think you would want to reward Sport while his head is up and he is moving forward. A couple of raisins would work nicely.
After a short training session , I would reward Sport with allowing him to graze , but use a word like for example "free" so he will know its is time now. 
This is just my opinion though Texas m I don't know if this would be the correct way . 
I would love to hear from goathiker about this......I want to know what the right method of training is as well


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## emilieanne (Oct 15, 2012)

Trickyroo said:


> When training a young dog ( not puppy ) to leash walk with me for distances I would give them a quick correction with the lead if they attempted to put their head down to sniff.
> 
> I wouldn't do that with a goat though. Maybe like emilieanne said, a spray bottle or maybe just a light touch with a crop on their rump when he goes to put his head down. At the same time I would use words like
> " walk on " when giving the correction .
> ...


I give my girls animal crackers when we get around one circle great and if we don't I tease them lol then they learn!! 
And since I do youth shows, we can't talk or anything in the ring, I cough or have some form of letting them know to go. Usually I will cough or make a noise on my pants with my nail.  
And they do know it!!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Well, it depends what your goal is. I want mine to eat as they go along but, not stop. Start with better goodies in your pocket and teach him to keep moving while he's taking and eating the goody. Then get him to realize that he can take a bite off things you're passing but, not to stop and graze. A halter works the best, you have much better control with them. 
They act alot differently out of their comfort zone too. Jeter is a butthead at home, stubborn, rowdy, pushy at times. I feel like I've been through an earthquake by the time I get his hooves trimmed. Get them out somewhere they've never been and suddenly you are the center of their world and their protector. They won't let you go very far before they are running to catch up. Bean is just a sweety all around. He's the kid in the video although he's much bigger now. I proactively trained him and never let him get away with anything pushy. As Jeter is pretty much retired now and these youngsters grow to take the place of the old boys I lost last year, I really think that they are going be much better. Guess I know what I'm doing this time around. 
Most of goat training is just practising what you want. You know the best way to train your horse is to get it out and ride it. Same with a goat. Take him out everyday and do something, even if just for a few minutes. Lead him, brush him, pick up his feet, put stuff on him even if your not going to pack him. The more you play with him, the tamer and more controlled he'll be. End each time with a nice salted peanut and a scratching. He'll be waiting for you to come back.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

To teach to lead you start by teaching them to stand still. Put the halter and leash on him and give him about 3 to 4 feet of line. Let him go to the end of the line but, turn him. Don't let him walk straight away and pull, stay a little to the side of him so that you can keep turning him. He will panick a little maybe, that's okay just let him move stay to his side and control his head so that he he keeps turning instead of pulling. As soon as he relises that he can't get away and he can't pull, he'll give up come stand by you. Then you can start walking with him. If he tries to take off another direction or run ahead start turning him again, Don't ever let him pull. And you're not turning you're just controlling his head keeping it to one side and turning his body, so that he can't get away and he can't pull no matter what he does.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Thanks goathiker . I was so interested in what your method of training a goat to lead . 
More entries in my notebook


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Now if you're walking along and he stops to do something, don't try to to pull him from the front. Get beside him and bring him towards you sideways. Once his feet are moving they will keep moving easier to get him away from the attraction.
If you pull from the front, he locks up his hind legs and fights with his brain yelling no no no.
If you bring him sideways he kinda goes huh, that was weird.
The goal is to never create a situation that has him or you pulling a the leash. Then he will learn to walk on a loose lead and obey it without question because it has more power then him.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

:lol:"That was weird" :ROFL:
I could see my goats saying that , lololol


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## Bambi (Jun 10, 2012)

Very nice picture and video. It looks like your doggies have been riding in the panniers their entire lives. You have a couple of very nice pack goats. Do you take them out on hikes often?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I see you have a prince or princess that likes to ride instead of walk! Great video!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

The Miniature Pincher, he does think he's a prince too, and that particular Saanen boy were raised together. They are both 12 this year. They have been hiking together for many years and trust each other well.

Yup, I take them out as often as I can. The old Saanen will be staying home mostly this year as I don't think his old stiff hind legs are up to long trailer rides anymore. I will be working with the new team I am training and getting them ready to pack trip as soon as they are old enough. We have plans to hike Washington, Idaho, and Utah this summer.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

goathiker said:


> Now if you're walking along and he stops to do something, don't try to to pull him from the front. Get beside him and bring him towards you sideways. Once his feet are moving they will keep moving easier to get him away from the attraction.
> If you pull from the front, he locks up his hind legs and fights with his brain yelling no no no.
> If you bring him sideways he kinda goes huh, that was weird.
> The goal is to never create a situation that has him or you pulling a the leash. Then he will learn to walk on a loose lead and obey it without question because it has more power then him.


You just gave me a new way to think. That's really not much different than
breaking a horse to lead. Only you wouldn't be as likely to think you could
drag a horse. I have thought I could drag a goat.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

My driveway is 1 tenth of a mile long and yesterday when we went on our walk, as soon as we left the driveway and started walking on the road it was like they all knew we were leaving home. None of them had walked that far from the house before and Sport (on the lead) started pulling a tiny bit like he didn't want to leave our land and one of the twins started bleating. Soon they all happily continued to follow me down the road. We walked about half a mile down the road and then turned around. As soon as we got maybe 1/4 from the house Sport started pulling, trying to run home. Somehow this little guy (6 months old) knew we were going home and he was determined to get there ASAP. I have a feeling on our next walk I will get a change to practice your trick to teach them not to pull.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Good for you Texas for jumping right in !
Maybe treat them sometimes when you turn them so they find out its pleasurable to be away from their safe zone ?
I guess you wouldn't want to do that all the time because then they will turn in on you looking for treats ? Idk...
But they have to realize somehow that its ok to be away from home...
Or maybe it just comes with time...

Good luck Texas


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

No, it's alright to treat them when they're doing well. You want them to look at you as the herd queen. If there is danger they need to cluster around you for protection , not go bounding off into the woods with your tent and food. 

Tenacross is right. I think they are closer to training a burro then a horse though.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

Getting Sport (who is the one in training) and the twins to stay close to me is not a problem. I am mommy and the second they notice I have left they come running looking for me. My problem is how to teach them not to stay right under foot. Walking can be difficult at times.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I would think that will come with time .
Once they realize your not leaving them and they see nothing bad is 
going to gobble them up they will relax more and not want to walk in your footsteps 

Not sure how you would train them to back off , lol


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

We have a shepherds staff. Taking it along on the next walk.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Using the crook to push them to the side would help. The main thing is not to let them force you to stop or change your path, bull your way right through them. If you treat and pet them only when they are walking with their head by your side it will encourage them to stay there. They do outgrow that part by the time they are about a year old. Bottle feeding you inadvertently end up teaching them to come to the front of you for attention. Try feeding the next ones standing by your side where you want them to walk. It make a big difference and allows you to handle their body while they are eating.


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## LilQtBear (Jun 25, 2012)

*Finally found your video's!*

Hello Goathiker! I finally took the time to find your video's! How fun! Currently I have a bottle baby doe (nigerian though) that I took camping and we hiked around with her (2wks old)it was fun - she is being sold obviously as a dairy goat but I think with my Mini Nubian wethers I want to train them from the start to possibly be pack wethers - going through the working goat site I am seeing lots of ideas on how to get them started. My 1st gen mini nubians should be around 27" as adult wethers, so those may work for some for pack goats you think? Obviously most people if pre planning to buy pack wethers want them right away as bottle babies but for the ones not reserved I could start working with early. I pretty much do this with my goats anyway - they go camping - take car rides (in the bed of truck that has a canopy) and we have also walked them on lead at the park. So at the early stages thats about right then - just de-sensitizing them?? Trying to pre plan for when kids start hitting the ground late winter, early spring. I have a couple 1st gen mini nubian planned breedings. People who actually train and raise pack goats - what makes a pack goat "proven"? or is it just in there "blood" since parents do it? Oh and PS - my two nubian girls I am breeding for 1st gen mini's aren't super noisy as I am hoping not to have noisy mini's as nubians can be known for


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## zincsulfate (Aug 27, 2013)

cool.


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