# For those with pet goats and other pets



## OutdoorDreamer (Mar 29, 2012)

I was talking to someone who told me that pet goats can not be called a part of your family like a dog can. That they can't be loved as much as dogs and other inside pets. he said that they can't be seen that way because they are livestock that lives in a barn outside. 
To each their own but I have goats that I am just as attached to as my dogs. They show just as much affection in my opinion. I understand not all of you see goats and other livestock as pets, but for those of you who do, what do you think?


----------



## VincekFarm (Jun 27, 2011)

For me there are some special goats that I love more than any "house pets" ( or family members) and others that I see more as livestock and they belong in the barn to some point. It just depends on how close I am to that specific goat based of their personality, my past w/ them etc.

We've had babies that have been raised in the house and had become a member of our family. I agree with you that they show just as much if not more affection and love towards people. Sure it is in a different way than dogs or cats but I don't think that it makes it wrong.


----------



## OutdoorDreamer (Mar 29, 2012)

I agree with you. I have some special goats in my herd that will stay here, they feel like family to me. I have some other goats that are more like livestock All get taken care of and treated nicely though.


----------



## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

That guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

I have a doe, Patti, who I love every bit as much as I loved my dear Labrador, Shadow. She comes up to comfort me when I cry, goes on walks with me, gives me kisses and hugs, and even tried to protect me from what she saw as a perceived danger (tractor, she was a few weeks old, heard the tractor. The rest of the herd ran, she looked back at me, called, and ran to me. She wouldn't abandon me). 

I also have a wether, Little Guy. Little Guy has an understanding to him ... deep in those precious eyes. He is kind to his very soul and so affectionate. He's just a quiet, sweet boy that I adore.

Goats may not be for everyone, but no one is going to tell me that I can't love them, and they can't love me, as much as a dog and a human could. They don't replace dogs in my heart but they are every bit as wonderful pets and companions.

My two cents.


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

You said it perfectly Danielle ! :clap: :thumb:
I kept my horse at a stable and she was my soulmate , my other half, when I was younger , right up till the day I had to have her put down.
I loved that horse more then life itself ! Doesn't matter if they are livestock or dogs or cats , I just don't understand why this person would even say something like that , it doesn't make any sense IMO. :shrug:


----------



## OwnedByTheGoats (Mar 7, 2013)

I think ANYTHING, heck even a pet garfish, you could get attached to. I believe if you have a special place in your heart for something, that thing can eventually fill it, even if it eats you in the end (LOL... like a pet tiger!). 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with pet goats IMO, ton of people have them! Now, I wouldn't want to keep a boer buck in my house, but hey, I love lots of my goats enough to sleep with them. And hug them. And milk them. 

Somethings wrong with the dude, not you.


----------



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

I think it's weird that people don't see them as pets. Aren't horses basically livestock? And nobody questions that when someone says they have a pet horse. :shrug:


----------



## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

It seems to me that the general population does not know that goats are every bit as smart as dogs. We have a doe that was a bottle baby she was housebroken (we finally put her outside at about 4 months. She just loves her boy, and he loves her.


----------



## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Everyone here should know how I feel about my little Peggy Sue, but a picture is worth a thousand words...

This is my family room, I don't let the dog in here and even when he does come in he's never allowed on the furniture. 

Also, it's not really Mother's Day without ALL my kids.


----------



## OutdoorDreamer (Mar 29, 2012)

Axykatt, I love the pics! 

Thanks for all the support. I know I wasn't alone in feeling the way I do about my goats.


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

This is Yosi , my lap goat


----------



## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

Yosi is SOOOO cute!!! none of my goats would sit on my lap.

i think that guy is missing out on life, to be so closed minded in his thinking. people like him can't fathom being open to the beauty of accepting a close companionship with a creature other than a dog and a cat. i actually feel very sorry for him.

and, i think everyone here can say that we all know what it's like to be close to a goat. i know i love my girls, and would love to take them everywhere if i could!


----------



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Well, evidently he has never had a pet goat.
Or eaten dog meat. In some countries, dogs are raised for meat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat

Our family has had about 8 dogs and 17 goats. Every single one has been a wonderful pet. They're different, but equally good.


----------



## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

milkmaid said:


> Does he know that in some countries, dogs are raised for meat? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat


My great grandmother (from the villages of China), "you can eat any animal with its back to the sky".


----------



## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

I know all about the countries that eat dog , I have nothing against people that do this , but I still cant wrap my head around it , lol
We eat cow , and some people worship them and wouldnt do such a thing.
Different cultures is what makes the world go round.


----------



## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

Trickyroo said:


> I know all about the countries that eat dog , I have nothing against people that do this , but I still cant wrap my head around it , lol
> We eat cow , and some people worship them and wouldnt do such a thing.
> Different cultures is what makes the world go round.


i'm the same way, i could never be able to eat dog, or cat.... I've tried some other weird stuff, but i would never willingly eat a dog. they're too much of a companion to be eaten!


----------



## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

I agree with all of you. I know that goats are technically livestock but I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. I have some goats that I like better than others but I love them all and even though my dogs are my pets, the goats offer me a satisfaction and self fulfillment that I need.


----------



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

I too have a lap goat!

:laugh:


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Well, you can see where mine are in my Avatar. Equal but, different. Both willing to follow me forever. How can you not love that?


----------



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

My lap goat is Annie, my bottle/dam baby. She has the most wonderful personality - affectionate, and only the slightest bit pushy (as in, she'll hoof you for attention now and then.) She still thinks she is a baby, though she is over a year old. She'll jump in my lap when I sit down.


----------



## Lydia_the_goat (Jun 16, 2013)

It was cute. I have these 2 boer kids that I got at one and a half months and have bonded with ever since. Well they are three months now and are getting bigger and are still the sweetest things on the face of the planet. So yesterday i was walking across the yard from the chicken coops and apparently the babies had gotten out. So the next thing i knew i was being charged at by these two sweet little kids with big floppy ears and big dangly legs!!! They ran right to me and flopped all over me!!









































This one is my big baby Lydia! Almost 3 now!


----------



## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

What a precious herd!


----------



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

And how can you say a goat nose isn't every bit as cute as a dog nose?


----------



## Lydia_the_goat (Jun 16, 2013)

milkmaid said:


> And how can you say a goat nose isn't every bit as cute as a dog nose?


I know!! My two little ones are teething. Every time i go out i end up with wet shirts and pants!!


----------



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

milkmaid said:


> And how can you say a goat nose isn't every bit as cute as a dog nose?


I think they're cuter! I wouldn't kiss my dogs' wet and smelly mouth/nose but I kiss my boys through the fence every day


----------



## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

OutdoorDreamer said:


> I was talking to someone who told me that pet goats can not be called a part of your family like a dog can.
> 
> *It sounds to me like the guy you were talking to is either young, inexperienced, naive, or a combination of all three. I think that to compare pet goats to pet dogs is like comparing apples and oranges. They have a different function, serve a different purpose, but they can be loved equally well on a different level.*
> 
> ...


I don't think it has anything to do with being a pet or being livestock, I think it has to do with each individual animal and their temperament, demeanor, personality, ability to give, their purpose, and what they have to offer. I do look at goats (cows, horses, sheep, etc.) as livestock, but I will be the first to admit that I have certain girls whom I love just as much as I loved my dogs, and they are very special to me - it's just in a different way because they are not on the same level.


----------

