# Training a goat to come.



## Bhmntpacker (Apr 10, 2010)

I have 3 new old goats that I let out of there 50x50 pen to graze. We live in a safe place and only do it in the late afternoon while we are outside working. We also have a bird dog (deutsch drathaar) that has added livestock guardian to his duty list. The problem is when it is time to go in the goats avoid me. I know enough not to chase them, but in that situation what do you do? The previous owner said if you throw a lump of dirt at them they will run back in and believe it or not they do. But my little boys do not run from me and I just grab them by the collar and lead them in. The old boys lead very well and are behaved just do not want to go back to â€œgoat jailâ€. 
Am I asking for trouble letting the goat free range for a few hours during the evening?
Can you train a goat to come, like a dog?
I have a dog training background and was going to try to use a combination of treats, long lead and training collar, any experience or tips with this?


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

There are three things that helped me overcome this:
1. Training them to gather when there is a dog
2. High lining.
3. The herd instinct.

I have used a whistle to alert them to dogs on the trail. They gather to me and we face the menace together. If they have been eating a while, they will come to the whistle even if I just want to put them away.

I have experimented with long high lines that are really runs. The lead can slide along the line giving them access to a long area. When they have been out on the high line, they don't have immediate access to water. When I turn them loose, they file back into the pen for a drink.

In using the herd instinct I run circles around them, calling them, run to the front and then back into the pen. Once they are excited, they group and follow me there. A few sneezes makes them think there is danger and helps motivate them.

I am currently training the new baby on a clicker and hope that he will respond to commands like we wish our teenagers would. ;-)


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Bhmntpacker said:


> I have 3 new old goats that I let out of there 50x50 pen to graze. We live in a safe place and only do it in the late afternoon while we are outside working. We also have a bird dog (deutsch drathaar) that has added livestock guardian to his duty list. The problem is when it is time to go in the goats avoid me. I know enough not to chase them, but in that situation what do you do? The previous owner said if you throw a lump of dirt at them they will run back in and believe it or not they do. But my little boys do not run from me and I just grab them by the collar and lead them in. The old boys lead very well and are behaved just do not want to go back to â€œgoat jailâ€.
> Am I asking for trouble letting the goat free range for a few hours during the evening?
> Can you train a goat to come, like a dog?
> I have a dog training background and was going to try to use a combination of treats, long lead and training collar, any experience or tips with this?


The training collar will work but you need to have the goat on a long line at the time to guide the direction you want him to go. Otherwise you'll have to walk down to the neighbors to retrieve him. Been there done that..lol


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## GoatTracksMagazine (Dec 20, 2008)

A positive conditioned response will certainly help to train them. When you call them back from the pasture, always have a set whistle, or just use the same words, followed by hay or grain or their favorite treats. This does not mean buckets of grain, or a bale of hay, but more to start with, and less after they have been conditioned. The same whistle or voice command has to be consistent and probable. Condition them with a treat to start with, and then just go close the gate. After a month of conditioning, the goats will sprint just to get their noses scratched at the sound of your command. 

I like a voice command or mountain whistle that's unique (not mechanical) so I can also use it on the trail. I use this command when they are grazing in the mountains and also when they are resting in the shade while packing. I give the whistle and a loud "let's go" and they know we're off! If I walk around and pump water while on "break" while packing, they know to keep shaded up and that the break is over when I whistle and give the "let's go."

I've also incorporated this into when we get home and unload the trailer, sometimes with 12 goats running past our hay bales on their way to the pasture. I leave them tied up until some hay is spread in the pasture. Then I whistle in the pasture and they come running.

My labs ran field trials and hunting trials for many years, so it's just basically the same techniques, although I think the goats may be easier to conditional than labs with consistent voice commands.

My goats will not sit to a whistle at 200 yards, or take hand signals on a blind retrieve, but I've seen a couple times on some hard days that they were certainly trying to give me some "hand signals," inappropriate as they may have been . They also have me conditioned. And thanks to our 12-year-old lab, our spelling skills grow sharper as his vocabulary expands.

Steve


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## ryorkies (May 4, 2010)

Hey guys would turning a sprinkler on in the 50 foot pen
get them to not want to be there. And happy to go home.
LOL

Also thinking about it, sounds like the boys have not bonded to you
yet. Just my take on it. Since I did not raise Sully from
a "PIG"( intended for bob) He had to be coaxed to love me. Setting in the pen on a stump with a pocket of oats. Lots of scratches.

Go out into the 50 foot pen even when you do not want to catch
them. Give them treats then leave with a scratch or two in thier
favorite spots. Maybe cut some brush and take it in and feed 
it by hand. Rose trimmings, lilac, black berry, ect.

Make them look forward to seeing you. 

Just my 4 cents. R.


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## Bhmntpacker (Apr 10, 2010)

I am not sure if the goats are "bonded" to me but they are pretty affectionate and if you sit with them they will lay down and put there heads on you. We messed around with come and treats in the pen last night and they responded well. My wife let the low goat on the totem pole out to graze with the little guys and when it was time to go in she called them all with a treat in hand, the big guy took the cue from our original kids and came right in. It was like magic. If you have any other tips keep them comming this is good stuff, thank you.


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## jross (Dec 20, 2008)

Here's my 2 cents worth (from another post).

"DKalakay wrote:
Driggs my big Saanen used to dig in his heels every time he was headed for the pen. He's twice my weight so was impossible to move along so I'd give him a treat to move forward toward the pen. Didn't take long for him to figure out that if he dug in his heels he would basically get a treat. Now he gets a treat ONLY after he gets in the pen which he runs for now. The first few times, when he stalled, I just left him and went to the pen with the treats.
Denise"


My goats wouldn't lay down, but they would just avoid going into the pen, while chowing down on everything they could get to. So I started just opening the gate and calling to them, "Let's go boys. Who wants a TREAT?" When nobody responded I shut the gate and went into the feed room and made some noise putting a treat (some hay, some alfalfa pellets, etc) into the goat feeder. By this time one or all of them would be clamoring to get into the pen. If only one or two goats responded to my original request and went into the pen before the bribe was offered, then I would dawdle and mess around after giving them their treat before I would let the last guys in. They would get so impatient, hearing their rivals in there eating while they were locked out. I would take my time letting them in just to make them regret their misbehavior. It didn't take long before they all came running and crowding to get into the pen when our walk was over. I don't always give them a treat, tho. Just enough so that they know it's possible (like getting people to put money in slot machines). I don't want the treat to become seen as a payment, rather it should be something special that only the very best goats get. I think they know what the word "treat" means, because when I want one to come to me so I can mess with his pack, I say "treat?", wiggle my fingers like I may have something in my hand, and call his name. Unless he is into a particularly tasty bush or weed, he will almost always perk up and come to me. A dried up orange peel is the best treat I have found.

My approach to goat management is to try to make doing the right thing rewarding, and the wrong thing unpleasant. But I only resort to fear when kindness fails. I don't think you can train a goat to be as obedient as a dog. A dog really want to please you. A goat just wants to please himself. They will do what they want to do, what they think is in their immediate best interests.


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