# Need help introducing new goats to dog



## mooman (May 19, 2008)

Well after weeks and weeks of working on the fence and waiting, we finally got to bring our two nigerian dwarfs home. Super cute, although I underestimated how small they would be (they walked right through the cattle panels I was using for a temporary pen). Some extra welded wire fencing and zipties solved the problem......

Anyway. One of our dogs has a very strong chase reflex. Not so much a killer instinct. One day a little pot belied piglette (obviously raised with dogs) wandered onto the property. When the dog charged it, the pig held its ground and the dog just put the breaks on and just sniffed, got bored walked away.

So I think as long as the goats don't run from her, she will lose interest very quickly. How would you guys suggest handling this? Hold a goat and bring them together for a sniff? Wait a few days to see if the dog loses interest whining at them through the fence? 

Anyone else have this problem. Were the dog and goats eventually able to hang out together (I'd like to be able to walk the whole crew in the woods behind the house)


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

I wont let my dog and goats together without supervision. My herd queen charges my dog repeatedly, makes me think she's been attacked before. The dog will nip her if provoked but she's a queensland, that's what they do. Sable, our dog, is good at rounding up all of our other goats though I honestly think it depends on your dogs personality and history on whether it will be a good match. A lot of it is instinct too. Sable has no herding training but she is very good at it when we allow it and I attribute it to her breed. If we do not ask her to help she ignores the goats.

We will never trust her with the babies. When she was a suburban dog she had lots of squeaky toys and the high pitched noises of all baby animals seems to be more stimulation than she can bear now. She acts towards them like she does towards raccoons, growling and whining until the high pitched noises become lower as they grow older. I personally think it was the squeaky toys. 

If you dog listens well you may be able to put it on a leash and correct her/him when she acts inappropriately for a while.


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

NataliaTwoDoes said:


> I wont let my dog and goats together without supervision. My herd queen charges my dog repeatedly, makes me think she's been attacked before. The dog will nip her if provoked but she's a queensland, that's what they do. Sable, our dog, is good at rounding up all of our other goats though I honestly think it depends on your dogs personality and history on whether it will be a good match. A lot of it is instinct too. Sable has no herding training but she is very good at it when we allow it and I attribute it to her breed. If we do not ask her to help she ignores the goats.
> 
> We will never trust her with the babies. When she was a suburban dog she had lots of squeaky toys and the high pitched noises of all baby animals seems to be more stimulation than she can bear now. She acts towards them like she does towards raccoons, growling and whining until the high pitched noises become lower as they grow older. I personally think it was the squeaky toys.
> 
> If you dog listens well you may be able to put it on a leash and correct her/him when she acts inappropriately for a while.


What she said. 
My dogs aren't allowed around my goats unless I'm there. I have a McNab that will take on a bull or horse, etc and make them go where she wants but is terrified of my goats. I ask her to bring them in and she looks at me like, "Really?"
I wouldn't trust any dog except a well trained LGD around my goats unsupervised. Caesar Milan has a pretty good method of training a dog to leave livestock alone.


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## mooman (May 19, 2008)

Thanks for the advice. No I would never allow the goats and dogs together unsupervised. Just hoping we can have some summer evenings sitting on the back porch with dogs and goats coexisting. We will see I guess.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I would start out with very supervised sniffs in a small area. I have 2 baby goats right now and they are crawling all over both my dogs. Especially Boris (gsd/mix) Both my dogs LOVE to chase...but it is forbidden here. If they start to chase anything I yell NO CHASING! and they stop. It's more of a problem with the cats than anything else. 
We have goats, a mini-donk, chickens and had ducks all free ranging the property and the dogs know who is family and who is not. Boris has killed 2 possums and a raccoon in the past month. We had to get rid of the ducks because the Drake was chasing the dogs and driving them crazy! 
Here is a video of the baby goats and dogs. And it doesn't even come close to how much the baby goats follow and love on Boris. 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6MSAy-lTvM&list=UUay8f2YEls-Pc5hI2OYtx_Q&index=1&feature=plcp]008 - YouTube[/ame]


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## mooman (May 19, 2008)

That is super cute. Thanks for sharing.

ps Your goats don't have any ears. Hope you got a discount.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

There's an additional charge for cuteness of tiny-eared goats.


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## luvzmybabz (Sep 8, 2008)

andabigmac said:


> I wouldn't trust any dog except a well trained LGD around my goats unsupervised. Caesar Milan has a pretty good method of training a dog to leave livestock alone.


Is the Ceasar Milan thing a book or aq video can you point me in the right direction?


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

luvzmybabz said:


> Is the Ceasar Milan thing a book or aq video can you point me in the right direction?



He's the "Dog Whisperer." All of his books and videos are good but I recommend the one you can get for free from your library. NatGeo channel used to have his show but I don't have tv so I couldn't tell you if its still on. You tube has most or all of his shows Basically you set up yourself as the "leader" by earning the dogs respect then claim the goats as "yours" Here is a video with a chicken.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps8g86khGFE]Dog Whisperer: Dog vs. Chicken - YouTube[/ame]

Amazon.com: cesar millan

I know it seems like it can solve everything in a few minutes but you do have to do a lot of follow-up work. I used this method with my dog, Yuba, who had chicken fascination. She got to where she would let the chickens crawl all over her. I forgot to lock the dog door when I left one day and she killed 16 of 18 chickens. I caught her in the act, grabbed a dead chicken by the legs and beat her a few times with it. I know it wasn't the best method but I was pretty ticked off. She won't even let the chickens crawl on her anymore. She keeps a very respectful distance from them now. That was 5 years ago and I still don't trust her around them if I'm not there.


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

I trust my house dogs with my goats, they have never shown any signs or interest in the goats or chickens. They go out to the bathroom unsupervised and come back in 5 mins. Would I do that with a new dog or new goats? No, but it is not hopeless to want to take a walk with them all and have it happen. 

My Golden tolerates a lot, which includes goats hitting him for no reason, babies "grazing" on his fur. 
I first got livestock when he was 5 yrs old, he is now 10 and has thankfully caused no issues. Our other dog is the size of a chicken and steers clear of the goats unless it is bottle babies in the mudroom. She knows they hurt  
Now if there is a mole my Golden will dig it out of the ground and snap it's neck in about 5 seconds flat. He knows what is "ours", some dogs take longer to learn that. 

You might want to have the goats out and the dog on a long leash, make a knot on the end, when he goes to run at them step on the leash, yell " NO! " and he will be yanked to a stop. 
By all means let him smell them and tell him to Be Nice, Baby, Mine, Leave it, etc. But do not allow him to sit at the pen and whine at them, he can smell them, but them he needs to move on. Redirect and correct. 

I also have LGD now and they know the word Baby means to be gentle and it is mine, touch it and get corrected. That was an issue with young chickens when they were puppies, now they are 3 1/2 and 2 yrs old and leave those alone too. Time and training. 



I think the Cesar Millan thing is to do that poking thing on their necks when they show interest in the animal. They can be near it but have to be relaxed, or they get poked. Then he rubs the animal on the dog and makes them lay down near it calmly. At least that is what I remember from the one with a dog and a bunny.

ETA: I just read what you wrote andabigmac, lol my LGD have been "pecked" by dead chickens in the face. It worked for me  I also did put a dead chicken on the ground and had a stick, if they even looked at it they got smacked on the butt if I was close enough, if not I smacked the stick on the ground and yelled leave it!!


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## KrisD (May 26, 2011)

I have 3 dogs and they are fine with goats as all my dogs have been. When the new kids hit the ground I take my dogs out one at a time on a leash to introduce them. If the dig gets even remotely excited I pop the leash and say "leave it!" very sternly. After a few days of meeting the new kids I let them out off lead with me there. After a week they don't care at all. My biggest problem is my doe HATES dogs and will attack my dogs, my dogs are not allowed to fight back and they know it. So usually I am after the doe. For my dogs it is mostly curiosity they have no desire to hurt them. BUT it depends a lot on breed of dog some have a much higher prey drive then others and some are more stubborn then others.


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