# Strange guard animals... A horse and a goat.



## Shayanna (Aug 1, 2012)

The goat.
You might think this is the wrong forum to post this in, but let me tell you about Demi. She is one of my Alpine does, and I am "her kid", and I was told in the past she was attacked by a Jack Russel. 

The neighbors dog ran in to the yard a few months back, a little beagle, and Demi LEAPED off the milk stand, stormed across the yard, and was about 5 seconds from stomping that pup into the ground when I caught her. Another time we found the electric fence wire all messed up, and Demi out of the pasture. Upon closer inspection, you could see where a dog had ran into the pasture, and she chased it out.

This past weekend we got some chickens, and this rooster is destined for the crockpot. He is just a mean little sneak. As I was walking Demi back to the barn from milking, the rooster decided to play his games and come after us. So Demi stopped, got in between us, started pawing at the ground and gave him the evil eye. He backed off real quicklike.

She is also the first one to start grunting/snorting if anything is astray in the yard. Even if my husband is over by the woodpile in the dark, or the cat is sneaking in the tall grass, she tells me. Up on the milk stand, she will snort, point at whatever is making the sound (direct her gaze), and then look back at me until I say it is okay.

Last night she stopped in the middle of her milk stand ration and started snorting and looking at me and pointing across the road. Next thing you know, the neighbor is going out on her front porch yelling for a bear to get out of her yard. Milking got finished rather quickly and we went inside.

I love this goat.

The horse.
I do not like this horse. Correction, I DID not like this horse. She gets extra treats now. She has an attitude like no tomorrow, likes to chase cows, bite goats, and can just be a snot. I know this isn't her fault, she just wasn't ever socialized very well. But she is also very protective/territorial. Starting a couple weeks ago, we started hearing her running across the pasture at like midnight making a terrible racket. After a couple nights of this, we started seeing signs of a bear going through the pasture. After piecing 2 and 2 together, we realized that she has been chasing this bear off!

A week ago my husband went into the woods, in the middle of the pasture, to cut some wood. Next thing you know, you hear the horse hollering and just tearing $%#. He looks over, and here comes Libby, and chases the bear out of the pasture/ woody area.

This horse has earned my respect. When she gets nosey and wants to see what we are doing out in the pasture, I'm pretty happy to have her there now. Atleast I know no bears are coming anywhere near me.



What strange animals have protected you?


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

We had a yard goat for a long time. She was awesome. No stray dog ever came near the property, the house, the yard, the goat pen, the chickens.... She was such a little bully. She would give a couple of warning snorts then go on the attack. I miss her so much.

People don't realize that goats are like dogs. They worry so much about fences, but goats stay home. They know where they live, and where they get fed. You don't have to worry about them running off, they always come back at feed time and bedtime. Plus they usually just lay around the porch most of the day anyway. They don't wander a lot. And they make awesome "protection" animals.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

This is a wonderful thread to start Shayanna. Such unique animals are often overlooked; so it is nice to formally talk about them. 

A few of my favorite memories are of 3 goats and a dog that are all gone now as it was many years ago when we first started homesteading.

My "Alpine doe" would stand around while I was trimming hooves. She would talk and even butt the goat whose hooves I was trimming if that goat wasn't standing still.

My "Toggenburg doe" got between me and a charging dog real alert and ready to take care of that dog should it have decided to get closer, which it didn't.

My "Nubian doe" butted a large dog 3 times to get it to stop pouncing on me. (The dog actually thought I was playing at the time.)

My Apache (mix of Anatolian/Lab/Chow/wolf) caught a mother guinea in mid air as it was flying with its claws out in front to attack me. (I had gotten too close to its young keets.)

Now my little Karakachan has already shown some guardian propensities. I was walking down the drive toward the front gate when my 250 lb Nubian buck came running toward me from out of the pasture. Little Valentina actually growled and barked until she saw that big galoot was Alginon. (Alginon was just coming up for his usual pets.)

Gotta love animals who think for themselves and appreciate what they get and from whom they get it.


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