# LGD hurt a doe



## PotterWatch (Mar 8, 2014)

Last night, I went out to give our bottle buckling his bottle and look in on our does.  When I got into the stall where the goats stay during the night, one of them wasn't there which is very unusual.  I called for her but she didn't come.  I went out to look for her and found her laying out in the pasture on the icy ground and she wouldn't get up.  I picked her up and took her back into the barn to take a look at her.  She had some shallow scrapes near her rear and on one rear hock (that was the reason she didn't want to get up), and another small scrape on her ear.  These were all very shallow scrapes but they look like they were done by a dog.  Unless something got into the pasture, grabbed her, and then managed to get out without getting ripped up by our lgds, it had to have been one of our lgd boys.  

They are 1.5 years old and have been with sheep/goats since we got them at 9 weeks old (they were closely supervised for the first year with livestock but have been with them 24/7 since we moved to Virginia and got our goats here a few months ago).  They have chased the livestock a little bit here and there, but we always correct them when we see it and I haven't seen them do it for quite some time.  Assuming this was done by one of the dogs, what should I do about it?  I didn't let the goats out with the dogs today because I am worried about them doing it again or doing something worse (the doe was up and walking around fine today, I think her leg was just sore last night and that's why she didn't want to get up).  What correcting measures should I take with the dogs?  They have both been great dogs so far, very gentle with the stock for the most part so this was a pretty big shock for me.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 8, 2014)

> She had some shallow scrapes near her rear and on one rear hock (that was the reason she didn't want to get up), and another small scrape on her ear.



This is consistent with team action. Generally one goes after the back leg grabs and pulls. The other team member will go up around the head or back. It is possible that a single dog could do this depending on the size of the doe. 

How large is the area the dogs are in with the does?
Often pulling the dogs back into a smaller enclosed area will help to correct this.


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## PotterWatch (Mar 8, 2014)

Right now they are in an area about 2 acres.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 8, 2014)

Is it possible that they may not have recognized it was "one of theirs" went after it and then realized it?

We moved a buck once late at night and only with a flashlight, startled the herd and Callie (Anatolian) went running out ... she did realize it was a goat before anything happened but then went allover trying to round them all up.

If you have a small area to pen them with the goats it will sometimes correct. Not enough room for such casing.


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## PotterWatch (Mar 8, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. I suppose it's possible they didnt recognize her. It was dark when I went out and we usually lock the does up in their stall around dusk so they aren't out in full dark. We had them all out together for a while today while we were out there with them and things were just like normal. The area they are in right now is the smallest we have on the property unless we close them all up in the barn. Anything else we should try?


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## Southern by choice (Mar 8, 2014)

Difficult to say. This very well could have been a "fluke". You said they have chased the livestock here and there before, how long ago was the last time they displayed that behavior?


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## Jackie Cavender (Mar 24, 2014)

Watch your doe very closely. Had similar thing happen to a doe, she didn't seem hurt bad but in a couple of weeks she came down with polo like symptoms and almost lost her. She didn't seem "right" after the attack. Didn't have a good appetite, lethargic, just not her self.


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## Pips (Mar 25, 2014)

Tie your dogs with rope and with a wheel tire.  Usually it is just chasing gone a little astray.  Tire will prevent them from chasing and should correct the behaviour.  Sure it wasn't some other animal?  the other thing you might want to consider is the dogs were trying to prevent it from running away, nervous nipping can cause some wounds especially if they are not sheepdogs (herds) and true LGDs.   Young LDGs tend to panic when the herd splits and can cause accidental damage especially at night when "night instincts" take over.  I would put them both on a tire for a while & put a camera up to monitor what goes in a much smaller enclosure as suggested above.  What breed are they, some breeds have a tendency to "carry back" lost livestock by dragging, but it is rare.

Oh and recognition misunderstandings are very very rare.  Most LDGs have a very good sense of smell and hearing, better than domestics in most cases, unless they have been kept in the house for a long time, they should really never make a mistake about their herd.


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