# Halp! Ive got a naughty goat!



## JesseroDo (Mar 27, 2017)

Hallo! I recently bought my very first goats.. a 2 year old French Alpine doe and a LaMancha doe. The LaMancha, Angel, is very well behaved, but the Alpine, Lulu.. she is a pain in the butt! Her previous (and only) owner liked to rough-house with her. He would harass her till she would rear up at him and hed put his hands on her forehead and push her down, over and over She also thinks its ok to ram you when you arent looking. She gets super rowdy when doing this, her hair stands up and everything. 

While he enjoyed this... me? Not so much! My daughter is 9 and is afraid of her and I dont want her hurting anyone. Nor do I want to have to watch my back every time I am near her. Ive trained horses and dogs and have worked with my own sheep for a decade, I know what to do with those animals, but Ive never had goats before. What is the best way to deal with this behavior?


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## samssimonsays (Mar 27, 2017)

I will share the advice I was given by a long time breeder here locally, Carry a stick with you and use it when necessary. I would not let your daughter in with her and yes, be cautious. I had a wether like this and he was not fixable. Alpine in general tend to be naughtier in my little experience. I have had 2 Alpine out of 3 that are beyond naughty.


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## JesseroDo (Mar 27, 2017)

samssimonsays said:


> I will share the advice I was given by a long time breeder here locally, Carry a stick with you and use it when necessary. I would not let your daughter in with her and yes, be cautious. I had a wether like this and he was not fixable. Alpine in general tend to be naughtier in my little experience. I have had 2 Alpine out of 3 that are beyond naughty.



A stick helps with one of my old whethers whos decided its fun to bump me when Im not looking. Ive never had to hit him, but I point it at him and he doesnt like that at all. Who knew a stick being pointed at you could be so scary! hehe 

My daughter is only allowed with her if I have her on a lead. Shes quite well behaved on a lead, its just when shes free that she gets bouncy and bratty. Sigh. I hope I can train it out of her!


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## NH homesteader (Mar 27, 2017)

Hey! Easy on the Alpines! Lol just kidding, I know you have had issues with yours!

This is a horrible thing for him to have taught her. I am not sure what to suggest as I wouldn't want a goat like that around my daughter, and I really like my daughter being safe in the goat pen.


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## OneFineAcre (Mar 27, 2017)

get a water squirt bottle.


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## JesseroDo (Mar 27, 2017)

NH homesteader said:


> Hey! Easy on the Alpines! Lol just kidding, I know you have had issues with yours!
> 
> This is a horrible thing for him to have taught her. I am not sure what to suggest as I wouldn't want a goat like that around my daughter, and I really like my daughter being safe in the goat pen.




Tho I dont want her doing it, she *does* look super neat rearing up. Shes like a little unicorn hehe But, I cant let her keep doing it, no matter how pretty she looks! When she rears up, shes near a foot taller than I am! Im not sure I would have bought her if I had known about this behavior, but by the time I found out, I was in love with her. Mad, my daughter, is not allowed in with my sheep (or the goats, now) unless I have them tied or am holding them. She is a spazzy kid and freaks everyone out, no matter how hard she tries to be calm and quiet. She knows better than to go in ANY pen with out me! My sheep are like puppy dogs compared to Lulu, tho. 

Its always got to be something, doesnt it?


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## JesseroDo (Mar 27, 2017)

OneFineAcre said:


> get a water squirt bottle.



Ill give that a try once it warms up. Its still all snow and ice here. Id end up shooting icicles at her!


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## CntryBoy777 (Mar 27, 2017)

The rearing up is how they determine the hierarchy of the herd by butting heads....you will have to show firmness and consistent correction. I have experienced this with my wethers and I have intentionally walked in the pen and made them move by pushing them with my knee, forcing them to yield their spot for about 5-10 min at a time. When these actions take place there is never any treats or rewards given at all. My wethers are close to 2yrs old and they hardly bump heads around us any more....different story when we aren't though. When the treats go away for a few days and rude treatment, they tend to get the message. I don't reward bad behavior....and if you use a stick, it will work for a while, but have something else stuck in your pocket for when it doesn't. I use a hand-towel, I carry it to dry my hands when needed, but it is something different to wave that gets their attention and will stop them in their tracks. It is just a tool and not used much, but they don't like their nose popped with it either. It took about 2mnths before I broke them...and withholding their evening snack for about 3-4 days. Mine are pygmy/boer crosses and I have no experience with alpines, wish ya well...but keep a towel handy, especially with your daughter. Do yours have horns or not?


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## TAH (Mar 27, 2017)

I would get a halter on her! The halter will give a considerable amount of control of her. Goats are stink'in smart so it is like training a dog, you show them what you want them to do! I have a buck (200-pounds so you don't want him bucking) that was very honorary and was not trustworthy at all. I started with trying to show I was in control by flipping him to the ground but after doing this for 3-4-months I could tell it wasn't going to work because he didn't know what I wanted him to do! He mostly feared me instead of me being a leader and a friend! So I stopped flipping him and every time he would start to buck I would make him touch my hand to switch his mind from honorary goats to I am being good. It takes time and won't happen overnight but if you are willing to work with her for 15-20 mins a day she could switch to being really nice pretty fast!

I hope this helps and you can get her under control!


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