Walking goats in town

[Genipher]

After much hemming and hawing, I'm finally going to be getting goats next month, right around my birthday! Perfect timing!

I'll be bringing home 2 Nigerian Dwarf doelings. They're currently on their mama and since (as a newbie) I don't want to struggle with transitioning them over to a bottle for the next four weeks, I'm waiting until they're weaned to bring them home. Until then, I'm trying to cram as much knowledge into my head as possible.

Anywho...I'm in town and will truly have a "backyard herd" (are 2 goats still considered a herd? We'll probably end up with 3 but that's as far as we can go, per the city's rules ). I thought it might be fun to occasionally take the goats on walks around town. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when a couple passed by our house walking 2 Nigerian Dwarfs! So cute!!

I had a few questions about this idea:

1. Would taking them out in public raise the risk of them catching a goaty disease?
2. What's the protocol for, um, poop? When we walk our dogs we have to take care of their messes. Does anyone know if it's the same with goats or can we just leave their "gifts" behind (no pun intended)?
3. I'm trying to figure out the whole collar thing and I feel like I'm making it too complicated. Are goat collars just glorified dog collars? By that I mean, do people use dog collars for goats or do they have to be specially made for goats?

Anything else I should know about walking goats?

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Congratulations on the goats! So exciting!

1- Not likey, as they are not in contact with other goats or areas where other goats live/housed.

2-I don’t know If they are walking in the grass most wont notice.

3- I use dog collars. Puppy harnesses might be good in the beginning, but don’t leave them on full time. I will warn you though, some Nigerian kids act like they are being KILLED when you are first teaching them how to walk on a lead.
This about sums it up (from FB)

 

[CntryBoy777]

We use to walk our goats and we used dog collars on them...it worked fine with our doe, but the 2 wethers would hang it on branches as they climbed up to eat the highest leaf possible....we walked on 20acres of land, so we kept a lead on the doe and let the wethers waunder with our immediate supervision....they always followed the doe....we had pygmies and they "cycle" once a month and there were bucks in the neighborhood, so she would try to run....she was also skiddish around noises and strangers....a couple of things to think about is loose dogs and toxic plants...both can be killers....and lastly, be sure to have a handful of pellets in your pants pocket....it can really help in getting their attention quickly.....

 

[Genipher]

Congratulations on the goats! So exciting!

1- Not likey, as they are not in contact with other goats or areas where other goats live/housed.

2-I don’t know If they are walking in the grass most wont notice.

3- I use dog collars. Puppy harnesses might be good in the beginning, but don’t leave them on full time. I will warn you though, some Nigerian kids act like they are being KILLED when you are first teaching them how to walk on a lead.
This about sums it up (from FB)
View attachment 59763

Reminds me of the first time we walked our dog...

 

[Genipher]

We use to walk our goats and we used dog collars on them...it worked fine with our doe, but the 2 wethers would hang it on branches as they climbed up to eat the highest leaf possible....we walked on 20acres of land, so we kept a lead on the doe and let the wethers waunder with our immediate supervision....they always followed the doe....we had pygmies and they "cycle" once a month and there were bucks in the neighborhood, so she would try to run....she was also skiddish around noises and strangers....a couple of things to think about is loose dogs and toxic plants...both can be killers....and lastly, be sure to have a handful of pellets in your pants pocket....it can really help in getting their attention quickly.....

Hm. Hadn't thought about loose dogs. We do have one, in particular, that likes to occasionally roam the neighborhood (not our dog...but, funny enough, his owners used to live in our house before we bought it so he tends to come back and "visit").
I'll have to remember the treats-in-the-pocket idea!