Courtesy of Danielle Langloism, Wikipedia CCLMore on Dogs and Goats
Yesterday we called attention to the potential problems that can arise from strange, and even known, dogs getting in with the goats. Let me add a bit of personal experience.
I have cattle dogs – because in addition to goats, I have cattle. These dogs, like Border Collies, were bred to move livestock around. You wouldn’t think they would be aggressive but then you’ve probably never tried to make a 900 lb cow go somewhere it prefers not to go.
The instinct of a dog is to chase something that runs. This instinct is especially strong in dogs bred to herd or retrieve. While my dogs are exposed to goats all day long, all year long, when left unattended they can wreak havoc on a herd.
My former dog was goat aggressive, something I hadn’t experienced before. Although he was an excellent herder of cattle, let him loose with the goats and something bad was going to happen. And did.
That dog got into the pasture one day and mauled a pygmy fainter mix. He mauled her so badly that even with medical treatment, she died of her wounds. That was strike one.
We checked the fences. We pulled the gaps that a dog could squeeze through. We started some intensive training intended to desensitize the dog to goats. It didn’t help. A month or so later, I purchased a Kiko buck. An expensive Kiko buck. Shortly afterward, that dog got in again and even the impressive horns on the buck didn’t help. The dog got hold of the goat leaving puncture wounds on the inside of his thigh just a mere 1/2″ from an artery. Luckily that goat recovered but a young wether, also mauled, is now permanently lame from a similar wound that caused nerve damage to his lower leg.
The dog left. No, we didn’t shoot him although my husband sorely wanted to. We sold him to a family who did not have goats with the caution to keep him as far away from goats as possible. So you see, the best dog will become the most devious predator if it has the instinct or prey drive to do so.
It doesn’t matter if Fluffy is the sweetest dog on Earth. It doesn’t matter if Rover is considered a livestock guard dog. It doesn’t matter if your dog is trained to retrieve, fetch, dig up moles or spends most of the day sleeping on the sofa. Dogs are dogs and will behave like dogs given the opportunity and inclination so, please, keep your dogs at home.
-NJ
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Even LGD’s can harm a goat. We brought home a young LGD that had been exposed to goats since birth. He had (has) wonderful instincts. The problem we had was his age – he wanted to play. After he “played” a few kids nearly to death, we figured out what was going on and removed him. He recieved further training with older goats before we let him near kids again.
[...] Editors Note: Like many of you, we’re lifelong dog owners and can’t imagine our lives without dogs, but it’s irresponsible and reckless to let dogs roam, as we’re written about previously here and here. [...]