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+--- Thread: Jerry the non working goat.... (/showthread.php?tid=1100)
Jerry the non working goat.... - GPW - 07-27-2015
Well I have officially had it with one of my Obers.....
I have been trying to for the last year and a half ( since I've owned him ) to get him to be exatcly like my other Ober Samson, the will work no mater what goat.
but whatever I try , more treats, less treats, leading him off Samson, Leading him myself , NADA he gets to a point and just stops, usually just sits there, then turns around and starts walking back! This cost me a day of hunting last year in the mountains, and made a short 2.5 mile hike this last weekend into a 4 mile hike as I would have to run back, get him and literly drag him back up the trail, and granted this was only with 10LBS including the saddle! But those are just examples, this happens everytime, with or without saddle/panniers. I have also tried to just go and wait for him to show up figuring he will get lonely for samson and I , and well that just ended up with me running a mile back up and down the trail frantically looking for him just to find him eating a serviceberry bush.
So any suggestions? Anyone else had a goat just not want to work?
He is 8 years old, 175lbs, wormed regulary, fed plenty, hooves trimmed regularly...
Doesn't display any isssues, limping, couphing, exessive panting.
My Options
1.Shoot Him
2.Sell Him as a weeder goat ( how much do you get for a useless goat? )
As you can tell I'm abit frustrated, oh and if I lead him off of Samson he figured out that all he has to do is yank hard enough and he can pull Samsons pack off and get him to stop..
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - Nanno - 07-27-2015
Oh dear. Sounds to me like you've got a "dud" goat (unusual for Obers from what I hear, but every breed has its oddballs). If I were you, I'd try to get something out of him so he's not a total loss, which means selling him or putting him in the freezer. If you sell him as a weed eater or animal companion, you probably won't get much, but it's better than nothing. I'm not sure how good he'd be to eat at his age, but I found out this year that goats have a surprising amount of meat on them. If you want to sell him quickly you could take him to a local auction.
I wouldn't recommend trying to retrain him. It sounds to me like you've tried every reasonable thing and the only result is more frustration. Please don't drive yourself crazy! I say this to people with "dud" horses and dogs too--there are far too many good ones in the world for you to waste your time and money on one that you can't train. Time to repurpose him. If you take the sale route, there's a good chance your goat could end up in a much happier home than yours--one where he's never required to earn his keep in any way.
Before you get rid of him, make sure you already have a replacement lined up so Samson doesn't get frantic without a buddy. You don't want your good working goat to lose condition. Good luck!
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - Sanhestar - 07-28-2015
Do you have only these two goats?
Or are there other herd members that you leave at home when you take out these two?
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - GPW - 07-30-2015
I have 2 other Alpines I got recently from Dave, there 4 months old and they have partial access to hanging out with the bigger Obers. Looks like I will be selling Jerry, as much as I hate what he does on the trail, hes still a nice mellow goat when hes in his pen, so hopefully someone out there is in need of a good weeder goat and buddy to another goat (s).
On another note I took Samson out last night on a test run to see how he does hiking with just me and my dog, no issues as expected, just did the same ol' Samson thing, walk - eat - repeat. Maybe out of all this Samson and I will get to bond in the backcounty more without the nuisance of me being upset at his brothers behavior lol. The real test is tomorrow as we'll be heading out on our first solo hike n' hunt together as bear season opens on August 1st. The blueberries are going crazy up past 5000' feet, so hopefuly I can pull one of those big black mountain pigs out of the high country this year.
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - Sanhestar - 07-30-2015
there are some goats that have a hard time leaving home/herd. I also found that two goats are more alert/ready to spook when out then four or five - safety in numbers. I always take four goats out and my regular packing string consists of six (although I have no need to pack that many).
Jerry might be a timid type of character who feels unsafe/scared when out on the trail. You could try how he behaves when you go out with all four goats, if he's braver then.
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - nebs - 07-31-2015
Boy that does sound frustrating! I hope you find a solution, and I will keep my fingers crossed you shoot a big black bear!
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - Dave-Trinity-Farms - 08-01-2015
I WANNA GO BEAR HUNTING!!!
Good luck!
RE: Jerry the non working goat.... - GPW - 08-17-2015
Well no luck on bears, but we did find another spot to go Deer/Elk hunting here in a couple weeks.