Pack goat training workshop/classes?

[AcanthaRose]

I'm wondering if anyone knows of some kind of pack goat training workshop or class or guided backpacking trip. Or any kind of hands-on program for people learning to train goats (or even horses). I've had my pack goats for less than a year, and I have made great progress with them so far with what I have learned from independent research and adding questions; however, I seem to have hit a wall in that overall progress recently. I think there may be something in my technique that isn't working and I'm not really sure what it is. Also, I want to train my goats to eventually perform on the level of service animals. My two goats are the first animals I have trained ever, and so I'm looking for some extra instruction to help me achieve this goal. I live in the USA (Oregon), so I'm looking for a program in North America, preferably on the west coast. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 

[Nanno]

I believe the Cascade Packgoat Club may be in your area. What type of "service animal" stuff are you thinking? I for one would love to teach my goats to potty on command so they don't litter every place they walk (Finn is the worst--he can't stop going when he's excited).

[AcanthaRose]

I don't necessarily want to train them to be service animals, I just want them to perform at the level that is expected of search-and-rescue or police dogs. For example, to respond immediately to commands in many different conditions, to wait patiently when they are asked, to "heel" reliably, to remain calm even in stressful situations (I want them to have a more appropriate coping mechanism than spooking), etcetera. This is because I want to take them many different places (even to college if I end up going to a college not in my hometown), and to do this I need them to be polite and reliable.

I am part of the Cascade pack goat club, and it is fun but much less intensive/focused about training than I want to be.

As for potty training, I have been able to sort-of train one of my goats to pee on command, and she avoids peeing on hard surfaces (unless she REALLY has to go). But I was not successful at teaching her not to poop just anywhere.

[Taffy]

The Northwest Oregon Dairy Goat Assoc. holds an annual Goat Conference. It is this coming weekend! It is absolutely fabulous with all types of classes, exhibits, vendors, etc.

http://nwodga.org/annual_dairy_goat_conference.html

[Nanno]

The more places you take them, the calmer they will become over time. It just takes consistency. We take our boys many different places and they rarely spook any more. Training them to do things like walk through water and over obstacles teaches trust and obedience. Once they trust you, you can take them almost anywhere and they will stay calm. Even if they don't stay calm at first, if you have a few easy commands to get their focus back then they should settle very quickly if that basic trust is established. My boy Sputnik had a terror meltdown at the Halloween Town festival last October, so we removed him from the excitement for a few minutes and trotted him along a quiet side street to give him an outlet for his excess nerves. I gave him a few simple commands to make sure I had his mind focused back on me before going out onto Main Street again. When he went out the second time he was perfectly settled and didn't get upset or spooked again for the rest of the evening.

Take your goats walking through parks where there are dogs and joggers and baby strollers, on streets with plenty of traffic, and train them to negotiate obstacles that require trust. Phil and I like to work with our goats so they will climb on or jump over unusual "found" obstacles that we happen across. You have to be intentional and look for them, but there are training obstacles almost everywhere you go. Just yesterday we walked past a large culvert that was sticking out 15 feet or so past the road. It was elevated above the dry creek bed and I walked out onto it to see if the goats would follow me. It was slippery and made a weird noise when they walked on it, but both goats came when called. I have them jump over guard rails and through swing sets, I sometimes ask them to walk through puddles instead of around, I've had both of them ride on a merry-go-round, and they've both had to walk over expanded metal bridges where they could look down through the bottom. Doing "scary" stuff builds their trust and their self-confidence. Best of luck!

[DownUnder Gal]

Merry-go-round! Ha ha - wish I could have seen that.