Chat
08-01-2015, 09:23 PM
Phil and I were invited to bring our goats over for the annual Beulah Arts & Crafts Festival today, so we brought Pac-Man (to pull the cart), Finn (to do tricks and shake people's hands), and Jezebel and Tigerlily (to eat cookies and look adorable). The first thing that happened was our cart got a flat tire, so I had to put that back in the truck and Pac-Man got a break from having to do anything except stand there and soak up attention, which he is very, very good at. People loved the goats, and Tigerlily discovered the joys of eating cookies.
Finn was quite the little show-off. Phil brought Finn's pedestal, so he looked very fine standing in his elevated position and offering to shake people's hands. We put tennis balls on his horns and vet wrapped them in place for safety. He's not at all aggressive with his horns, but even the nicest goat can cause an accident.
The best thing about having a pedestal, we discovered, was that it gave Finn somewhere specific to stand so he wasn't straining at the leash, trying to walk the other way, reaching for people's pockets, or attempting to follow after strangers. It gave him a focus and kept him in place better than the leash. So our circus training actually has a practical purpose to it!
Tigerlily was shy at first, but by the end I think she really enjoyed the people who came to pet her. She's downy soft and has the sweetest little face. We've been offering her cookies for quite some time, but it wasn't until today that she finally became interested. And once she found out how much she likes them, I had to really watch out for my cookie pouch! I constantly found her with her nose rooting through my bag in a frenzied search for more goodies.
Finally, we also met Pam Douglas. She and her husband Steve used to raise goats for John Mionczynski and keep his pack string at their place in Beulah during the winter. Steve wrote several articles for Goat Tracks during the 1990's. We'd met them once before but didn't know it at the time. It was fun to meet her properly today. I'd love go over there again and actually spend time with them. I'm sure they have a ton of interesting stuff to share.
Finn was quite the little show-off. Phil brought Finn's pedestal, so he looked very fine standing in his elevated position and offering to shake people's hands. We put tennis balls on his horns and vet wrapped them in place for safety. He's not at all aggressive with his horns, but even the nicest goat can cause an accident.
The best thing about having a pedestal, we discovered, was that it gave Finn somewhere specific to stand so he wasn't straining at the leash, trying to walk the other way, reaching for people's pockets, or attempting to follow after strangers. It gave him a focus and kept him in place better than the leash. So our circus training actually has a practical purpose to it!
Tigerlily was shy at first, but by the end I think she really enjoyed the people who came to pet her. She's downy soft and has the sweetest little face. We've been offering her cookies for quite some time, but it wasn't until today that she finally became interested. And once she found out how much she likes them, I had to really watch out for my cookie pouch! I constantly found her with her nose rooting through my bag in a frenzied search for more goodies.
Finally, we also met Pam Douglas. She and her husband Steve used to raise goats for John Mionczynski and keep his pack string at their place in Beulah during the winter. Steve wrote several articles for Goat Tracks during the 1990's. We'd met them once before but didn't know it at the time. It was fun to meet her properly today. I'd love go over there again and actually spend time with them. I'm sure they have a ton of interesting stuff to share.