Chat
08-04-2017, 03:09 PM
Because of the relentless afternoon rains, it's been almost a month since we've been able to drive. Usually Phil works in the morning, but today he wasn't busy so we decided to beat the weather and take a drive before noon. The boys did okay considering how long it's been since we've been able to practice, but Sputnik had a meltdown near the beginning. We drove the boys around a cul-de-sac with two big barking dogs in the yard next to it. The dog yard surrounded almost the entire circle so the boys got the barking treatment all the way around. The dogs were contained with an invisible fence, so it looked like they could attack the goats if they wanted to.
Our goats were actually pretty good about the dogs. Finn went right around and barely hesitated. Sputnik and I took the circle in the other direction and Sputnik was okay with the dogs, but as soon as we passed Finn going the other way, he threw a magnificent temper tantrum and refused to continue around the circle. I was able to get him going again, but as soon as we were underway he tried to take off in a dead run to catch up with Finn. I decided that this behavior needed work, so while Phil and Finn waited patiently a little way down the road, I made Sputnik go around the circle again. I had to make him go around several times before he minded his manners, and I had to get out of the cart several times and lead him to get started. The biggest problem was always coming around the circle toward Finn. That's when Sputnik would dive his head down toward the pavement, lean on the bit, and take off as fast as he could. He flung his head, bucked, leaped, and even nosedived into the asphalt once. By the time he finally decided to calm down and behave, we were both a bit worn out and Sputnik had blood on his face. I jumped out to make sure he hadn't been injured. He had slammed his nose several times on the ends of the shafts in frustration, whacked his muzzle on the pavement, and had lunged all his weight into the bit a few times. I was afraid his mouth or tongue could be hurt and we'd have to end our drive. But it was none of those things. He just had a slight bloody nose, which is something Sputnik is occasionally prone to. I think he snorted so much he burst a capillary up there because I found no external injuries or problems with his mouth. I wiped the blood off and no more came so we continued our drive and there were no more theatrics.
After the anger management episode, we had a very nice time. The boys were calm and happy to walk or trot along together. Sputnik liked to move ahead and tended to keep up a brisk pace. Whenever Finn got in front, our speed decreased considerably. We tried racing along a short stretch, but neither of the goats was really into it. Sputnik was tired out from our fight earlier and Finn was feeling lazy, so we "raced" at a fast trot with the occasional leisurely canter. Sputnik led from start to finish. Hopefully we'll be able to keep up our practices this month. Sputnik is a fast learner so I don't think it would take him very long to figure out that if he behaves the first time when asked to do something he doesn't like, he'll only have to do it once. If he misbehaves he'll be made to repeat the exercise until he does it without drama.
Our goats were actually pretty good about the dogs. Finn went right around and barely hesitated. Sputnik and I took the circle in the other direction and Sputnik was okay with the dogs, but as soon as we passed Finn going the other way, he threw a magnificent temper tantrum and refused to continue around the circle. I was able to get him going again, but as soon as we were underway he tried to take off in a dead run to catch up with Finn. I decided that this behavior needed work, so while Phil and Finn waited patiently a little way down the road, I made Sputnik go around the circle again. I had to make him go around several times before he minded his manners, and I had to get out of the cart several times and lead him to get started. The biggest problem was always coming around the circle toward Finn. That's when Sputnik would dive his head down toward the pavement, lean on the bit, and take off as fast as he could. He flung his head, bucked, leaped, and even nosedived into the asphalt once. By the time he finally decided to calm down and behave, we were both a bit worn out and Sputnik had blood on his face. I jumped out to make sure he hadn't been injured. He had slammed his nose several times on the ends of the shafts in frustration, whacked his muzzle on the pavement, and had lunged all his weight into the bit a few times. I was afraid his mouth or tongue could be hurt and we'd have to end our drive. But it was none of those things. He just had a slight bloody nose, which is something Sputnik is occasionally prone to. I think he snorted so much he burst a capillary up there because I found no external injuries or problems with his mouth. I wiped the blood off and no more came so we continued our drive and there were no more theatrics.
After the anger management episode, we had a very nice time. The boys were calm and happy to walk or trot along together. Sputnik liked to move ahead and tended to keep up a brisk pace. Whenever Finn got in front, our speed decreased considerably. We tried racing along a short stretch, but neither of the goats was really into it. Sputnik was tired out from our fight earlier and Finn was feeling lazy, so we "raced" at a fast trot with the occasional leisurely canter. Sputnik led from start to finish. Hopefully we'll be able to keep up our practices this month. Sputnik is a fast learner so I don't think it would take him very long to figure out that if he behaves the first time when asked to do something he doesn't like, he'll only have to do it once. If he misbehaves he'll be made to repeat the exercise until he does it without drama.