Chat
01-26-2018, 09:01 PM
Yeah, be careful of the kicking or smacking as it can cause the goat to fight back if he doesn't respect you. The main thing is not to smack them head-on. That is a challenge. A boot to the butt is not a challenge--it's just an "I saw what you did and it's not ok!" gesture. Smacks should always be to the side or hindquarters and if the goat cocks his head at you, try clapping your hands and stomping toward him with your voice raised to startle him. He should quickly retreat. It's good you use a voice command before using the squirt bottle. That way he has a chance to retreat before being squirted, and he can learn to obey you even when you don't have a spray bottle to back up the command.
I don't know if taking him out by himself will make any difference. Sometimes I find it's helpful to have more than one goat so that they can take their aggressions out on each other instead of focusing them on me. I make sure they don't clack horns next to me, but if they are feeling frisky I have no problem letting them go at each other while at a safe distance from people. We had an "only goat" that turned very aggressive when he grew up and I'm convinced that part of it was due to the fact that he didn't have another goat to spar with. He tried sparring with horses and people and none of us put up with it so he became frustrated. So having another goat or two on your walk might actually relieve some tension and give your guy an appropriate outlet for his exuberance.
I don't know if taking him out by himself will make any difference. Sometimes I find it's helpful to have more than one goat so that they can take their aggressions out on each other instead of focusing them on me. I make sure they don't clack horns next to me, but if they are feeling frisky I have no problem letting them go at each other while at a safe distance from people. We had an "only goat" that turned very aggressive when he grew up and I'm convinced that part of it was due to the fact that he didn't have another goat to spar with. He tried sparring with horses and people and none of us put up with it so he became frustrated. So having another goat or two on your walk might actually relieve some tension and give your guy an appropriate outlet for his exuberance.