Chat
12-24-2013, 03:54 PM
Phil would love a colorful Nigerian Dwarf, so maybe that would be the answer to leaving the dog at home. But right now she gets very upset even when I take just one goat out of the pen. I usually bring Lilly down in the evenings for some extra feed. She has a very high metabolism and doesn't keep weight like the other goats, so she gets an extra meal (although lately I've had a hard time getting her to eat anything!). Yesterday I heard Daisy yelping and barking as soon as Lilly disappeared, and pretty soon the dog came bounding into the yard. She had pushed aside the big rocks, pushed the gate as far out as it would go while still latched, and had dug out underneath it. I gave her a pretty good tongue-lashing and marched her straight back to the pen. This time I also put rocks on the outside of the gate so she couldn't push against it, and if she keeps trying I'm going to install a hot wire 5 inches above the ground on the inside. That'll stop her!
But I noticed one thing: Daisy never digs or whines by the gate if all the goats are in the pen. I'm hoping her digging behavior stops once she realizes that the goats are ok when they're with Phil or I. I have to remind myself that she's brand new here, she has no reason to trust me and Phil, and she doesn't know anything about our routine.
On the plus side, Daisy is definitely getting more comfortable around our goats and the goats are finally starting to accept her. Cuzco likes to show her who's boss, but he didn't terrorize her today, and she wasn't nearly as frightened of his horn-waving and posturing as she was before. Daisy is also eating better too. The goats weren't the only ones off their feed this past week!
But I noticed one thing: Daisy never digs or whines by the gate if all the goats are in the pen. I'm hoping her digging behavior stops once she realizes that the goats are ok when they're with Phil or I. I have to remind myself that she's brand new here, she has no reason to trust me and Phil, and she doesn't know anything about our routine.
On the plus side, Daisy is definitely getting more comfortable around our goats and the goats are finally starting to accept her. Cuzco likes to show her who's boss, but he didn't terrorize her today, and she wasn't nearly as frightened of his horn-waving and posturing as she was before. Daisy is also eating better too. The goats weren't the only ones off their feed this past week!