Chat
03-07-2016, 08:37 AM
I think you are having a dominance and tired (or overheating) deal. Number one, keep in mind, I run my goats in the mountains for 2.5 miles every week through the off season. My goats only pant because they are hot, not cause they are out of shape (In the spring I train on cool days or eve or morning). All my boys cannont make my whole loop right now because, as it warms up, they still have their winter coats, and they get over heated. When my boys pant (as opposed to breath hard which the difference is a tongue out vs. just breathing hard) I stop and let them recover. Keep in mind it takes a lot longer to recover from overheating than it does from being out of breath.
So with that being said, I believe he is passing you cause he has heart and needs to stop and his only way of telling you is to get in front of you and stop you. He also is likely getting in front of you and then saying to himself "where should I go now" but he doesn't know, and he's hot, so it make sense to him to stop. Either way, you are doing two things in my opinion that will bring up issues for you in the future. One, you need to let your goats recover if they are over heating or fatigued. And two you should never let your goat assert himself as the trail leader over you. I'd correct that with a squirt from a water bottle as he attempts to pass, or a thrown small stick or something else small (both should be accompanied with a strong "NO"). Keep in mind the stick or throwing object is intended to startle, not hurt. Lastly, I have begun to use a dog training trick and it's working very well. When my goats try to pass me I reverse directions on them and their whole plan gets foiled. I run in the other direction, back down the trail and they learn that passing only results in an upsetting of the apple cart and more work. They get that fast, and it's working really well.
That is all I got...I'm saying all this with caution as not being there makes it hard to asses the situation and make a correction and many forms of training work....This is just my way and my humble suggestion.
So with that being said, I believe he is passing you cause he has heart and needs to stop and his only way of telling you is to get in front of you and stop you. He also is likely getting in front of you and then saying to himself "where should I go now" but he doesn't know, and he's hot, so it make sense to him to stop. Either way, you are doing two things in my opinion that will bring up issues for you in the future. One, you need to let your goats recover if they are over heating or fatigued. And two you should never let your goat assert himself as the trail leader over you. I'd correct that with a squirt from a water bottle as he attempts to pass, or a thrown small stick or something else small (both should be accompanied with a strong "NO"). Keep in mind the stick or throwing object is intended to startle, not hurt. Lastly, I have begun to use a dog training trick and it's working very well. When my goats try to pass me I reverse directions on them and their whole plan gets foiled. I run in the other direction, back down the trail and they learn that passing only results in an upsetting of the apple cart and more work. They get that fast, and it's working really well.
That is all I got...I'm saying all this with caution as not being there makes it hard to asses the situation and make a correction and many forms of training work....This is just my way and my humble suggestion.