How To Protect Goats From Dogs?

[Blackie's handmaiden]

OK...We've given up getting permission from parks in advance and decided In Texas to just take goat to park and hope we don't get kicked out. So we thought first outing we would go to day use horse park near here, a state park, along with the horses. I have never been In an equestrian park or even general camping park here In Texas where people don't let their dogs run loose with no ability to control them from the saddle. How do you keep your goats frombeing attacked or Injured? Do you carry pepperspray or how do you handle.It? Thanks.

[Nanno]

Very good question. First, I always bring a leash for each goat so I can keep my critters close to me if we encounter a dog. Usually the goats will run to me anyway, but I like to make sure that my animals at least are under control. Many people have used pepper spray or a Dog Dazer with good success. Some folks prefer to carry a heavy walking stick and use it to beat off any unwanted dog intrusions. I have dogs at home so my goats are comfortable around them and tend to bristle up and present horns when a dog gets too close. Some dog owners are really foolish and think it's a great idea for Fido to meet your goat, so they'll actually encourage their dog to go up and sniff. I always tell them to please call their dog back. I don't know their dog, and a sniff can turn to a bite in the blink of an eye. I also don't know that my goat won't haul off and crack their dog in the skull. I don't care so much about their nosy dog (except that no dog should get hurt because of his owner's ignorance), but I personally don't want to get caught in the crossfire when my goat starts swinging his horns in self-defense.

[GoldenTreePackGoats]

Dogs are my biggest frustration, no dog should be off leash if it doesn't come back to you the moment it's called, just my opinion. We bring pepper spray, one per person, we try to keep our eyes far a head and back to see the incoming threat. Once we see an off leash dog, we say, "call your dog." Most people in this area tell us, that there dog has never bitten anyone or anything, I would say 9/10 times the dogs hackles go up and they growl at us, luckily we've only had human bites and no goats have been harmed. I always position the goats behind me (which they do already) and stay between the goat and the dog.

At some point we plan to look into maybe a cattle prod as our 2nd defense, but if our goats are on a leash and a dog decides to rip into them anyways our absolute last resort is to shoot the dog. We have a dog, and love him dearly, I would never want to take anyones best friend away, but my goats are just as close to me as my dog and they are doing a job for me, its our responsibility to keep them safe.

[IdahoNancy]

As of 2 week ago I can attest to the fact that bear spray works very well on labordor retrievers. Especially on over enthusiastic big youngsters. Even if their owners are screaming at them to "come" while driving their 4 wheelers furiously to retrieve them. You do want to have the dog down wind. We had a stiff breeze so I got between this dog and the goats. He was forced to down wind to go around me to get to the goats. I had the big bear spray can. I could tell the dog was a young ill trained knucklehead but he was huge and I was't taking any chances. I just gave him one short blast. This was extremely effective. He took off, head down rubbing his face in the grass. As the owner approached, who was a stranger to me, I said hello, told her I sprayed her dog, grabbed her dog lead off the back of her 4 wheeler and handed it to her. Dog was fine but his eyes were tearing.

[DownUnder Gal]

I also use a Dog Dazer and it works well.

[Colorado Shawn]

Buy a dog dazer!
Buy some bear spray or pepper spray.
Carry them with you every time.
I lost a goat this year to a dog attack, it was heartbreaking.

[blackie's maiden]

Thanks, all, for your advice. So very sorry for those of you who lost a goat to a dog attack. What a tragic waste.

[Sanhestar]

Apart from all detering methods already mentioned:

take the time (and the help of a friend or two with dogs) to teach your goats to come back to you when you encounter dogs. Teach your goats a solid recall first and then combine this with dogs apearing so that it becomes a well trained response.

Learn yourself how to behave to deter dogs that come inquiring with body position and posture.

[Don]

I prefer taser pistol as first line of defense, capsium always seems to have inadvertent side effects for me and my stock. If the attack is on then regretfully my pistol will be used to stop the attacker . Fortunately I never have needed to shoot a dog, although I have been bit myself. If no gun and the attack is on, wrap your forearm with your jacket, feed the attacking dog your padded arm, then stab dog in heart to end . This is a military method of defeating dog attacker’s but is effective.

[Ms_Mudd]

This is interesting reading.
My pony and I have been attacked by dogs while carriage driving and it was more luck than anything that I didn't end up in a serious wreck. I had a long driving whip that I could thwack the attackers with, but admittedly it was a bit hard to do when your pony is plunging about the place trying to bolt.

I am skeptical of the dazers, as a similar idea is the 'roo shoo' an ultrasonic device to deter kangaroos...which simply doesn't work. Have forum users had dogs stop in their tracks with dazers, or just carry them as back up? I do carry some questionably legal spray (in Australia anyway) that I *may* have obtained from another country. I carry it on all walks I do solo, as a 'human deterrent', but suppose it could be used on dogs in an emergency as others have mentioned in responses above?