It is important to keep goats social. It is also a basic need for them to be pet
and cuddled. If you plan on having goats
as loving companions, make sure you have plenty of time to massage them, brush
them, pet them, play with them. The
require this.
Each goat has a unique personality and will let you know
what they like and what they dislike. Be
careful. A swing of the head means a
loud “NO.” Immediately stop what you
are doing. They are communicating that
they don’t want you to touch them in that place or in that way. You don’t need more than one warning. Once is enough. Don’t push your limits. Don’t take it personally either. This is just a goats way to
communicate. Some goats are more picky
on how they like be touched more than others.
Often, if you get a goat that has a history, you don’t know what type of
experience they had before you met them.
Remember, their memories are way better than yours. Perhaps a goat had its hooves trimmed in a
rough manner or by someone they didn’t like.
They may not let you touch their hooves if they have that type of
memory. Don’t keep trying to do
something if they show you that the area has a bad memory associated with
it.
I can pet my little goat’s hooves because he has not had
them trimmed yet. He may not need them
trimmed if the rocks that he walks on files them down for him. The bigger one disliked the person who
trimmed his hooves in the past. He only
lets me touch them if he is trying to scratch in between them and is okay with
me helping him. He is sometimes fine
with me touching the front ones, but not the back ones. I get a swing of his head letting me know I
am in territory that I should not be in.
He has memory there. He doesn’t
want anything to be repeated that he didn’t like. I am watching his hooves and taking him to
places to walk on rocks so that they can get filed down naturally. If they get too long and the rocks are not
filing them down enough, they will have to be trimmed. But, his past memory of having his hooves
trimmed was not good so that is not something I want to do myself. Hopefully the rocks will file them down
enough.
My goats don’t like to be around rough people and so they
are picky about who touches them. Be
mindful to this. If they need hoof
trimming and the rocks are not doing it, then learn to trim them or hire
someone who is gentle and kind. There
are people out there who treat goats that are not pet goats. They may be rough and unkind. You don’t want your pet goats around that
type of person, it can cause them bad memories.
There is someone that my older goat does not like who
used to trim his hooves. Whenever he
showed up on the ranch, my goat saw him and stopped walking and went the other
way. I always support my goat’s
feelings. I give him respect and that is
one of the reasons why we have such a great relationship. If he has a strong feeling about someone or
something, I listen to him. Clearly that
was not the right person to trim his hooves.
There is no reason to be rough with a goat. Don’t hire someone unless they are kind and
gentle. Don’t give your goat bad
memories by subjecting them to harsh people.
They need affection and love, just like anyone else. I make sure that only affectionate and
loving people go near my goats. They
also have to be peaceful people. I am
very choosy and you should be, too.
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