Goat Yoga Surprise
Our 2 big dogs were restricted from the pasture for almost 3 weeks while we regraded and seeded the area around the barn. The three goats were kept in a separate pasture from the barn. None of the animals were thrilled with it.
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| Barn regrading |
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| Oliver, Hammish and Gatwick |
Daisy our husky/Shepard mix had often played tag with the goats. She used to run with our horses and even get them to chase her sometimes. I think she wanted to start a game of tag.
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| Daisy |
However it started to get dangerous as Maddie, our smaller
Feist mix, joined in.
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| Maddie |
It went from running, to chasing, to homing in on the smallest newest arrival, Oliver. The chase was on with me in hot pursuit. I managed to catch them when Oliver headed for the barn. He was very out of breadth but OK.
Fast forward. The dogs hadn’t been out in the pasture now for over a month now. They run back and forth through our 2 big backyards, but Daisy has a need to guard the herd or us. She needs a job and is bored.
I spent a half day at the barn, helping to vaccinate, worm the goats, aka hold them. Then the rest of the afternoon working in the tack room scrubbing the floor to get ready to paint part of it.
When I come back in the dark and hit the first hole, I realize something is wrong. Between my flashlight and carefully feeling with my feet, I find 8 holes! Granted they are small in diameter, but each one is at least 8” deep.
So Daisy was bored.She was frustrated that she couldn’t go with me per our usual routine and was probably a little spiteful. She’s very sensitive to keeping everyone together and I was out there, along with the goats, and she wasn’t with me. She couldn't get to me & protect me while I worked at the barn.
The next day I thought I could remedy the situation. I tried leaving the dog entry to the pasture open, while I filled the holes Daisy dug. I thought the big dogs wouldn’t care about the goats since I was in the yard. It didn’t end as I hoped.
As soon as Dausy realized she could get to the pasture she went out. She started herding Oliver. Suddenly Maddie joined in & the chase was on.
I grabbed a lead line and ran to the pasture.
I finally grabbed Oliver by the collar but quickly ended up on ground holding onto Oliver while fending off Daisy & Maddie's attacks on him. They we’re aiming for his rear and back legs. They weren’t vicious but relentless.
My phone fell out of my pocket onto the ground. I kept yelling at Siri to call Charlie, in between screaming at the dogs, rolling on the ground and trying to whip the lead line rope at the dogs to chase them away.
Finally Siri called Charlie, who heard a bunch of muffled noise and decided something was wrong. He came out with a leash & got the dogs away.
Meanwhile I’d been hopped over, dragged on the ground, stepped on and maybe took a horn in one of my bruised spots. Oliver is so gentle, terrific with people and not a fighter. He’s smaller than the other goats. However if he had been aggressive with the dogs and fought them off he could have hurt them. He could have tried to hurt me instead of actually laying down next to me, near the end, for protection or out of sheer exhaustion.
Oliver is OK. He was so good afterwards and let me check him all over. His back leg was a little sore but I think the only blood I saw came from one of my scraped knees or knuckles.
I'm a little banged up but some ibuprofen and a few strategically placed ice bags last night helped.
I can't understand why the big dogs suddenly Decided to target just him. They have pent up energy by not being allowed in the pasture for so long. Oliver is the smallest and newest member of the herd. I think it started as a game with Daisy but Maddie didn't understand the game concept. It quickly turned to pack mentality.
I warned the folks who plan to take the goats as soon as their barn connected pasture fencing is complete. Anymore accidental goat/dog run-ins and I may load Oliver up in the back seat of the truck and drop him off in their herd in the middle of the night. I'll try to be real quiet. 🙄
So, if Goat Yoga involves being stepped on by a goat, on purpose, I do Not recommend it!
