Great Pyr pup meeting baby Pygmies

[Kstornado11]

Wasn't sure if this was a goat or a dog thread, so I posted here...
We are planning on getting two baby Pygmy goat does on Monday ( a combination birthday present for me, Christmas present for the 2 kids ) and am wondering how to introduce our 8 month old Pyr pup, Isaiah, to the kids. He is really good with our chickens, ducks,turkeys and guineas, so we're hoping he will take to the job of guarding the kids easily. They are babies on bottles, ALSO something new for us! Any tips or advice would be great!

[frazzlehead]

I am currently struggling with training a GP pup (6 months) to STOP PLAYING WITH THE SHEEP!

He's good arond the horned ones, who butt him when he gets up to his playful nonsense, but the polled ones are half nekkid having lost fleece from his tugging, and my ram has a nasty bite wound that's just now healing up.

My advice: have a muzzle that fits your pup at home, and ready to be put on him if he starts getting rambunctious.

He may bond to them right away, and decide they are his best friends. This is great until he decides they are his packmates and ought to be able to play like his puppy friends would! If the goats will put him in his place, you're ok - but baby pygmy vs GP pup doesn't sound like a fair match to me. Make sure you can fence them apart from one another (my GP is a shapeshifter and gets through/over/around any fence I've built so far) or have that muzzle ready, just in case.

They will outgrow the desire to play with the livestock, but while they are still in the throes of adolescent stupidity, it's best to ensure they can do no harm in case their playfulness gets the better of them.

You may get other advice, please know I'm a total rookie at this, but I have done tons of research and this is my best option at the moment. YMMV.



Good luck and enjoy the goats!

[Maura]

Put him on a leash when you introduce them. He'll probably want to sniff them real good. When the goats have had enough, call him back to you, bring him out of their pen. Repeat this several times a day. Bring him with you when you feed them, putting him on a sit stay. Not only does he have to get used to the goats, but they have to get used to this large predator, so you have to be there to protect them. If the goats are too frightened, you will have to find their comfort zone outside of the pen and have your dog sit/stay at a point they are comfortable, and gradually bring the dog a little closer over a period of time, say a week, so that the goats are comfortable with the dog being within a few feet of them. They are babies and have no one but you to protect them from the hard cruel world.

But aren't they just adorable?

[Bearfootfarm]

If possible, try to put them in a pen where they can "meet " through the fence for a while. That way the dog will learn they belong there, and the goats will learn too. Then , as Maura said, let them get together with him on a leash so you have total control. With my Maremmas Ive found that once they figure out the animals are not "strangers" then they dont attack or get upset. You may STILL need to keep an eye on him for a while since he's a pup, but that's all part of the normal training with any breed

Im not so sure about a muzzle being a big help since that wont stop the URGE to play with them. A big pup can do as much damage by pouncing as it will by biting. I used a shock collar with good results to stop the biting.