House trained goats?

Dreamgoat Annie · #1 01/24/12, 08:53 PM

I'm new here. Emily Dixon says this is a great forum, so I'm looking forward to meeting you folks.

)

My question: have any of you house trained goats and if so, how did you go about house training them?

I clicker trained a bottle baby buckling I got from Emily two years ago to use a pad in a back corner of the kitchen. He was a lot easier to train than most puppies. But, since he was going to be a buck, he eventually moved out to a paddock with a Port-a-Hut and a friend and he doesn't make house visits any longer.

Now I have a bottle baby reserved and since he'll be a wether, I'd like to do a more extensive job of house training so he can come in for extended visits later on. I'm think I'll eventually try to train him to go outdoors instead of using a pad, so that will be all new ground.

By the way, I've never participated at a forum before, only at YahooGroups, so I hope I get this right.

p

Sue Weaver (Dreamgoat Annie)

Patrick · #2 01/25/12, 08:54 AM

IMO it's a bad idea. It will be very difficult to effectively housetrain a goat. Besides, goats are livestock. They belong in the barn, not sharing living quarters with humans. Even if it were possible, how would you provide proper food for a goat inside your home? I can't imagine a way to feed hay so that it does not cause cleanliness issues, and possible human health concerns from constantly being exposed to airborn dust and other contaminants. If the local government health authorities were ever involved, would you honestly be able to defend keeping a goat in the house as a "pet", on sanitary grounds?

Alice In TX/MO · #3 01/25/12, 09:35 AM

Keep them outside unless you live in a cinderblock house with concrete floors, including drains to hose them down. Also, no furniture or decorations.

nathan104 · #4 01/25/12, 10:35 AM

As a general rule, any animal that will poop in their bedding and in their food, is beyond being able to be housebroken. If you really want a farm animal for your house, get a pig.

saanengirl · #5 01/25/12, 10:36 AM

I have been told that it is possible to train them not to pee in the house, but that training them not to poop in the house is an impossibility.

Dreamgoat Annie · #6 01/25/12, 12:45 PM

Wellll, I'm not thinking of him living in the house full time--we DO have 25-some outdoor goats. But I'd like for my former bottle babies to come in to visit and stay awhile whenever they want to.

Our bottle baby setup is a large wire dog crate that opens from the top as well as the front. We bed it thickly with pieces of blankets and wash them when they get wet or dirty. All of my bottle babies live indoors for 3-5 weeks (depending on how soon their urine gets really smelly) and they all have run of the house part of the time, with supervision. I used to diaper them but think house training is the better way to go.

So, after meals I carried Kerla, the kid I pad trained two years ago, to the pee-pee pad (they're several layers of easily-laundered pieces of an old, puffy comforter with finished edges) and stood by until he peed. Then I clicked (I clicker train) and gave him a big bunch of attention. Then he could run around awhile. I also got up a couple times every night (I'm pushing 65--I have to get up to go to the bathroom anyway) and took him to the pad. Took about 2 weeks until he was reliable enough to run to the pad when he had to go.

Poop is something else--I just Dustbuster it up. However, a woman at my YahooGroups goat list has 5 house trained Myotonic goats who neither pee nor poop indoors. She has a YouTube video up of one of her goats going outdoors to to do her thing. She even takes them to a nursing home for visits and they perform in a Passion Play every year and they neither pee nor poop when and where they shouldn't, even then.

And, there are two people at my sheep list with fully house trained sheep (Jane, in Australia, has three house trained Merinos), no pee, no poop indoors, and a third who has a ewe who comes indoors at night and watches TV with her husband (the ewe sleeps in an indoor pen at night).

For sure goats have to be watched when they're indoors. I once retrieved my first bottle baby from the top of the refrigerator (he apparently jumped from the floor to a chair to the counter to the bread box and then to the top of the 'fridge--all in the time I went to the bathroom). It means covering exposed wires (the same first bottle baby and his brother chewed through our indoor telephone line) and putting everything, but especially paper, up where inquisitive mouths can't find it (I once returned a goat-chewed contract to Hobby Farms magazine; Karen Keb was still editor then and thought it was funny).

But John and I really enjoy having kids and lambs in the house. They often come to the door as adults, wanting to come in for a visit. I'd like them to be able to do it without worrying about a puddle to clean up.

Sue

P.S. I HAD a house pig. Got him as a piglet and two months later he was still peeing wherever he wanted to. He became an outdoor pig.

Donna1982 · #7 01/25/12, 01:29 PM

As I said in the other post about this. Ours is house trained to a point. They will go to the door when they have to pee but if you dont do it right then they will pee on anything soft. Mine only come in once in awhile. Its easier for me since I do most shots, nail clipping etc by myself. Its easier to all this in my kitchen. But its a short trip. They get into EVERYTHING!!!

Just got done doing the girls hoofs (btw boys NEVER come in.) At four different times we had goats on my bed twice (they ran off when I was doing hoofs) spilled my kool aid five times (it was up really high) tried to eat my house plants 9 times, spilled house plant once. And on the way out one pooped in the kitchen. That is all in a matter of maybe an hour and four different does. We let the bottle babies from birth to around age 2 months or 30 lbs be in the house but everyone wears diapers and they are in a dog kennel if we are not with them.

**mygoat** · #8 01/25/12, 01:34 PM

Goats are ruminants. Their stomach is constantly turning and they MUST poo regularly. I believe they NEED to urinate very regularly as well, because their stomachs are huge WET fermentation vats. They go through a LOT of water compared to, say, dogs/cats.

Perhaps you COULD housetrain them. But I strongly believe it should NOT be done because of their physiology. They need to poo/pee regularly. Not to mention it goes against their behavior of grazing with herd mates, something people are not likely to do for the majority of the day with their pet goat.

In the best interest of the animal, do not attempt to housetrain, IMO.

Charleen · #9 01/25/12, 03:58 PM

It's not just the issue of potty training but goats like to CHEW and CLIMB and they will do that all over the house.

ETA - welcome to the forum!

Backfourty,MI. · #10 01/25/12, 04:28 PM

I also agree with all the others but wanted to Welcome you to the forum! Love this place & the people are great. Lots of friendly, knowledgable folks here.

We also should let you know right up front we LOVE goat pictures, any kind will do but we have to see baby picutes when ever you get new babies, born, bought or otherwise!

airotciv · #11 01/25/12, 07:14 PM

Welcome to the forum. My first thought was why would anyone what goats in the house? As people have said, even if you could potty train them, they still chew and climb. If I hear one more time "Do you know what your goats have done now?" from DH and thier outside. I would hate to see what they would do to a house.

lonelyfarmgirl · #12 01/25/12, 07:16 PM

We kept a bottle doe in the kitchen for a couple months one time, as it was the only option to save her. She stayed in a dog cage or on a leash. She crapped all the time. It was two months of following behind her with a paper towel. Ugg, not again.

Patrick · #13 01/26/12, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamgoat Annie

I'm new here. Emily Dixon says this is a great forum, so I'm looking forward to meeting you folks.

)

My question: have any of you house trained goats and if so, how did you go about house training them?

I clicker trained a bottle baby buckling I got from Emily two years ago to use a pad in a back corner of the kitchen. He was a lot easier to train than most puppies. But, since he was going to be a buck, he eventually moved out to a paddock with a Port-a-Hut and a friend and he doesn't make house visits any longer.

Now I have a bottle baby reserved and since he'll be a wether, I'd like to do a more extensive job of house training so he can come in for extended visits later on. I'm think I'll eventually try to train him to go outdoors instead of using a pad, so that will be all new ground.

By the way, I've never participated at a forum before, only at YahooGroups, so I hope I get this right.

p

Sue Weaver (Dreamgoat Annie)

That's odd. There is someone with the same name as you with 1087 posts on the Hobby Farms forum, a lot of them to do with goats. What a coincidence that there are two people with the same name who have goats.

Patrick · #14 01/26/12, 03:27 PM

She even lives near you, in northermost Arkansas, and she's a fulltime writer too! What are the chances?

Oat Bucket Farm · #15 01/26/12, 03:44 PM

Are you she, Dream Goat? That would be awesome.

CarolT · #16 01/27/12, 01:10 PM

I'm lost as to why it would be odd for someone to join 2 forums to talk about goats? I belong to more than one forum and no one comments on it.

OTOH Welcome DreamGoatAnnie! Hope you enjoy it here, for the most part!

ETA, I see the no other forums comment now, sorry.

ozark_jewels · #17 01/27/12, 01:22 PM

Hope everybody gives Sue a warm welcome.

She is a good friend and a great person who LOVES her goats. While I'm not interested in housetraining a goat(though I've had a few that would have been perfectly happy to lounge around on my couch!), If anyone can do it, I'll bet its Sue. And she takes great care of her babies. Keep posting, Sue!!
I'm a goat person who belongs to waaaay too many forums.....and yahoo groups! I prefer these type of forums.

prairiedog · #18 01/27/12, 01:46 PM

Any babies yet Emily? Need pics.

Donna1982 · #19 01/27/12, 01:54 PM

Welcome to the fourm. I forgot to say that before.

Oat Bucket Farm · #20 01/27/12, 02:29 PM

Yes, welcome Sue.

I'm a member of more than goat forum too, although this is the one I frequent most.