A DOG’S TAIL

by Jean Thomure 

    I spent quite a bit of time in the field one day with the goats and dogs.  I was on a mission to collect “berries” from one of two does who was not bouncing back after kidding like I thought she should.  The herd was content standing around chewing the morning meal, so I waited.  And waited.  And waited.        

    This was not time wasted though, as it gave me an opportunity to see how the dogs and goats work together on a day-to-day basis.  It really is amazing how guardian dogs and goats interact, and how dependent goats are on the awareness of the dogs.  The goats have total confidence in the decisions of their guardians. 

I have seen the herd of some friends at the corridor of a field they wanted to enter, wait for their guardian to come and guide them in.  I saw that same herd finally give up and turn back because the dog was unwilling to give up her place in the shade.  She did eventually get up and escort them in, but I found it amazing that the goats, knowing that a lush field was just beyond, would wait until the dog got ready to move.  That is a well-tuned dog and goat relationship.

When introducing a dog into a herd of goats, the goats are panicked by its presence at first, as well they should be.  A canine is a very real threat and they don’t know the difference between a protector and an attacker.  Ideally, the new dog should be in a position to become acquainted with its new charges without excessive distress to the herd.  A pen, or whatever method the introduction takes, the idea is to get the goats used to the dog.  The first few days, when the herd hears, “woof-woof,” they are not going to run over to make friends.  On the contrary, they are going to head for cover.  But, gradually, as they see the “woof-woof” as less and less of a threat, they will overcome their fear and accept this new non-human presence.  Eventually, they will treat the dog like one of their own, even butting the fire out of it if it gets too close to the kids.  When kidding time comes, the goat may not like that the dog helps clean the kids and takes care of the afterbirth, but they will accept it without too much fuss.  A good dog will stay with the doe and kids until they are up and about.  That’s just part of their job as a guardian.

    This particular day, the shade of the trees was a cool retreat from the sunny field.  The herd, as I mentioned before, was lounging around, chewing cud.  Ever vigilant to danger, one of the dogs must have seen suspicious movement along the fencerow and barked in what sounded like an ordinary burst of noise to me.  The dogs bark all the time and at almost everything and the goats don’t do anything different.  But this particular warning tone alarmed them.  On cue, the herd queen, a large, retired Saanen doe, trotted away and the Kikos followed, until all of them were gathered into a protective bunch, like settlers circling their wagons to ward off an attack from bandits. 

It is precisely this action that makes a herd vulnerable to attack.  Should one goat be hit, instead of running, it stands waiting for the final cut while the remainder of the herd runs off to circle again.  I’ve seen this in our own field before we got guardian dogs.  A strange dog is mostly interested in killing as many as it can take down, so this inborn trait is perfect for its purpose.  Take one down, then two, then all, until a whole herd has been destroyed.  Fortunately for us, this dog only took one down before it was discovered and dispatched.  The doe did survive after a long, slow recovery.  We haven’t had any trouble since getting guardian dogs.

After a few minutes, the dogs gave no further warning, so the herd began to spread out as unconcerned as they had been before.  They moved out of the trees to eat.  I followed, still hopeful of collecting a sample to check for worms.  The dogs kept to the shade as the herd slowly moved on.  Everything was just as it should be.  Dogs on duty, goats secure, owner satisfied.