Training

Arie is now being "trained" by Stanky the more dominant goat. Stinky no longer puts up much of a fight when Arie plays with him. She gnaws on his horns and he seems to not mind it much. I don't want her doing that though so that's why I switched her to being with the other goat.

Arie still tries to play with him but, he is still able to make her mind her manners. Just the other day however, I saw a funny thing. Stanky must think she is another goat or something because he was trying to woo her with his charm. He was doing the whole goat courtship thing and had her on the run. He chased her all over the pen attempting to mate with her. She would have no part of it of course.

Ariella's training is a continuing process. She has a very sharp temperament and tries to dominate everything. And watch out if an animal gets near her when she's eating. Even with Stankey she will lay into him. She has done this since she was small. But, now she has more size to back up her threats. So far I've had no problem with her feeling threatened by me when she eats but, I am keeping watchful for it. I make a big deal with her when I give her food and so far she is happy for me to be there.

I've been working with Arie being around the house dogs. She still wants to play all the time and she now towers over even the Golden Retrievers. Ben tried to bite her today. He still does not like her. She was quick to jump away from his fangs however. She has become accustomed to evading the goats horns so I think that is why she was so quick.

I believe you could say Arie has a high "prey drive", which I am glad for given the caliber of predators in these parts, (see the below wolf video). But, it is making for a challenge with training her to be proper around the livestock and other animals that belong here. I just hope she doesn't develop a killer instinct towards the domestic animals.

Apollo, the Siberian Husky I used to have was a killer. He used to have the run of the farm until one day I caught him trying to hamstring one of the horses we had here. I penned him up after that. But, he got out a few times and every time he did he'd kill something. On more than one occasion chickens lost their heads if they were foolish enough to poke their heads into his enclosure. And one time Kelli's favorite cat got in with him and he killed and ate it.

I figured back then that once a dog got the taste of blood then they could never be trusted. However a few years back I communicated with Walter Jeffries of Sugar Mountain Farm who has years of experience with his own LGD's and he once broke a dog from killing livestock with a shock collar. He said it turned into one of his best dogs. I never tried it with Apollo as he was already up in age but, I can see how it might work if done correctly.

So I really want to stay on top of Ariella's aggressive tendencies before it becomes a problem. Her temperament is kind of a double edged sword. It's great to know she will go after anything that is a threat but, it can come back at us too. Something to work on.

I'm getting an area ready for the main sheep flock to stay for the winter. It is were Arie will be as well. I've been letting her run around in there and play over this past week. She absolutely loves to dig! So if you are someone who wants to keep a Kangal Dog in the back yard be forewarned if you are the type of person who likes a manicured lawn. She can dig holes with just a few swipes of her huge paws! Which I think is characteristic of most Kangals from what I have learned.

I've been around dogs all my life and have owned quite a few over the years so I don't consider myself a novice by any means, yet Arie is teaching me a lot, just by staying a step ahead of her. She's smart.