Dogs on the trail

[TipsyToad]

I don't see any value in taking a guardian animal (except a livestock guarding or herding dog) with you. The guarding occurs when the lama or the donkey live with your goats permanently. So you have to care for yet another animal with it's own, special needs. Neither donkey nor lama should be kept solitary without members of their own species around. Donkeys are known to attack sheep/goats or play so rough that they injure them.

I already have donkeys and llamas who live with my goats and sheep as guard animals (we have a lot of coyotes where I live), but I get the point about having an extra animal on the trail. I am working on a business plan to take people on day hikes with pack goats, so each hiker would have their own goat to lead. That's one of the main reasons I'm planning to keep them on lead... it's part of the experience.