Mr. Moon Explores the World

[MellonFriend]

How pretty the view is! It sounds like a fun adventure. Mr. Moon is almost the same age as Pongo. Pongo turned 1 year old on Feb. 26.

Dog packs are notorious for sliding off to one side because they don't have a rigid tree to prop them up. Goats aren't symmetrical because the rumen bulges out to the left side and it changes size and shape throughout the day as they exercise. Dogs don't have that business going on so the packs stay put better. If you could find a way to shim the pack with some rigid or semi-rigid pieces along the bottom on either side of the spine it would stay in place better. Some polypropylene plastic sheeting (like the kind my PolyDomes are made of) could be cut with a jigsaw to make some shims, but I'm not sure how they could be attached. Dog packs are nice because they are inexpensive and lightweight, but they definitely have their downsides. You can't really tighten them very well either because the lack of a rigid tree means you could compress your goat's spine and you don't want to do that of course.

As for the peeing, yep, we've all experienced that with green and unconditioned wethers just starting their first day of hiking! It's like they have an endless bladder! Most of them also won't drink when they're young and inexperienced. You could try adding some Gatorade powder to the water to see if it tempts him. My goats go nuts for that stuff. Otherwise I go by the mantra that when they're thirsty they'll eventually drink. Some youngsters go a couple of days before they will dare to drink unfamiliar water. I cheat because I have older, wiser goats who are experienced and will drink at almost every opportunity, which sets a great example for the youngsters. They usually copy their elders on the trail, so it's been a long time since I've had a young goat that wouldn't drink. However, I haven't forgotten those days when I did have youngsters who peed bucketloads but wouldn't drink a drop for 2-3 days. They sure get skinny when they do that, but as soon as they start drinking again they plump right back up.  

 Thanks for all the great info!  It's good to know that the peeing and lack of drinking is normal.  I'll have to think about what I have that I could use to alter the dog pack. I already figured I'd have to do something to keep it off his spine when carrying a load, but I didn't realize it would slip to the side like this without it.   I can hand sew, so I'm sure I could figure out a way to sew some pockets to slide a rigid material into.