This may seem like a strange question, but does anyone on here keep goats? If so how do they ever interact with your husky/ies and how is the relationship? I am thinking about getting some goats but want to know if I will have to keep them separate or not. My husky is a female and is generally good with other dogs and our cat, although I wouldn't leave her alone with the cat.

I don't have goats, my neighbors have cows, donkeys and fowl of various sorts. Ami is VERY interested in them. One of our walking routes takes us by a pair of miniature horses and another, a pair of beef cows and a horse. He is very interested in them, too but with one of the miniatures and the beef cows, he has approached them, at the fence and sniffed noses. With the beef cows, he has trotted side by side down the fence, he on leash, the cows on the other side of the fence. It is my impression, that with careful training and monitoring, over time, he could co-exist with them.

Another poster here had her husky either seriously maim or kill I forget which, one of her family members goats on a visit.

Are you talking the small goats or the big ones?

You would have to closely monitor with dog under total control at first.

I'm with Amy here, our Huskies are predators (well, all dogs are basically predators, right?) they just don't have the herding / guarding "instincts" that have been bred into other lines. Her statement that you'd "have to closely monitor with dog under total control at first.", to me, is a bit of an understatement.

My next door neighbor has two big goats that she uses as pack animals when she hikes.
We sometimes meet them on the trail.
Bodhi is VERY interested in them.
They are completely unafraid of him and butt him if he gets too close.
I'm not worried about their ability to protect themselves.
But from my experience, I'd say that husky- goat interaction would need to be monitored carefully.

I agree with Amy and Al, and Michael, but I will add from my experience. I live in ranch country, and farm animals are abundant. My one neighbor has a male husky and they keep their Llama, sheep and chickens separate(fenced) from their husky, he never goes inside with them. He did kill an adult sheep, which was a neighbors, and it is perfectly ok for a rancher to shoot a dog who kills livestock. Rancher was willing to not kill him, but the husky wore the sheep carcass for several weeks, he will not go near sheep.

Second neighbor also has a male husky(Miya plays with both of male huskies), from puppy on, he is now 3, he has been around within the fence with donkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, guineas, and other various animals. He is always under supervision, the sheep and other livestock are separately penned for both their and husky protection and safety.

Miya, had a strong prey drive pre 8 months of age, chased and tried to attack everything, and ate a duck before. I did not want her to be shot, or have to wear a dead carcass, so my approach has been to introduce her to everything. With my strict control of her. Remember an adult goat, cow, horse, donkey, etc, can afflict as much damage to a dog as a dog can inflict on them, here in Texas livestock have to be protected from coyotes, so they can be aggressive of a dog just wandering up. This is not me saying that a husky isn't going to try to attack because something is bigger than them, this is me saying that protecting animals goes both ways. Miya is very leery of horses, and will approach another neighbors horses, they are now quite friendly with each other, but that's with a fence separating them. My neighbors with the donkeys and such, have taken her walking, with out me and with out a leash and she has never chased, or attempted any aggression on any of their animals, they actually have commented that she is better with the animals than their own husky. It was all because of introductions through fences. Now I will stop there, because they acquired sheep, and she wants nothing to do with the adults(they have massive horns), however, they have babies, and between the fence Miya and one baby played with each other for probably 15 minutes and then, her hair stood up, and the teeth were showing and she was growling. I was disappointed, my neighbor did mention that for some reason his husky did the same, and our conclusion was that the babies smell different, and this triggered the prey drive.

I say introduce slowly, keep a fence between them, and always be there to supervise, just in case. Here is a pic of Miya saying hi to my neighbors horses, they actually come running when we walk over to their place. BTW, a full grown goat should have spiky horns, I would not want my dog be gorged by that. Supervision and complete control and slow introductions are my words of wisdom.

My turn. Yes it can be done depending on the dog and type of goats. Our current dog is o.k. around the older goats, but a bully with the young ones. Another Husky mix we had we used let dry the kids when mom was not real attentive, she never went near the adults, didn't like them. Our Springer would jump the fence and start a good game of tag. Proceed with caution, but it has been done before.