How Do Goats Show Affection?
3 Scientifically Proven Ways
Move over dogs, there’s a new rising star in the companion pet world: goats! While, yes, they are traditionally barnyard livestock, that doesn’t mean they aren’t also adorable little lovebugs. In fact, goats are more and more being compared to dogs in terms of how well they bond with their humans.
Locking Eyes
You know how sometimes your dog will just straight up stare at you? Goats do that too! Scientists refer to it as “audience-dependent human-directed visual orientation behavior” (a mouthful!) but it essentially boils down to two things: goats either looking at you to influence behavior, such as wanting a treat, or simply to take you in because they love you.
Physical Affection
It’s a pretty cute fact that goats actively like to be pet. However, they don’t want you to pet them like a dog: instead of straight petting them down the back, goats prefer to have their front chest and underarms scratched.
Vocal Cues
For all a goat’s bleats and cries, it may seem, at first, hard to differentiate what they mean. But when a goat sees their person, they tend to let out a stable bleat of joy.
Calm Behavior
A chilled-out, relaxed, stress-free goat is a goat that is happy with you. Signs of aggression, such as head butting, biting, charging, etc. naturally do not convey affection.
Affection With Other Goats
It’s not just people goats show their love to, though – it can be other goats! In fact, because they are so naturally social, it is often suggested that you get goats in pairs, so they do not get lonely.
Body Language Cues
Affection and happiness are intrinsically tied together. One way you can tell if a goat is happy is if their ears are pricked up. And, it turns out, those ears often point forward when they see their favorite human!