Is There Such Thing as Goat Breed Temperament?
Nigerian Dwarf Versus Saanen Goat Temperament—Is There a Difference?
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When describing different breeds, we often talk about a breed’s temperament. We use words such as docile, calm, friendly, inquisitive, nervous, or aggressive. These traits may differ between lines, as some breeders select for temperament as well as other characteristics. In fact, temperament can be an important part of breed standards. For example, Saanen goats were selectively bred so as not to stray far from the homestead and to be easy to handle and milk. This, at least partly, accounts for their exceptionally manageable nature and willingness to interact with humans.
However, temperament varies considerably among individual animals. I’ve got one Alpine goat who’s wonderfully friendly, affectionate, and easy to handle, while another struggles continually during any treatment, despite being very comfortable with human contact. So, is there really such a thing as a breed temperament?
What Is Animal Temperament?
Temperament, or personality, describes behavior that’s consistent in an individual over time. Behavior is the result of emotions and the animal’s strategy for dealing with emotions in the context of the event. This isn’t just a result of genetics but is molded by experience and environment as the animal develops and learns. Nevertheless, some breeders work on the genetic aspect, hoping to produce docile, manageable animals or, conversely, alert and defensive animals that will survive at range. Even so, a lot depends on how the kids are raised, the experiences they have during their early lives, and what they learn over their lifetime.
Where genetics are concerned, biologists theorize that the domestication process has reduced the fear of humans. Over thousands of years, we’ve selected animals that are easier to manage. To some extent, husbandry has relieved the pressure on animals to find food and shelter and avoid predators. This may have reduced domestic animals’ ability to solve problems by themselves. Another theory is that breeding for production has dulled animals’ cognitive abilities, as they devote so much energy to growth, gestation, and lactation, leaving little for brain development.[1]
Scientific Studies
Researchers from the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (Germany) and the Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs (Switzerland) set up a study in 2017 to investigate the effects of domestication and breeding on goat behavior and cognitive ability. They studied wild goats at Tierpark Bern (an animal park in Switzerland) within their habitual enclosure. They also studied domestic goats at both research facilities: dairy goats descended from Swiss lines bred at local commercial farms (mainly Saanen-derived breeds); and dwarf goats, all of the same line and not bred for production.
Only goats that were willing to participate took part in the trials. They were presented with the puzzle of finding food hidden under one of two cups. They were then given various cues to help them find the food. Physical cues included lifting both cups, shaking them so the goat could hear the treat, and baiting a cup while the goat was watching, then swapping the position of the cups. Human-given cues included pointing and placing a marker on top of a baited cup.[1]
Effects of Domestication
Both wild and domestic goats were equally able to find hidden food from physical and human-given cues. This demonstrates that domestication hasn’t blunted the cognitive skills of domestic goats when it comes to finding food. Equally, some of the wild goats followed prompts from the researchers, even though they didn’t have a lot of experience with people. Perhaps this is because they’re naturally highly social animals and learn from each other. They were able to transfer this skill to a human who they trusted.
Gaining the trust of the wild goats was a feat in itself, and was only achieved with the younger animals. Researcher Christian Nawroth told me, “Before we habituated and tested them, even the animal-keepers were not able to get close to them. There were no visitor interactions at the fence that we, or the keepers, were aware of. We were lucky to have a research assistant who apparently had some Cinderella vibes—the animals trusted her and quickly became used to her presence. At the end of our testing, we could not only interact with them at the mesh, but we could also enter the enclosure, and the ones we tested (all juveniles) did not run for cover but stayed in our proximity.”
Nawroth noticed a difference when working with the tamed wild goats and the domestic ones: “When dealing with dairy goats, I often had the impression that they looked at our faces. This was less the case with dwarf goats, but it still happened with them, too. For the wild goats, my impression was that we were only hands with food in them!”
Effects of Selective Breeding
Selectively breeding goats has changed their physical appearance — differences in size, ear shape, coat color, and udder are mostly down to human preference. Dairy goats have a voluminous udder and a metabolism adjusted through selection to produce unusually large quantities of milk. Dwarf goats may have undergone some selection by humans, but are mainly shaped by the need to survive under human management in a variety of climatic conditions and terrains. The question is: has selection for production affected minds as well as bodies?
Does Breeding Affect Cognitive Skills?
In one test, goats could find treats behind a hatch by sliding across its cover.[2] In another, a gap in a fence gave access to treats, and this gap was moved after the goats had learned where it was located.[3] In both of these tests, there was little difference in ability between the breeds. However, the dwarf goats were initially less willing to open the hatch. Where dairy goats readily opened a container lid to find food, none of the dwarf goats did.[3] Dwarf goat reluctance may be put down to shyness, as they seemed more wary of the test environment and people than the dairy goats. Lack of performance is sometimes due to stress or fear, rather than indicating poorer cognitive ability. Some animals may need more habituation, training, or coaxing to do well at a task.
Indeed, dwarf goats proved their flexible thinking ability in another test where they had to find treats based on the color of the cup they were hidden under. Although both breeds learned which color indicated the treat initially, dwarf goats learned faster when the color coding was reversed.[4] This may also explain why dairy goats thrive with a stable routine, as they feel more confident when they know what to expect.
Does Breeding Affect Temperament?
When faced with novel scenarios, some animals may feel anxious, while others may be curious, and their reactions vary depending on the level of confidence they feel. Individuals from each breed were introduced to unfamiliar pens, unfamiliar objects, people they didn’t know, and were briefly confined in a weighing machine. Behavior and heart rate were measured to gauge their reaction. Dwarf goats were more active than dairy goats when faced with a novel object or a strange person, possibly due to greater fear. Dairy goats bleated more when left alone, probably through a desire to get back to the herd. However, human presence appeared to calm them, as their heart rate was lower. In addition, they touched the person more often than dwarf goats did, indicating that they were more sociable towards humans.[5]
It seems that, in this case at least, dairy goats were more comfortable with humans and more dependent on company than dwarf goats. Dwarf goats appeared to be shyer of both people and novelty. However, one group of dwarf goats spent more time with the experimenter, who gave them treats, before the trials. These goats were just as sociable with humans as the dairy goats, and they explored the novel object more than the other dwarf goats. However, they struggled more than all the others in the weighing machine. That reminds me of my spoiled and friendly goat who struggles so much when I trim her hooves!
Nature or Nurture
It’s still unclear whether these effects are due to their genetic makeup or the way they were raised. Dairy goats tend to be separated from their dams shortly after birth at a commercial dairy. Then they are raised artificially in a human-managed environment. Conversely, the dwarf goats were raised by their dams until weaning at six weeks old. They had experience with staff, but probably not as much human contact as the dairy goats had experienced. This means there was likely a strong effect from the different styles of husbandry in early life.
As is the case with all traits, there will be some effects from genetics and some from the environment during development. The fact that breeders are able to breed for temperament traits, at least long term, indicates that there must be sufficient influence from genes. However, bear in mind that each breeder’s management system will also have an effect as well as experiences with individual humans.
Practical Applications
From this we can learn that temperament has an important influence on how your goats experience your homestead and husbandry techniques. Goats have individual personalities that may be influenced by breed, but also by experience. Individuals of the same breed may react very differently to the same scenario. Breed temperament may also vary according to the breeding goals and management system of the breeder.
In all cases, it is worth considering breed characteristics when choosing goats for your project, and talking to the breeder about their breeding and management policies. For example, if your goats will range freely and manage the land, you’ll want hardy goats that have learned grazing skills from an experienced dam or herd. If your goats are to be pets or milkers, you’ll want sociable animals who are familiar with people from an early age.
Whatever your situation, it’s worth choosing animals that are used to your kind of environment and management system, while ensuring their accommodation is adaptable to their individual needs. Awareness of the needs and abilities of our goats allows us to provide optimum conditions and stress-free routines. These welfare benefits improve the quality of life, health, and performance of our animals and ourselves.
References
- Nawroth, C., Wiesmann, K., Schlup, P., Keil, N., and Langbein, J., 2023. Domestication and breeding objective did not shape the interpretation of physical and social cues in goats (Capra hircus). Sci Rep-UK, 13(1), 19098.
- Rosenberger, K., Simmler, M., Nawroth, C., Langbein, J., and Keil, N., 2020. Goats work for food in a contrafreeloading task. Sci Rep-UK, 10, 22336.
- Rosenberger, K., Simmler, M., Langbein, J., Keil, N., and Nawroth, C., 2021. Performance of goats in a detour and a problem-solving test following long-term cognitive test exposure. Roy Soc Open Sci, 8(10), 210656.
- Nawroth, C., Rosenberger, K., Keil, N., and Langbein, J., 2022. Goats (Capra hircus) From Different Selection Lines Differ in Their Behavioural Flexibility. Front Psychol, 12.
- Rosenberger, K., Simmler, M., Langbein, J., Nawroth, C., and Keil, N., 2022. Responsiveness of domesticated goats towards various stressors following long-term cognitive test exposure. PeerJ, 10, 12893.
Unless otherwise stated, photographs are by the author, taken at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats, where many different breeds from all walks of life find a safe haven.
Originally published in the June 15, 2025 digital issue of Goat Journal
