At just six months old though I'd worry about a goat hurting the dog Mara. I'd think it'd all have to be monitored for some probably no small amount of time.
After none the critters are used to the dog either.

Depends on the breed of goat, I would imagine. Smaller pygmy guys could probably very easily be hurt by two playful GP's... Some of the larger breeds could definitely open a can of whoop ass however.

You do have some valid thoughts Randy.

But it also depends on the type of the goat. Quite often they're curious/don't care about the dog, especially since the guardian breeds don't really look/act like predators. And at 6 months old the dog could already be as big as the goats. I do know with larger flocks that use guardian dogs, the pups are paired with an older dog from a very young age and are out with the stock. But this is with stock that is used to the idea of the dogs.

TO the OP, have you talked to the dog's breeder to see what they recommend? I'm assuming you got them from working parents.

I'd forgotten about the smaller breeds of goats.
I was thinking about some of the larger breeds I'd seen about, they look like they could do some damage.

You want the dogs to guard the chicken house,or chicken "place" not individual chickens.
There is something about a chicken that just says, "EAT ME"! The dopey way they walk, they are so scared, they make taunting noises. Most dogs can't help themselves, chickens are as bad a squirrels IMO for teaching a dog, even a dog with low prey drive, to be a predator.
Barbara's suggestion of single strand hot wire at 6# will train the chickens to stay in, the dogs to stay out, and make the dogs on their own learn that chickens are one of those things in life that you must ignore.

While I appreciate the conversation, I find that it often happens when I ask a question here that it morphs into people telling me how to train my dogs. Even when I did not ask a dog training question exactly.

Perhaps I should create a new topic on using the electric collar to train herd guardians?

My original question was, "How do I desensitize the dogs to the collars?" In the nearly fifty sentences in this thread, I think one or two has been dedicated to the actual question.

That being said, I'm appreciative of the commentary, but it seems it has gotten of track a bit. I'm not a moderator and I have only been on this board for a little while, but I was specifically interested in my question being answered. And I was hoping for a discussion on the question itself.

My hope is not to offend anyone by saying this...but rather to redirect back to my original query.

Well, while not directly answering your question, I will say that IMO that ecollars have no place in training guardian dog pups. You correct the dog for interest in your animals and you'll create a dog who avoids your animals.

David, I understand your viewpoint and yes, we did get a bit off topic.

I am not comfortable giving you advice on how to desensitize your dog to the ecollar because I am concerned it is the wrong mode of training these two dogs, given your intention of using them for livestock guardians.

I have made the effort to get the woman who IMHO can probably best guide you as to how to work/train your dogs in this regard (Willie Tilton) and who is qualified, I believe, to tell you professionally if the ecollar will help you reach your ultimate goal or prevent you from achieving it.

I don't think there are too many folks on this forum who are just going to blindly tell you how to use the ecollar IF they think it might not be the best tool for your situation, which is why we normally ask a few questions before giving that type of advice.

(Sometimes not getting the answer you wanted is because it is not the right answer...)

Best of luck - I didn't mean to hijack your thread but had hoped through the discussion it might become apparant that you might be heading in the wrong direction.

Thanks for your thoughts. I have spoken to the breeder who has invited me to bring the dogs over to her goats to teach me how to train them not to chase. As she has explained it to me, it is done with a long lead and a strong correction when they chase. I want to use the collars as a final control point in their final testing.
I have not intention of shocking the hell out of them until they run screaming back to their crates.

 Quote: David Jones

Thanks for your thoughts. I have spoken to the breeder who has invited me to bring the dogs over to her goats to teach me how to train them not to chase.

Awesome - keep us posted!