Post by brownannie on Jun 29, 2008 22:33:24 GMT -5
I just joined because I found a thread from March discussing the lovely temperament of the Brown Swiss. After numerous discussions with farmers over the past few years, I, too, was under the impression that the Brown Swiss was, as a breed, docile, dumb, and stubborn, a gentle giant, just what I was looking for. My husband bought a calf for me last October from a commercial dairy, and I have essentially failed to train her. She is friendly, but pushy, unruly, and wild. I cannot control her on a halter, and she tramples me when I am moving her to pasture. When I reprimand her or elbow her neck to get her off my foot, she butts me with her head. My last cow was a Holstein/Longhorn cross who received far less training effort and followed me like a dog. Is my Brown Swiss a rebel from her breed, or do they all go through a wild phase first? I do hate to sell her, but my child cannot go to the barn with me anymore. I have tied her to the fence for feeding until she went to pasture a few weeks ago. She was taken on a few walks as a youngster, but we had a very snowy winter, so the walks ended early in her life. A local farmer suggested tying her to the truck bumper and driving slowly, but I have my doubts about that method. Someone else suggested she might "grow out of it." I am wondering if there are other training methods I should explore, if I should sell her and try to get another Swiss, or if this is typical of the breed and I should try something else.