Our research team is exploring the suitability of inhalant methods for euthanasia of neonatal livestock. A key component of this project is examining the aversiveness of carbon dioxide and argon gases by preference tests and conditioned place avoidance. However, little is known about the cognitive ability of neonatal livestock. The objective of this study was to determine the problem-solving ability of goat kids by using a conditioned place preference paradigm. A secondary objective was to determine if the presence of a novel odor disrupts previous learning. A preference-testing box was custom built with 2 connected chambers divided by a sliding door. One chamber was vacant while the second chamber held a 32oz milk reward. Twelve mixed breed dairy kids were enrolled in the study. Kids were given a 5 min acclimatization period in the control chamber before the sliding door was opened. Kids were then given 5 min to travel through the doorway to access the milk, after which kids were physically assisted through the doorway. Kids were allotted 10 min in the treatment chamber to consume their milk meal. After 5 d of testing, kids were not tested for 3 to 6 d. Kids were then tested with a novel odor (<1 oz peppermint oil) present in the treatment chamber. The following behaviors were collected using live observation: frequency of vocalizations and defecation, latency to enter treatment chamber, latency to suckle and volume of milk consumed. A mixed effect Poisson regression model showed that vocalizations were reduced from d 1 to all other days (P < 0.0001). Mixed effect logistic regression models showed defecation behavior did not differ (P = 0.3064). Mixed effect Cox models showed that latency to enter the treatment chamber and latency to suckle also decreased from d 1 (P < 0.0001). Milk consumption increased from d 1 to d 6 based on a linear mixed model (P < 0.0001). These results suggest neonatal kids have the ability to problem solve, and a novel odor did not disrupt learning. Hence, approach-avoidance and conditioned place associations using a milk reward are relevant paradigms for asking kids about aversiveness of inhalants used for stunning and euthanasia.