Humane and effective wild goose control.

Goose Control With Trained Dogs

The Border Collies of Wild Goose Chase NE provide safe, humane, and effective control of year-round problem geese in Western New England and the New York Capital Region. How do they work? 

Working Border Collies have a classic predator appearance that geese take seriously. When the dogs approach, the geese will take flight. Geese quickly learn that the dogs will follow them into the water as well.

Dogs that have been properly trained to herd livestock are confident about approaching geese, and understand the job is to move the geese, not to catch them. Their impressive repertoire of commands allows them to work safely off-leash. The commands include directions (go left or go right), move directly towards the geese, go faster, go slower, stop, and return to the handler.

The Wild Goose Chase NE Border Collies have worked heavily infested areas, chasing off up to 400 wild geese from some properties. 

We use kayaks on properties with large bodies of water - large ponds, lakes, and rivers. The Border Collies are good swimmers, in fact, some of our dogs can out-swim geese, but when the water gets choppy, the kayak increases the effectiveness of the visits.

In 2002, when Eric Johnson started using his working dog skills to offer a service to property owners with wild goose problems, few such services existed in other areas beyond metropolitan New York City. Now our trained Border Collie services are recognized throughout the Northeast as a humane way to manage wild geese where they cause safety and health hazards.

If you have questions or would like a free estimate, please contact us. 

Yes! The use of trained herding dogs is the best non-lethal method of nuisance goose control. Border Collies are very responsive to their handlers' commands and their strong herding instinct is used to raise the flight instinct (or prey instinct) in geese, causing the geese to fly off properties and eventually be alarmed by any property effectively patrolled by well-trained and handled Border Collies. Other breeds of dogs may not have the "working instinct" to "scare off" geese effectively or to work safely.

A single adult Canada goose can produce from one to three pounds of droppings per day. That means even a small flock of geese can deposit quite a bit of poop in just a few days. Slippery athletic fields, poop piles on putting greens, and yukky conditions in playgrounds and parks aren't the only result: it can pose a potential health hazard as well. To date, there haven't been many scientific studies on the health hazards posed by geese (that we know of), but it is known that goose feces can contain pathogens that may be harmful to humans, and goose feces can affect the bacteria count in waterways as well.

Our Location

Wild Goose Chase NE is based on the Johnson Family Homestead in rural Columbia County, New York. Here the Johnsons live, work, and train with their five dogs, four Border Collies and a mixed breed. All the dogs live in the house. The goose control service runs trips up to an hour and a half away, to places like Schenectady County to the west, Saratoga County to the north, Berkshire County, Massachusetts to the east, and Windsor Connecticut to the south. We run many trips to Albany County and Rensselaer County every month, in season.

The Homestead is also home to a small flock of Cheviot sheep, flocks of chickens and ducks, and the gardens raised organically using the manure from the sheep and poultry. Part of the garden produce feeds the sheep and poultry and the poultry graze in the gardens off-season, eating bugs and any leftover vegetables. The Johnson eat the rest of the vegetables and sell chicken and duck eggs to neighbors.