May 2018 - Wild Goose Chase NE

Wild Canada Geese Nuisance Issues, Control or Getting Rid Off.

It was a beautiful May day, and I had just visited clients’ properties in Connecticut. Blade and Nash were my team, and they had done a great job. We had gotten two pairs of geese to fly off on a corporate complex and a flock from another corporate complex. Neither set of geese wanted to leave, but both dogs were resilient and used all their herding skills and were convincing enough to get those hard to move geese to fly away. Our clients have had issues with geese confronting people, and it is our job to humanely and effectively dial back the goose populations on properties, so those issues become minimalized. It’s called goose control, not goose elimination.

On the way home, I pulled into a convenience store, gas station in Westfield Massachusetts, filled up and ducked inside for a coffee. As I was walking down an aisle, a fellow customer walked in and looked at me. I guessed right away he knew I was the goose control guy, signs on the vehicle and the company name on my cap and jacket. ” You get to kill all the geese?!” he asked loudly. “No that’s someone else,”I said and turned to the cashier and got back to Blade and Nash. I gave both dogs a treat and dove off for home, in New York.

My family and I have run this service since 2002. Over that time we have had many encounters with the public over opinions on what should and should not be done with the geese on properties. The views run from one end of the spectrum to the other. Views are from “just kill the geese”, to, “leave them alone”. I frame what we do, goose control with trained and experienced Border Collies and trained and experienced handlers, as a middle way. The Border Collies and one mix breed dog, Nash all live at home. And the handlers are myself and my sons, Sam and Caleb. We know each other inside and out.

It is interesting to know that chasing off wildlife from fields and properties, with dogs is nothing new. It probably has gone on for thousands of years, since dogs and humans joined forces and humans set up permanent settlements. Some people we encounter on goose control trips get that. Other people think what we do is hugely funny; some don’t trust that we will not hurt the geese, others like our clients, put great faith in that we will bring relief to a sticky situation with nuisance geese. It’s as much a human issue as a goose problem. As long as we develop wildlife habitat, we will need to come up with solutions for wildlife. State Governments and organizations like the Humane Society seem to give goose control with Border Collies top billing when it comes to solutions in places where people live, work, play or go to school.

After I pulled into our driveway, Blade and Nash and I were greeted by our other three Border Collies, Skye, Tara, and Jim. They were excited to see us as always. Skye and Tara had been on goose control trips that morning with Caleb. They had visited two golf courses and two municipalities. After we all had lunch, it was time for afternoon chores. Skye and I herded the sheep and poultry to pasture. Skye did her job as she should, quietly and gently moving the sheep and chickens and ducks to the new growth of spring for a good feed. Border Collies know the difference between geese and sheep and then again the farm chickens and ducks. All take a different style to work with. Border Collies like Skye are not only smart but love to work and have great stamina.

As Skye and I walked back from the pasture the pup Tara ran up to us. She had been chewing on a bone. Skye and Tara sniffed each other and then ran off together enjoying the beautiful May day after they chased a rabbit away from near the garden to the woods.

Practice,Farm Work, Goose Control Work,Competition with Border Collies

I stood at the handlers post with Skye for our run in a Ranch class at a sheepdog trial. I was at our first trail of 2018, and it was the first time I had ever competed at this beautiful farm in Bath NH. I had entered Skye and Blade in a Ranch class, which is the highest level class in what is called the novice classes. The next level is the open trails were the best handlers and dogs compete. I have run dogs in novice classes on and off over the years and now one of our sons, Caleb competes too.

I say “compete” in connection with these sheepdog trials because dogs with their handlers’ guidance move sheep through a course in a large field, through obstacles called hurdles. All the dogs in a class start their run with the same amount of points and get the points taken away by a judge as they miss an obstacle or if they lose control of the sheep. It matters how quietly the sheep are handled by the Border Collies. Sheepdog trials were developed to judge which Border Collies, Kelpies or Aussies work well and they might be parents of future working farm dogs. However as with anything the practical side of things sometimes gets replaced by the enjoyment of the competition, its an excellent way for working stock dog folk who often live far from each other to get together.

As I set Skye out from the handlers post, she started a 250-yard outrun to get to where the sheep wait for each dog, in turn. I did not know much about that there is a cascade in a broad stream just off the field. The water cascading down rocks makes such a significant noise that it is hard for the Border Collies and other breeds competing to hear their handlers from way the other end of the field. The dogs start their run and will bring back the sheep on what is called a fetch.

Skye did fetch the sheep to me well enough, a little too fast as she was unsure what was going on because she could not hear me. The dogs during the fetch need to bring the sheep, quietly on a straight line through the field. We completed the run, through the hurdles and ended with the free-standing pen. The handler is not allowed to leave the handlers post until the end of the run. The handler directs the dog throughout the run verbally or with a herding whistle from the handlers post. This calls for good teamwork which is made from lots of practice.

Later in the ranch class, it was Blade’s and my turn. This run was his first ranch class, ever as he is still a young dog. It did not go so well for him. I think he was confused throughout the run, and we did not move the sheep through the course on straight lines. But he finished the course, which many some other dogs did not. After his run, I was assigned a little job for him to move sheep that had been used in the competition. He did that very well, I think because it was in a small area where he was close to me and could hear my directions. He should do better next time as he grows and learns and gets experience. I can not tell you how happy I was with Skye finishing second in that class to an outstanding handler named Carol Campion. Cascade Farm has a challenging sheepdog field.

Two days later Skye and Blade and I were on a goose control trip in New York. We were in a lovely park with a pond and a nearby road. We had been at this park before, actually many times and that helps with feeling comfortable. I sent Skye one way around the pond and Blade the other way around the pond to herd-chase the geese off the grass and into the water. Just then three motorcycles came down the road, three Harleys. There was no way my dogs could hear me as they arrived on the opposite side of the pond from me. But Skye and Blade have made enough goose control trips that they both were not unnerved by the noise and the lack of being able to hear me. Skye and Blade completed their job well by getting the geese to fly away. Another successful goose control trip, and safely done despite not being able to hear me.

Later I would take our other two Border Collies, Jim and Tara on a goose control trip to Massachusetts to new client’s property where we had never been. Jim and Tara did not have too many distractions except for one show off beaver that kept swimming around a pond loudly splashing its tail to let us know it was there. The time and effort of training and participating in sheepdog trails sure helps our Border Collies become better goose control dogs.

Border Collies, Working with Lambs and Goslings, It’s Herding, Not Chasing.

Skye slowly moved toward the mother sheep, which is called a ewe. The ewe’s lambs, a bit confused took some time to catch on but ended up going in the direction that their mother went. In this case, Skye, as directed by me, moved the ewe and lambs, just days old, into a small field for their first-day of sunshine and grass. Lambs will eat solids very early in their lives and being outside is very healthy for them. A well-experienced dog like Skye knows how to be patient with mother ewes and awkward baby lambs. On our homestead, our Border Collies will work with mother ducks and mother chickens, called hens, as well. Herding dogs like Border Collies and Kelpies and Aussies and Cattle Dogs all can work with mothers and young and its a great tool on a grass-based farm if they do. These dogs have been breed for centuries to work with livestock in large and small numbers and with livestock young and old.

A few days later Skye and her goose control teammate for the day, Blade, arrived at a clients property in Massachusetts, with Caleb as the handler. The client had an extra concern, a family of geese had moved into a pond by an entrance to the property. The property is a privet retreat were guests walk through the gate where the family had set up raising their young. It is a lovely small pond with flowers on the banks and clear mountain water. The pond is also a great place to raise young geese as there is beautiful green grass. The problem was, the male goose, the dad, as most are, was protective of his family and had started chasing the guests.

Caleb and Skye and Blade watched the geese behavior for a few minutes. Then Caleb set out, directed, Blade to the opposite side of the pond from where the geese were on the grass. And then Caleb set out Skye around the pond to herd the geese family, mom and dad and the goslings. Geese parents will head toward water when they perceive danger. Predators can be a fox, or coyote someones stray dog or a hawk or an osprey. I recently saw two ospreys sitting in a tree over a Connecticut pond waiting for a mother goose on a small island to move her baby geese from were they had been hiding under her.

As Skye approached the geese family very slowly using her Border Collie stalking style, also known as herding, the geese hesitated. They did not want to walk away from the safety of the pond. But since Blade was swimming across the small pond at them, the mom and dad geese turned and walked with their young away from the pond and away from our client’s walkway entrance. Skye herded the geese family far over the lawn going slow enough to maintain a distance not to frighten the mom and dad geese and the goslings. But she herded just fast enough, with enough space, to move the geese family to a wooded pond in the back of the property. There the geese family could live away from all the human traffic and get the safety of that pond from wild predators. Caleb’s visit was the 5th visit to this pond to try to move the geese family. And this was the first successful herding. Geese family herding is a delicate job that takes time and patience. We wait a few weeks for baby geese to grow into goslings to herd geese families. Young geese grow up fast. Herd-Chasing flocks of geese that readily fly off when they see the Border Collies is much easier.

Caleb got Skye and Blade back in the vehicle for the ride home to nearby New York. The geese family may decide to come back to that entrance pond. But with our agreement with our clients, we are in place to do the same job again, if need be. With nature, animals, you never know, that is what is so appealing about it. Caleb drove home and arrived in time for evening chores. He and I checked our ewes and lambs and the one remaining ewe who had not given birth yet. It would be any day now. That meant waking up several times in the night to check on her. That’s life on a farm. It’s a lot of work and takes a lot of care. You have to enjoy hard work and love working with animals to do well.

Train the Border Collie Handler For Successful Goose Control

Jim went running out on one side of the pond as Skye took off to run the other side.Both Border Collies were herd-chasing a pair of unwanted geese on a clients pond. Soon the geese felt uncomfortable enough to fly off. Jim ran on until the geese took well off and were sure not to come back. Soon both dogs were headed back to me, from where all the action had started. Jim had a big smile on his face and also a look of sheer relief. He seemed so happy it all went well. He loves his work. Most Border Collies and other herding breeds, like Kelpies, do, love their work.

But for Jim, the work is especially sweet. You see, Jim, who is as well bred as any working line Border Collie, was kept kenneled and not let out much for the first six years of his life. My guess is that the people who imported him as a pup from England did not do their homework. My guess is that they did not read up from the best sources and did not go to lessons from knowledgeable trainers. Jim is a cautionary tale of what happens if Border Collie owners, handlers are unprepared. A lot can go wrong. The great relationship with a smart, talented dog you thought was going to happen will end in disappointment or worse.

Border Collies, which originated in Great Britan, like the Kelpie in Austraila, are a bit of a mystery here in America. Yes, some American farmers still use them but on many farms, farm dogs were let go for work with farm animals, sheep and so on, for ATVs and confinement farming. Here in America, most people think of Border Collies as being the smartest breed. Though this may be true, it is only part of the package. Border Collies were bred to have a close relationship with their handlers, a strong give and take, as it were. But Border Collies are strongly instinctual to herd and are athletic with lots of stamina for long days on a farm. A smart dog cannot think its way around someone who does not understand the breed or individual dog.

Herding work, the instincts the breed was bred to do directly correlate to goose control. If a handler understands how a Border Collie thinks and reacts and works, as a breed and the dog as an individual, success will happen, and a long and happy relationship will follow. It takes work and time for a handler to gain what is necessary to become knowledgeable and practiced. See www.nebca.net for contacts and sheep dog trails. Sheep dog trails are a great place to watch and meet many different handlers all in the space of a day.

Jim and Skye and I got ready to leave that clients property in Massachusetts. I could see Jim was not prepared to go. Skye readily jumped happily into the vehicle for the ride home to New York State. But not Jim, he was not ready to go. He stood a few yards off from us with a pained expression on his face. He is the last one to come in the house at home of our five dogs and with goose control its the same. Jim wants to keep working or be where the work is. At home, when the sheep and poultry are out on pasture, he is preoccupied with making sure all is well. He watches the sheep and poultry to make sure they have not wandered off.

Self-motivation is a mark of a mature Border Collie. But I think with Jim, who is now ten years old, he did not get any real work for half his life, missing his puppyhood and his youth. I sometimes think he worries that it will all go away and he will be stuck in a kennel with nothing to do. All those instincts, that drive, and those smarts, just sitting there. He’s a dog that not only connects you, connects with you but a dog which you can do beautiful work with. This interspecies relationship, Human, Dog, Sheep, Geese is a beautiful thing when you work on your self.