Month: September 2019

Nash is actually a mix breed which came into our lives, our home a few years ago. He was  two years old and his family had moved to New York City. The thing is, Nash was not exactly a good fit in The City.He and his litter were rescued as pups and so even though that was when they were very young, he has that going on. The City move was for his “first moms” work, so it had to happen. His first family found us, we needed a dog at the time, but I was not sure he had any herding instinct. After a month trial period, I realized he didn’t, but we fell in love, and Nash became a member of our pack, our family.

Nash is an emotional guy, and he was still young when we “got him,” so he had time with us to “grow.” It was a rough first year, but then pups are not easy, as easy as people think. He pretty much tried to do as he wanted and that was hard with anything practical, like working with our farm animals or the goose control. But over time, he has matured into a loving and useful dog that everyone seems to love. He can do some “farm work,” driving, but not gathering. You may wonder what is “driving” and what is “gathering.” Driving is when a herding dog moves the sheep, etc., away from the handler, “gathering,” as it sounds, is the opposite, “getting” the sheep. His nose very instinctually drives Nash, so he does not see well enough to “gather.” But he does so, once in a while. He can gather our farm ducks, for instance, not the sheep.

So, do non Border Collies make good goose dogs? For the most part, I would say not so much. Herding breeds have the discipline, instinct, and strong affinity to work with their handlers that other breeds don’t. Other breeds do “other things well”, but herding breeds are good, or very good at working with farm animals, and that translates to goose control work very well. I do know of someone who uses Spaniels for goose control work, but he is the only one who does that. People often patrol their property for geese and to haze other wildlife with a variety of breeds. But, as a service business, I think the Border Collies are ideal. They listen, readily, are trusted off-leash, and have the instinctual drive to get the goose control work done. ( please see earlier posts for descriptions of how we work with wild geese).

So, how does it work that Nash is part of our “team.” First of all, we live on our Homestead or call it a small farm. Nash is good at keeping away predators like fox and hawks which would kill our chicken and ducks. And I think the coyotes that would be an issue with our sheep know the dogs, especially Nash, are around. Yes, we haze even hawks at home away from our place. Nash has learned, with a lot of work, how to fill in as a “bench player” with the goose control. He can be trusted and do a decent job for us. I am proud of the hard work he has done to try to help out. And he gets very happy when he does “help out.” I would not recommend a non-herding breed for goose control, but Nash has had all our Border Collies to learn from.

Knowing what you are doing is essential, right? We would not want to go to a restaurant where the cooks do know how to cook, and a garage were the mechanics do not know how to fix our autos. And I might add, know how to “do it ” well. Yes, doing things our selves can work out just fine if we have the skills and time, but would you fix the foundation of your house without really knowing how? Hazing wildlife is simple enough a concept, but the background about each wildlife species adds layers to the knowledge needed. Working with dogs is another thing.

I have heard of wild goose control efforts with dogs that go badly. There have been some franchise efforts that have been nonstarters. And a lot of the issues start with not understanding the dog, the dogs, most often Border Collies. If we lived and grew up from when we were young with Border Collies and the livestock they were breed to work with, the “understanding” would be ingrained. Most people in America working Border Collies today did not grow up with these beautiful, highly instinctual, energetic dogs. In the UK and Ireland were the breed was first developed the opposite is true.

There is a steep learning curve when learning how to work and live with Border Collies. It can take years but is sure to take months and months to get a grasp. Yes, you can trot out a Border Collie or any instinctually driven dog out to haze wildlife, chase geese, but the results are often mayhem without a knowledgable hand. If you are just working your own property, that is more doable than say if your hazing multiple properties. It is not fair to the dog or dogs to not know “what you are doing” with them. And as a matter of fact, it is not fair to the wildlife. Wild geese can be overly panicked and cause a negative impact on your efforts and safety can be very much compromised.

The whole point of working with Border Collies is to be nonlethal and go about moving sheep and also geese in a calm manner. Yes, that’s right, “Be calm and herd or haze on.” These dogs are from The Britsh Isles and Ireland after all. Handling Border Collies in any other way, is asking for trouble. Rude and unknowledgeable handling runs against the Border Collies DNA. There actually is no such thing as an unconditional dog; I’m sorry to say. And indeed it goes to say with Border Collies, all dogs, what you put in is what you get out, but factoring in the genetics of course.

So, take lessons, go to sheepdog trials, be ready to take the time and effort. The reward will last a lifetime, and the miracle of a deep and ancient relationship with the animal kingdom will be yours. Hazing,”chasing” geese, working with farm animals is something that was almost lost to Americans with our “full-throttle rush to the future.” We have come to realize that it is the relationships, the understanding of how we fit together with nature and its “creatures” that matters. And, while your at it become a student of wild geese and the envirments they live in too. Understanding a bit of the science of why overpopulation on man made and wild lands is a bad thing is very cool too.