There were hundreds of geese at the park! The team I had for the goose control trip was our rehomed dogs, Nash and Jim. It is very unusual to team them up as the Border Collies we raise up seem to end up with a bit more skill. But Tara, Blade, Skye, and Moses had a busy weekend and needed a rest. So, Nash and Jim were not going to argue about getting an extra turn in, they love the work. We had three groups of over a hundred at that park to fly off at that park. Jim, going at eleven years and mix breed Nash enjoyed every minute. We flew off half of the geese the other half went to the small lake. Nash and I got in the kayak and paddled after them and most of those geese flew off.
It has been a very dry late Summer and early Fall so this Park does not need what grass it has eaten down to nothing, goose poo all over playing fields, parking lots, and beach. The geese can feed on nearby riverside wildlands a local cemetery and school fields that see little traffic right now. The community where the park is located does not want the geese harmed, so that is where we come in. It is Fall now and the geese are gathering in numbers, perhaps the local geese flocks and some migratory geese add too many more than were around just a week ago.
All Border Collies have different personalities and their herding instincts and life experience are individual as well. I like many working Border Collie folk try to raise up the young Border Collie inside a system where they can be fulfilled, happy, and as talented as possible. We use our homestead with sheep and poultry to raise and train the Border Collies in their natural environment and then translate that to the goose control work. Our method of goose control is ‘herding the geese” to train them to leave a property alone as much as possible. Nash, as I said is not a Border Collie but a rehome mix of some sort. I don’t care really what that “mix” is. He enjoys his life and role on the homestead and has his role with goose control as well. I do not recommend goose control with mixed breeds and non-working breeds. I have heard several said stories. But with knowledge and the right dog, there can or will be success.
We aim to be effective and humane in our work. All our dogs train and work year-round, not just because they love it, but to stay sharp. Nash and our oldest Border Collie Jim are not required to be as skilled as the other Border Collies but a level of behavior and skill is expected. Skill and good behavior allow them the pleasure of being out in the world helping our clients and moving by walkers, dog walkers and fisher people, and so on, without a problem. The early year migratory geese, the families of geese, and the other stages of the goose year can be addressed with skill and effectiveness. It makes for happy dogs, a lot less conflict between wild geese and other wildlife and humans and geese.
After our goose control trip to that Town park and a second Town park after Nash and Jim slept all the way home. They had done a good job at both parks and fully enjoyed themselves. The wild geese would find feed enough at nearby reservoirs and riversides, where nobody would get upset.