Category: Border Collie

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.

The owner, a farmer, of Blade’s Mom, named him. Mary Thompson is in western Ontario and has been one of the better comparators in the sheepdog trials across Canada and the United States. She has a lovely sheep farm on the windy flat land. Mary competes very seriously and sells pups every so often.The pups are from her line of working Border Collies, using her females which she breeds from time to time to well-chosen males who have done well in sheepdog trials. Mary is breeding for good if not champion sheepdog trailing Border Collies. She is also breeding for good health of course.Blades Mom, Paris has done exceptionally well on the National level in both the US and Canada.Paris listens to Mary,”is very biddable” and does well on “light sheep”, flighty sheep. And Blades Dad, Slim from Georgia, is great at working with light sheep and also tough,hard to handle Western range sheep. It seemed like a very good “cross” to Mary.

When I was looking for a pup a few years ago,I knew about Mary’s dogs and was excited and put my name in for the pups Paris just had. I told Mary we would trial the pup someday, but primarily we were looking for a good goose dog and a good farm dog.Mary was happy with that as not every one who buys her pups can trail at all, but they all go to good homes.

Caleb got into one of our goose mobiles, Honda Element, and made the 8-hour trip to pick up the weened pup.It was well worth it. Caleb enjoyed meeting Mary and seeing her farm and seeing her Border Collies work with her sheep. Blade slept most of the way home, which pleased Caleb. Lori, Caleb, Sam and I were excited to introduce the little guy into our family and pack of dogs. He was a shy pup but not afraid of his new home or anything. I kept Marys”working “name for him, which she choose because we use a kayak with the goose control work.As Blade grew into a young dog, who is very fast and has swift maneuvers which are useful for working with sheep and goose control work. Blade is also a vocal dog.He greets you with a series of sounds and often comes up with a howl. I have read that suppressing a dogs vocalization, as we are apt to do in America, may not be for the best of the dog. Dogs should be able to express themselves vocally and with their body language.

Blade became a good farm dog on our homestead, working with the sheep and chickens and ducks. Like our other Border Collies, he grew to learn how to work the sheep by herding them to pasture and back. Farm work, herding helps dogs when it comes to herd-chasing geese for clients in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Blade surly has his way of herding, which I had to figure out so I could handle him well.He can be emotional, but when you work with him just right, those emotions get used well. He has the desire to work and a close relation with his handler. Blade is more of a”gathering dog” than a “line dog”. A gathering dog is a herding dog which naturally runs out wide to bring in the sheep. A line dog naturally likes to move the sheep from place to place after they have been gathered. Most Border Collies, Kelpies, another herding breed, are one or the other in personality. Gathering comes in very handy, to use an old-time word, for goose control.A dog that runs around ponds well causes geese to think there is a real predator out there and they are apt to leave quickly. Blade can get goose-control visits done very well, and more efficiently.

Blade is often seen in play bounding almost like a deer through fields and woods.He loves to play with a ball, more than our other Border Collies and he does what is called a fount foot stab. A wild canid pounces on pray with their front feet, a front foot stab. With Blade this is play. Yes, and he has completed in sheepdog trials, I am happy to say.This year he is going to compete in the third level of Novice classes, Ranch classes. He did well last year in Pro Novice classes, coming in third in NEBCAs Novice Sheep Dog Trial Finals, after a successful trialing season.I am very happy that he is finding his inner “line dog”. This is making him an even better trialing, farm and goose dog.

It is great having a young Border Collie of his character and talent on the team, in the family. We love him as we do all our dogs. I think some year, I will see if Mary has another pup we can buy.

Tara stalked down the side of the golf course pond, as I paddled at the geese in the kayak. I had placed Blade at the far end of the pond, in case the geese doubled back. Blade had done most of the work the first four times we got the geese to fly off one of the four ponds.The pair of geese would only fly off as we herd-chased them to come down in an adjacent pond. This rarely happens with this rapidity but this pair was really fixed on these ponds. The fear from the golf courses perspective is that the geese would nest right there and maybe go as far to raise their young right were hundreds of golfers play.

As is the case at schools and parks, nesting geese can attack people that get in their territory. Geese will also leave a lot of droppings.Golf course crews and golfers don’t want to play through lots of goose poo and worry about being attacked. So, it’s best to convince the geese through repeated visits that they should not nest in certain places, like next to fairways and golf course greens.

The golf course superintendent waited on the shore of the pond at one end of the pond. Tara onshore and I in the water in the kayak continued to herd the geese. Blade kept hold of his position at the far end of the pond, ready for the geese to double back, make a break again toward that end. Whether it was our persistence, or the fact that Blade and Tara looked convincing, the geese, this time, the fifth time, did not fly back to another pond when they flew off. This time the pair flew off the course. The golf course superintendent looked relieved. I was happy all that paddling was over but to a good end. Tarra and Blade looked satisfied.

The idea is, with repeated visits geese will find a place to nest where they don’t bother anyone. Of course, what is considered a problem or a nuisance is in the eye of the beholder. I go with, what the property owner wants.Lead staff at a school, municipality, golf course or business have to decide if complaints about geese ruining fields or fairways or threatening at doorways or in parking lots is worth doing something about.The management of the property has the responsibility. The real issue as far as I’m concerned is that there is more and more development of land here in New York and Connecticut and Massachusets, where we work.There is less and less space for geese.I am an advocate for land conservation.

After the geese flew off the pond and course, finally, I turned the kayak around and beached it where I put in. Tara and Blade came over to me as I climbed out. Border Collies have a close bond with their handlers, and these two are no exception. Every goose control visit is different you never know what to expect. Goose control is about nature after all. The Border Collies by just using there eye to herd-chase the geese cause the geese to feel uncomfortable enough to move. As the golf course crew helped me get the kayak back into the vehicle one of their crew played with Blade and Tara. They have amazing energy, these Border Collies. I was happy for the crews help after all that work. We often are working on our own, one handler and two dogs on goose control visits. But this visit was much harder than most. The kayak was put in the vehicle and the Border Collies, and I climb in, and we are off to our next visit, one of six this morning. I was tired but happy with our success and smiled at just what work it was to move that pair of geese. You never know what will happen on a goose control trip.

The next day we on a goose control trip we visit a municipality.It was getting on toward evening.As I drove about the Town, I spotted on one of the playing fields geese grazing while 100s of kids practiced baseball. Geese with so many kids around was quite unusual too. I parked the vehicle and Skye; our most experience Border Collie and I walked down one side of the playing fields careful not to disturb the kids, parents, and couches. With a word, I sent Skye on an outrun and without bothering anyone she got the geese to fly away. Skye and I walked off the fields on to the next adventure.

Wild geese populations can be controlled on a property when they get overpopulated. Geese numbers get so high that their droppings cover fields and pollute the water. Geese can be confrontational with humans and can take away the use of an environment from other species of birds and animals. Ever since Humans have been Humans, there has been lethal and non-lethal ways to control wild animals and birds from running over gardens and field crops and homes. In modern America, the trend is to want to leave the wild animals alone. But sentiment changes when deer eat a homeowner’s bushes or a bear rips into garbage cans or a coyote grabs a small pet.
Of course, Humans have used weapons to keep wild animals from invading their homes in historic times or even today in remote locations.But non-lethal means were also used to keep deer out of a maturing crop of corn for instance. There is a diorama in the New York State Museum in Albany which shows Native People using noisemakers to keep deer out of their much-needed crops. What is being used in that diorama are noisemakers which are the precursors to birthday party horns and rattles. And Humans have used dogs to keep their homes, property, farm animals and crops safe for thousands of years.

The State of New York’s plan for the very large overpopulation of geese is to use lethal means. Hunting in farmers fields is part of that solution. The other lethal means is the Federal Government’s Fish and Wildlife Dept, where deemed appropriate, is to net and gas geese during what is called the yearly molt.Geese shed their wing feathers once a year and then grow new ones. During this time, geese cannot fly. However, New York State and the Massachusetts and Connecticut and organizations like the Humane Society recognize non-lethal means as very important and useful in goose control.Top of the list is goose control with Border Collies.

Lethal means in controlling geese is not possible very often due to the inability to hunt in specific settings. And many people don’t support killing the geese. And that is were non-lethal goose control with Border Collies comes in. As already stated, controlling geese and other wildlife with dogs is age-old. What is new is using Border Collies for this. Border Collies are dogs bred to herd sheep, mostly but in the last few decades, their skills and other abilities have also been used to keep geese away from properties. Border Collies work with their handlers very well and are good at thinking on their feet when working in all sorts of environments. Both are excellent qualities when working on public properties. Border Collies have a strong work instinct to move sheep and thus geese and a weak bite and a “no kill” instinct.Those last two qualities add to the non-lethal part.

Add this is why I call our goose control service with trained and experienced Border Collies and handlers, humane and effective. The effective part comes in because for the most part when we work a property our clients are pleased with the results. There are far fewer geese or none at all that stick to a property when repeated visits with the Border Collies are scheduled. And nobody gets hurt.That is job number one for us, the safety of our dogs and the geese. We take that all very seriously.

So when we herd-chase geese off a client”s property as I did the day I am writing this with Blade, I work him as I would our sheep.I set him up on what we call an outrun, and off he runs around the geese.Working Border Collies unnerve the geese.The geese instinctually think a wild predator is moving in and they fly off. We visit enough times, and the geese do show up a lot less. We do have the one mix breed dog, Nash, who has learned so much from our Border Collies. I know I can count on him.So when we come visit a property for a goose control visit, with two or three of our Border Collies, Skye, Jim, Blade, Tara, and yes even that mix breed guy, Nash, they will work the geese like they were working our sheep.It’s just that sheep don’t fly or swim. And that’s the point, to get the geese to go and stay somewhere else than the property we are working. Hopefully, we will maintain enough wild places, so geese have a place to be as us Humans have our places.

Looking at Government information and information by other organizations, you find that controlling geese with Border Collies is listed as the best method. Why Border Collies than different breeds of dogs? Border Collies are one of the few breeds of dogs left in this country with their “work” instincts not deluded. Therefore Border Collies can work safely and attentively with their handlers in the field.Many other breeds were once bred for “work” but are now bred to be more companion oriented and so may not have the drive and ability to work or work well. Border Collies utilize their herding instincts to harass or as I call it, herd-chase geese off properties for wild goose control.There are other herding breeds available in America, but their numbers are less available. The Border Collie also is breed to have a strong herding instinct which equates to the stalk in a wild canid. A Border Collie uses what is called a strong “eye”. The “eye” gets sheep or geese to “feel” they should move in the direction the Border Collie dictates. Other breeds of farm, otherwise called stock dogs, or other breeds altogether may have a bite instinct, which may come out when push comes to shove, let’s say, in the field while working geese.And the federal law states when harassing geese that they are not to be harmed. There are some other working breeds of nonstock dogs that are used for goose control, but by far the Border Collie is most commonly used.

It takes time for any new handler to learn how to work with Border Collies successfully. The relationship between handler and dog is very important.And if a Border Collie is young or not trained it will take months to get a dog that can work safely and with skill. The Border Collies’ instincts can go haywire if not directed or miss directed by the handler. I think it is best to train regularly with a knowledgeable and experienced working Border Collie handler, trainer if someone wants to acquire the adequate skill.

I did not do so with my first Border Collie.And for a few months and the poor dog and I paid for my lack of knowledge with many headaches. I was young and foolish. Soon enough I wised up and reached out for real help and not on the internet. I joined the working Border Collie Organization here in the North East, NEBCA. I took on mentors and watched and competed in sheepdog trials. Being involved in the working Border Collie world allows me time to learn from others while doing.I think it essential for Border Collies to have experience if not some time working with livestock. Training and working with livestock creates Border Collies which are intuned with their working heritage, instincts. You then have happy and relaxed Border Collies who can think and communicate with their handlers.

When we actively herd-chase geese we do it like we are herding sheep or our poultry.Set up your dog on one side of you or the other. Send your dog on an outrun. Lift, approach, the geese and the Border Collie can do the rest with some guidance to get the geese to fly or move off. There is a lot more to it than that of course. Taking away the safety geese feel in a properties pond or lake is key to goose control. It’s up to the human to do the homework. The Border Collie will do well no matter in a relationship with a knowledgeable, thoughtful and caring human.

The middle of March has not seen this much snow at our place in a long time. It snowed two feet yesterday and last night. This morning we woke up to more snow coming down. We cleared the last of the snow as we feed and watered our sheep and poultry.The Border Collies, Skye, Jim, Blade, Tara and the mix breed Nash don’t have much work to do when there is this much snow, so they played or looked for wild critters under the snow. As Caleb and Lori got ready for their day jobs, I took the dogs for their usual morning walk in the swampy woods behind our place.This walk found me on snowshoes trudging through the deep snow. Somewhere was the trail the dogs, and I made the evening before, now swept by the wind and new snow.

After breakfast I got into one of our goose mobiles, a Honda Element with the kayak, as always, inside and two of the Border Collies, Blade, and Tara.They are the youngest of our dogs, three years and one year respectfully, but they have loads of talent and by now, lots of experience. And so we were off on two early season goose control trips to properties that promised far less snow and geese! I drove west for a half hour and across the Hudson River here in New York to were the snow storm seemed to miss. And sure enough, we arrived at a production plant with little snow and quite a few geese and pairs of geese trying to set up territory.This year is the third year we have worked this property.In our first-year geese pairs would set up nests at building doorways and not let people get inside. There used to be a lot of geese on the lawns as well. Last year and so far this year the situation is much more under control, fewer geese and no nests at doorways. Blade and Tara chased off all the geese with enthusiasm true to their nature and training. They made outruns as if they were going to herd sheep somewhere. In this case, geese fly to the sky and away.

Then it was off to a private residential community a half-hour away. We have started and stopped visiting this property this year as three Noreaster storms have hit in the last three weeks. But geese have always been back. This morning no geese to be found. But pairs had been there earlier in the morning.That happens sometimes.We will be back as we have contracted three visits a week for a month. In this way, we can keep after any pairs of geese so they don’t nest or stick around.Blade and Tara didn’t look too disappointed as they had a great time playing in the four inches of snow. The pond was ice-free, and there are grassy areas that geese can utilize.( the next visit, sure enough, there were eight geese on that small pond to herd-chase).

I then drove home and feed the sheep and poultry and the dogs and myself. My part-time school substituting gig was not on this afternoon, so I scheduled a trip to our south in Connecticut to an office complex. This trip was Skye and Nashe’s turn. Skye is our 7 and a half female Border Collie and is Nash the mix breed. When we arrived at the office complex, we found some pairs and two flocks. The ponds here are large, so after the dogs herd-chased the geese from the grass, not much snow, I used the kayak with Nash seated with me. Skye worked the geese running on the shores of the pond using herding skills and her Border Collie instincts. It was not too hard to get the geese to fly off, even though this was our first visit for the year at this property.I was surprised to find a nest on a small island on one of the ponds.It seems very early for that, but it was a warm February.The pair that nests on that island is unusually shy and leave the nest when we show up. Geese pairs usually protect their nests and don’t let anyone near them. That’s why trained and experienced Border Collies and handlers are necessary. We do not touch nests unless the property owner obtains a federal permit to addle the eggs. This property used to have a big problem with geese nesting in the parking lot.Male geese would attack people as they tried to get in or out of their cars.

So it was back home, Skye and Nash did very well considering how early in the season it is. I was pleased with Skyes’ thoughtful moves as she worked the geese. And Nash is showing a great interest in his work and understanding what to do.I don’t recommend mix breeds or any other for this kind of work. But Nash needed a home, and our Border Collies have mentored him. It was back to our snowbound town and evening chores and supper with Lori and Caleb. Soon enough it will all melt, and we will happily plant our gardens, put the sheep and poultry on pasture with the dogs’ help. And we will practice our herding skill with the sheep keeping our selves sharp for goose control work and sheepdog trials. So, an early goose control season day ends. At the hight of the season, in Spring, one handler and dogs will run as many as six visits in a shift, happy dogs.

What is in a name? A lot, if you are looking at what category people think your dog is in. Breed names matter a lot too. We have Border Collies. You tell people your dog is a Border Collie, and strong images come to their minds. Most nonfarmers think of Border Collies as being the smartest dog there is. Farmers tend to be in two camps about Border Collies. Some farmers think Border Collies are very useful work partners while others see them as being anxious and troublesome busybodies.
Border Collies and other farm dogs like Kelpies, Aussies, and Healers are all considered work dogs or working dog breeds or stock dogs. However, many working breeds of dogs now have nonworking lines.
One of our current dogs is a mix breed while the other four dogs are Border Collies. All of them live in the house with us and spend off time with us as well as work about the Homestead with sheep and long days of goose control client visits, in New York, Connecticut or Massachusetts. I consider our dogs part of the family and also workmates, teammates, team members if not a pack.But as Alexandra Horowitz in her book “Inside of a Dog” states, dogs in groups are better thought of like a gang. There is much scientific thought about the social interactions of dogs and dogs and humans. As you can read, I have trouble with cold and hard definitions. But as the good professionals at our Veterinarian Office relate to every dog and cat which comes into their office, It just seems right to treat all dogs with care and compassion, no matter the animal.
It indeed is true that I have stuck mostly with Border Collies as our farm dogs and goose control dogs. Our mix breed dog Nash brings a wonderful social presence a lovely changeup to our lives. He can do some good work with the livestock at home and can be a goose control dog. But the Border Collies were developed as a breed for this kind of work, to be keenly work oriented with livestock and so, geese. They also have a breed in instinct to work closely with their handlers.
I do like the thought that all dogs descend from a common ancestor, the wolf. However, dogs may have developed from different wolf types around the world at different times and not from the modern wolf, but from an extinct ancient wolf. It is most likely that dogs descend from the wolf through what are known as village dogs.These were dogs that did just about everything to make a living. Village dogs lived alongside early people and in some cases still do, guarding, hunting and working livestock, anything that is needed in a cooperative nonmodern dog-human relationship.It’s only in recent times that we have divided dogs into farm dogs, hunting dogs, sled dogs, police dogs, companion dogs and so on. Human life has radically changed in the last few hundred years, and so has the dogs’ lives. I keep this in mind when I go on dog walk visits. My family also has a side business, taking care of dogs while their people are away. I walk two lovely Bichon-Toy Poodle mixes several times a week; I can see how they respond when they step out of their owner’s house where they have been quietly sleeping most of the day. As the two dear dogs and I plunge into our walk in the wooded neighborhood, they wake up to the out of doors. Just like my Border Collies they engage and revel in the sights and smells and sounds of the woods around them. It seems their dogginess comes flooding into them and we are on the hunt just as Border Collies are when they are herding on the job.

I’m usually asked a few times each year if things other than Border Collies work for goose control. The most popular methods asked about are fencing, mylar tape, dog and coyote decoys.Years ago I also had a prospective client who would walk around her ponds with a foam crocodile hat on her head and a client who showed me how when he would shoot a flare from a flare gun over the heads of geese on the nearby river, they would not even flinch. You probably get my meaning with the last two examples but with the fencing, geese can fly most of the year, and with the dog, coyote or even swan decoys, geese can tell in a short amount of time that decoys are not real.Every year I see geese hanging out by these decoys at clients properties were someone wants them used. I usually say when asked if decoys will work, that they can be helpful when utilized with the real thing. The real thing would be if your lucky enough to have a fox or real live coyotes hunting where you might have a goose problem. And as for fences, they can be somewhat helpful depending on the property. A lakeside property with a short beech and impediments on either side can work well enough. But often enough, during the parts of the year geese will fly, the fences cannot be tall enough. Therefore we do not offer any of the above-mentioned products. We will install or maintain any of these products when a client chooses to use them.Other goose control companies do offer and may well suggest alternatives to utilizing Border Collies, but as you can tell, we concentrate on what works for our clients.
This is where we bring in that idea, attitude. Border Collies have It. Border Collies were bred originally to herd sheep, to work closely with their handlers and get a job done. That job was and is still today herding sheep, or other farm animals and poultry. Herding instinctually comes from the stalk of wild canids, fox, wolf, coyote.These wild candid predators start each hunt with a stalk.Herding with Border Collies or other herding dog breeds is stalking in a very pronounced way. Herding gets the sheep and also the geese to move. Herding is used in a more pronounced way on geese than sheep. I call it herd-chase when we work geese. And you can say the Border Collies instinct to herd brings an attitude to the environment were geese have settled in. Geese, of course, can settle to the extent that they take over properties and lose their pray instant enough that they will even attack humans. So a Border Collie brings its predator attitude but with a bred in “weak bite and no kill instinct”, according to Professor Raymond Coppinger in “How Dogs Work”. And that is how and why Border Collie goose control works.
Over the years in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut we have found our method to be usually effective. It does not always work. But I can point to parks and golf courses, and schools and corporate facilities were there where once 100s of geese. At two of the plants, we have worked the geese would not even let employees into the buildings during nesting season. After a short time, our service changed that and rarely are geese seen in very high sensitive places at those plants.
I should say that we have four very good working Border Collies for goose control. All our Border Collies, Skye, Jim, Blade, and Tara, live and train and work on our homestead ( small farm). But we also have one mix breed. His name is Nash( see our “our dogs” page). Nash is a rehomed dog who desperately needed a new home and has grown into a valuable goose control dog, learning his craft from the Border Collies. He indeed has brought his own attitude to the pack-team. I can talk a while about why all dogs might not make good goose control dogs. But Border Collies and mix breed dogs like Nash bring that attitude to goose control to be effective and humane.