Category: dog training

Several times a year someone will ask me how long it takes to train a Border Collie. This question pops up on goose control client visits, herding demonstrations or at sheepdog trials. I usually say something like, the length of time depends on the dog and the handler. Then I grin and say something like, now that I know more it takes less time, I don’t have to go back and fix so many mistakes. But the rule of thumb is you start working with Border Collies when they are a few months old on the basics and by the time they are 3 or 4 years old they may be considered fully trained. This usually stops a few people short who ask that question. Any pup to dog is a huge investment in time or should be. Dogs we partner in work with probably take a bit more time to teach and build a relationship with. Herding is a simple concept but to get it right, there are a lot of complexities.

Getting the training and work right with Border Collies, whether it is working wild geese or sheep, means understanding the relationships. A handler needs to know how the dogs thinks and reacts and that goes for the sheep or geese as well. Each Border Collie has his or her own personality, so that’s a variable too. Wild Canada Geese seem to be somewhat similar to each other by nature. But Border Collies have been breed for hundreds of years, lets say, to accommodate different farmers’ needs. Some farmers, shepherds, may want a quiet dog, others a more active dog. Sheep breeds vary in nature and the terrain of a farm plus other factors can play on a farmer’s mind when it comes to what type of dog will do.

A handler learns with time, as does a maturing Border Collie just the right way to work with sheep and or wild geese. The object is to get the job done with no harm but without taking undue time. The watchword may well be , go carefully. This allows the Shepard to work with any stage of the goose control or farm year, including the all-important lambing time, handling mother sheep and their young lambs on pastures and in barns. And for goose control handlers to work families with young, which can make a big a big habitual mess of properties. Herding or herd-chasing geese does come down to how much space is in between the dog and the sheep/geese. Get too close and the sheep get too worried about being moved by a dog. Get too far away from geese or sheep and the job can not be done.The distance, flight distance, depends on how “strong” the dog is, the speed of the dog and how wary the sheep/geese are.

Yes, different sheep, breeds of sheep have different flight distances and geese will act more wary as the hazing process progresses. We actually do not herd-chase families of geese with young, but herd as we do ewes with young lambs. This means that the speed of the dog slows a bit while working but the distance between dog and ewes with lambs and families of geese, at first is closer than normal. This is because of the mother’s tendency to stay still  very close to their young. But as the fast growing lambs and gooslings  mature, in a matter of a few weeks good respect on both ends is established.

Distance and time while herding or herd-chasing is varable depending on the situation,sheep,geese, individaul dog,dogs and handeler. A good herding dog understands what time to take and the space to work in, with. And a good handler “gets” how to adjust depending on the dog’s experience or individual skill according to the situation.

……is be kind to sheep.” Oops sorry, that’s for sheep herding with Border Collies. John Atkinson a very experienced sheep farmer in the UK and sheep dog trial handeler, posted that “rule”on Face Book. My Family and I have a small farm with sheep and poultry and the Border Collies move the “livestock” from pasture to their houses or other pastures safely and as gently and quietly as possible.
The culture of working with livestock, sheep, runs long and deep, you have to go back to ancient times, Roman times, to find the earliest relationship of farmers with farm, stock, dogs. The Romans brought their dogs to Britan and eventually the Collies, then Border Collies were developed by farmers over hundreds of years.

The history of the Border Collie is to have a dog that kindly works the sheep. If the farmer, shepherd does not “get this” or practice farming sheep and other livestock with dogs in this way, Border Collies actually can go “haywire”. Of course, farmers should treat their animals well, its only “right”. But if sheep are not “well-tended” they will not be very productive. Imagine if milk cows were treated “rudely”, they would not give very much milk. And if the cows did not produce a good amount of milk , sheep produce wool or meat, the farmers and Farm Families would go broke. In fact, farmers who use livestock dogs rely on them to get the work done efficiently and effectively. There is the phrase “good stockmanship” and this applies to what I’m talking about.

Here with our Family on our farm and with our wild goose control service we apply this simple rule every day,every time, every minute we are with our dogs and livestock and working with goose control clients. “Every day” is what farming is, no days off, but goose control is seasonal in the North East. I can stop here, and address that everyone does not agree that farm animals should be used for “products”, milk, wool, eggs, meat. But that is a discussion not covered here. I can also mention that not everyone thinks that hazing wildlife, geese, is a good option for “living with wildlife.” I have addressed “hazing” as an option, what I call herd-chasing” when we do it. You will find the subject of “hazing” adressed in previous blogs.

Actually, “how we work with our Border Collies” is a subject that fills volumes of books. And that’s just it, the subject fills the thoughts and study of our family day after day, as it does many a farm family. Actually, in the UK there are farm families that have lived with dogs and sheep for many generations. Some of these Familes and thier living rural traditions go back to Medievial Times.(‘The Shepard’s Life”,James Rebanks)

Here in America, most people have little idea how this relationship works or usually works. That’s why sometimes people “freak” when they see us herd-chasing geese for a client who has an overpopulation issue. Overpopulation of geese takes many forms, polluted waters and fields, male geese who will not let people walk across parking lots or into buildings, kids playing on fields with wall to wall poo. Of course to make this “work” the way it should, “you” need to be kind to your dogs. How can your dogs have the right head for herding or herd-chasing if they are not treated and handeld with love, compassion and wisdom?

All I can say is, we treat the wild geese as we treat our sheep and chickens and ducks, which we also herd with our Border Collies. We can then truthfully say this is an effective and humane alternative to lethal means. There are a lot of people out there who would just as soon want to see the geese shot if “something” is not done about an “overpopulation” situation.

Farm based goose control handelers can even work families of geese with young as we do every year when the ewes, female sheep, have their lambs. The most important time of the shepherds year is when lambs arrive. And farms that use collie dogs use them yearly to gently move mothers and lambs to the safety of good pasture. Lambs go to pasture within hours if not days after they are born, as the grass based tradional breeds of sheep were developed for hardy lambs.( “The Sheep Dog”, Tim Longton and Edward Hart)

So, consider the option or options. Border Collies and other herding breeds and guard stock dog breeds are a great asset to local, grass-based farming. This is also true for goose control, as long as the service you are using or practice you are individually employing is knowledgeable. There are some wild goose control services out there that are ignorant of how to work with Border Collies. For further information, please contact me.

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.

Blade is a four and a half-year-old Border Collie who we got as a pup from a very good breeder-farmer-handler in Western Ontario, Mary Thompson. Many Americans have a thing against “breeders”. But it is knowledgable dog people who also breed dogs that give us healthy and functional dogs. Yes, it’s great to adopt, but many dogs are in shelters because no one was paying healthy respect to what would really happen in the breeding process. Mary is a sheep farmer who keeps Border Collies as working partners to help out big time on the farm. She also competes successfully in sheepdog trails. She keeps a pup from any litter that she happens to have on her farm and sells others usually to working sheepdog homes. In our case, I was delighted to put my name in for a pup because I knew it would be healthy and have great working instincts. Her pups, dogs also have sweet personalities, so much the better.

I, of course, was looking for a pup who would become a good member of our goose control “team”. Blade sure has proved a brilliant goose control dog, sheepdog as well.He has done very well in  sheep dog trials. The trials are a way to aceess the skills of a dog and of the humans too. We network at these trials and learn a lot from watching and talking to our fellows.

As a young dog Blade has done a lot already and completely enjoys doing all the things he does! Blade goes around with a huge “smile” on his face and will work with sheep, chickens, the farm ducks and loves his goose control work. He may well be the most athletic dog we have ever had. As a youngster, Blade would bounce around fields and woods like a rabbit and still today he will jet off and turn on a dime. Blade can be a challenge to work with because of his speed and love of it. But as we go along he and I are working together to get the proper “pace” to his work so sheep can be gently worked and wild geese worked with just enough pace as to get them to fly.

Actually, Blade probably is the most effective goose control Border Collie we have ever had. Oh, sure there are some holes in his game. There was the time Blade knocked the kayak over and I went swimming. When I sometimes send him on an outrun to fetch sheep or run around geese, he can at times not watch where he is in relationship to those sheep/geese. But that’s where I come in, and lend some direction, verbally. Blade can get geese to fly just with that amazing athletic movement and sheep to go quietly in the desired direction, with his determination and a growing sense of how to herd well. Of course, a lot of this is on me. There is much to learn about working with herding breeds,you could say we are learning together. Each Border Collie is a relationship in progress and as a handeler, you never stop learning.

Blade will work along ponds and lakeshores for goose control to convince geese to leave, and for one client with too many ducks, with enthusiasm.  When asked,he will run into the water with mighty splashes to convince the waterfowl to leave beaches and fields. Blade will run wide “outruns” about geese in a field as to not fluster them at all but it gets them to think a predator is about, and the geese fly off. With our sheep at home he “holds” them away from me when I put down feed so I don’t get run over by the hungry woolys. It takes some good practice and persistence and some courage to do that last one. Sheep are very aggressive when I come to food. And we farmers expect no harm at all to come to the sheep no matter, and our working dogs must follow that rule.This rule carries over to how we work with wild geese too!

Blade has all this great talent and drive to put it in play, as most Border Collies do, and that great smile on his face. He lets you know how he and it is doing/going. Why at times we even howl together. He is so vocal at times. It’s wonderful to have a great working partner you can communicate with.

We have had quite a few Border Collies since we bought our first pup, a male called Merck, back over 25 years ago. At first Merck and then Will and Faith worked on the museum farm with me. We had no farm animals of our own. The Border Collies herded sheep, poultry, cattle, and pigs. Faith especially loved the oxen that were used at the last museum farm I worked. We would always find her lying out in the field with them and trot along with us as we used the oxen to pull logs, wagons and even hay mowers. All the Border Collies have their distinct personalities and their own “take” on their herding instincts which are so firmly bred into the working lines of the Border Collies. In fact, it is knowledgable breeders who preserve and maintain healthy breeds. Herding breeds like Border Collies, Kelpies and Aussies look back to centuries of predecessors that have helped farmers with the farm work.

UK farmers swear by their working stock dogs. In America, western farmers seem to have dogs about to get the job done of taking care of farm animals more easily. The new local based farms that are run by young folk with a lot of knowledge and drive but do not seem often to be interested in herding dog breeds to assist them. But I feel the relationship we have with these dogs is reason enough to live and work with them. And raising our farm animals we now have, including sheep is made so much easier with our partnership with our dogs. And of course, goose control is not the same, less effective, without them.

As I write this, Tara lies on the living room rug, resting from a  morning of goose control,daily chores and herding training this afternoon. She works goose control jobs this summer which she is very good at. As a young dog, two and a half, Tara is growing in confidence. We always knew she had the talent to be a very good working dog but talent and learning are two different things. But the thing that seems to stand out about Tara is just how sweet she is. In fact, I have never met a sweeter dog. Oh, she plays rough with our pup Moses, but she seems to be in this world as to care deeply about everything she does and everyone she meets. She is a unique work partner even among Border Collies and if I let her, she will wiggle over to everyone we meet to say hi. When people do greet her she will sit there quietly and let anyone quietly pet and talk to her. In fact, she is a very calm and collected individual.

It is so interesting to have different personalities in your life. And indeed  Border Collie personalities are all over the map. We have had high strung, high energy dogs and quieter ones, but non like Tara. Oh, she can get amped up, say when something seems to be lurking at night around the hen house, but the lady who inspects the boats were we work  for goose control says Tara is her favorite…and I can not argue with her. I actually work at not having favorites, we have six dogs after all. The Border Collies our mix breed, Nash  would not be happy at all if we did play favorites. But on these summer mornings, I am so glad to have this quiet determined little dog with me in the kayak and on land carefully herd-chasing geese families from camps and other properties. And if anyone we meet is grumpy because they do not approve of what we do, they can’t stay mad too long with Tara around. It’s a wonderful thing that this little sweet Border Collie  came to us from her Breeder at Taravale Farm in Esperance Ny on that very cold and windy day. She is here enjoying our farm life and with our other dogs helping to solve peoples wild goose issues. Oh, and a few weeks ago she won her class in a Sheep Dog Trial. How cool is that!

We have worked with hundreds of geese with our Border Collies and gotten them to leave properties. So the number of geese is not the difficulty factor, the situation is what matters. Border Collies and other herding breeds like Kelpies can work with large groups of sheep, in the hundreds, cattle, poultry and the same goes for geese. However working with just a few pair of geese which want to nest on a property can be more complicated than hazing flocks of geese, large or small.

The real question is how many geese are too many for the property owner. Wild Geese, like deer, can get used to human activity and development. Actually more and more species of wildlife are getting used to the growing human population. We are seeing Loons up close on lakes, ponds, and rivers these days. Loons have been a very reclusive bird most often heard not seen, but that seems to be changing. Bear and Coyote are now part of suburban and urban life these days as well. Recent studies have shown that a good part of urban Cyotee diet is indeed peoples’ pets. This said it is crucial to make wise choices on how we live with wildlife. Coyotes now play an essential role here in the East in Nature but ask any farmer who has lost sheep, chickens, and lambs to predators, including bear, yes, bear and so living with wildlife becomes more complicated

How many geese are too many depends on the property owners’ perseption. And do you hunt, haze or leave wildlife alone that may be impacting a property in numbers eating plantings or encroaching on buildings, bird feeders, garbage or even entering buildings. We have helped two commercial properties were geese where nesting right at doorways of buildings. The nesting geese were not allowing people to enter or exit the building once their nests were established. We also work with one commercial client were geese had nested in the parking lot and chased people as they walked to their offices, actually causing horrible injury to one person.

Property owners and or their managers have a vast difference of opinion of how many wild geese is too much. Golf courses do not want any geese if it can be helped, parks may have more of a tolerance. However, when geese poo covers basketball courts, the running track and fields, and playgrounds, schools may well have seen a red line crossed. It seems that sometimes not understanding that there is a solution is actually the problem, for goose overpopulation. Of course, the human-made controversy impeeds action sometimes.

Hunting or netting the geese, of course, is an issue with many people. Decoys of dogs and coyotes and fences can be used, but their effectiveness is limited. Hazing the wild geese with Border Collies is very effective. Some breeds of dogs really cannot make an impression, let alone have the discipline to work safely. Border Collies and other herding breeds can be an issue if not handled by a practiced and knowledgable hander.

In the end, it is individual decisions that decide, guided by government regulation and at times, tempered by social perspective. I hope that a wise decision will be concluded in each situation.  We are also ready to advise along with offering our services. Hazing wildlife can lead to very good results if done with proper knowledge behind it. Wild Goose Control with Border Collies is a great way to solve this issue. Our Border Collies, Skye, Jim, Blade, Tara, Moses and mix breed Nash, would love to help you.

Blade came running back toward me, during a recent goose control visit. We were at a park, alongside a pond and he had helped herd-chase fourty geese to fly away. This was just before the molt, when geese lose their flight feathers was going to start. I really like to get geese to leave a clients property before the molt begins. If you do not get geese to fly at that time, you are stuck with them for a month.

Blade and his teammates for this trip, Skye and Tara had to work hard to get the job just right. We make every effort to be effective to get the geese to leave a property every trip if we can. At times it is too disruptive to the setting we are in to get the geese to leave. Some visits we fall back to Plan B which is just getting into the geese heads a bit more, so they will consider being at a property less or eventually, not at all. The factors we consider with each visit can happen in a split second and have to be reconsidered as events unfold, such as, if a car shows up where it may cause a danger to dogs or geese or if a dog walker enters where we are working, and so on.

As Blade came toward me, I could tell he was unsure of himself or maybe even upset. He is a talented young male Border Collie but can be emotional. He perhaps thought things on this visit went a bit wrong, even though we did get the geese to fly off safely. I raised the tone of my voice to a happy pitch and smiled at him.
Blade heard and saw this, and this brought a spring into his steps, and a big smile came to his face as well. He gave a little happy bark and sprang toward the pond to jump in and cool off. Soon Skye and Tara were in the water enjoying a Border Collie after work party, splashing and enjoying each other. I gave a command, and they all were out of the water and headed back to our vehicle as a dog walker came our way. I did not want to disturb the dog walker and his dog with our off-leash working dogs.

Upon reflection, I realized why Blade got worried. Goose control can be a serious business. Our name and logo are meant to lighten up the mood. Property owners and or managers of parks, schools and golf courses can take a lot of flack from people who want geese gone or those people who want them left alone. A misstep can put you, and your dogs in danger and the geese always need to be taken into consideration. Being on top of your game, sometimes for hours a day can make you tired or tense. And being tense can reflect on how you interact with the Border Collies. If a dog is living a tense life its life can turn unhealthy.

The important lesson here is that dogs do not do well with human angst. They don’t do well, conversely, with human hyper happy either. Dogs greatly appreciate a calmer middle ground with their interactions and can turn away from “issues” on a dime, be in the moment. I often consider that dogs get bewildered when humans chew on a stressor as we humans do. So I work really hard at not getting worked up. It makes me happier, and the Border Collies happier too. As we drove away from that visit, Blade, Skye, and Tara had on their happy faces, the not stressed, happy ones. Soon they were sound asleep, hopefully, processing useful takeaways. It is so much better when you relax into your work.

Enjoy.

It seems simple, goose control until you stop to think about all that can go wrong. There is water that handlers and dogs can drown in, cars running on roads or in parking lots, and then there are bystanders that can be distracting. Fishermen(people), kids on bikes, parents with babies, people walking dogs, all these variables need to be taken into account when you are working dogs in a public setting.

When we arrive at a property to herd-chase geese for a client, we take into account all the variables, such as traffic and people, etc. We keep our dogs away from the fishing, as fishing lines and hooks can cause issues. We don’t want to upset any dogs being walked, by our dogs running and or swimming loose doing their work. Cars and trucks on the roads are, of course, an obvious danger. Our dogs are well enough trained that they take our directions to stay out of trouble, and they are not allowed on roads by themselves.

So, it actually is safety for all, people, us, the Border Collies and indeed for the geese as well. The reason why clients use our services is that it is an option where the geese are not hurt. Other types of goose control are lethal for the geese, and sometimes they are employed by property owners. I think that hazing, which is what we do, is an option between hunting and trapping and doing nothing about a “problem” population of geese. We know some people believe that the geese should just be left alone, but they are not the property owners, the Schools or the Towns who have hundreds of geese sometimes and wall to wall poop on playing fields, playgrounds or parks.

One of the ways to curb the growing populations of geese that trouble people is to addle geese eggs in nests. State and Federal Government and the Human Society both approve. It seems a simple solution, and if more people did this, all you need is a permit, geese populations would be less and less of an issue. However getting to the nests to addle, we use vegetable oil, can be an issue. Geese will be aggressive and don’t want anyone near their nests. We have clients who can’t addle or can’t addle some nests without the Border Collies “holding off” the geese.

I want to stress that our goose control service causes no harm to the geese. Border Collies move or “hold off” the geese just as they do when herding sheep, without touching them at all. Border Collies are a type of herding dog that uses its staking instincts to bluff, sheep, cattle, other farm livestock and wild geese into thinking that if they don’t move the “predator” will get them. Even though sheep and sometimes the same geese see the same Border Collies over and over, the sheep always walk or trot in the desired direction and the geese fly away. I work with many farmers, shepherds and sheepdog trial people in the North East, and they and I spend a lot of time and effort into herding correctly. And that means causing very little stress to the sheep. This means sheep need to be moved quietly and as slow as possible by the dogs. This philosophy, which is actually practical farming, translates to how we work the geese for clients.

So if you see us working, we will look out for you and please look out for us. Staying safe is job number one. This concept is lost on the one or two people a year who come up to us when we are actively working, to yell at us, thinking we are cruel. These jarring interruptions are very distressing as a break in concentration by us handlers and for the dogs is dangerous. These people think they’re doing the geese favor, but it is putting all in danger. Please do not interrupt us while we are working. We will be happy to give you our perspective when the job is done, and the geese and dogs and we humans will all be safe.