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Doing it right with Border Collies, farm to geese control

As the sheepdog trail came to its end, I found out that Blade had won the Long Road award for the class I run both he and Skye in. The trial is in Cummington Massachusetts during the Massachusets Sheep and Woolcraft Festival. One of the two days Skye had trouble with her run, but the next day she and I got it together, and we won the class. Blade finished third and sixth in the two-day trail enough to receive the Long Road for the Ranch division, the highest level classes before dogs compete in the Open Trials. The Long Road goes to a dog, usually Border Collie or Kelpie which only has been owned by his or her original owner and never has been trained by anyone else! Training and owning herding dogs takes a lot of work and understanding so often handlers and farmers will need help with training.

Before I ever started our geese control service I learned I indeed needed to buckle down and take lessons with our original Border Collie. Soon one Border Collie became two, named Merck and Will and I committed to taking lessons once a month from experienced and talented sheepdog people. These individuals are sheep farmers and compete in sheepdog trials. Good farm dogs become good sheepdog trial dogs, that’s the whole idea. I felt better and better about what I was doing with my Border Collies after several months and passed on what I learned to our sons Sam and Caleb. Now Caleb also takes lessons and competes in sheepdog trails and is a great guy to have on the homestead. Sam who lives away from home now, can step in and work with the Border Collies like he does it all the time. He grew up with them as Caleb did.

It’s a long road to acquiring the knowledge of how Border Collies and Kelpies and other farm and working dogs think and behave and interact with their people and the work we do with farm animals, sheep especially and in our case, geese for what some call geese removal. If someone grows up and lives and works with these dogs that’s one thing. I did not. For most Americans, farm dogs are something new to take on. There’s no instruction manual. What you often find online is erroneous. It takes learning from or watching skilled and practiced dogs and handlers for quite some time,to catch on.

As I drove home from the sheepdog trail, I kept thinking of what went right and what went wrong. Not that anything went very wrong, sheep and dogs were all good, but enough not to place well two out of four times. That’s what putting your self on the line does. It’s a test to see how much you and your dog know and can do and can do well. Twenty years into owning, living working with Border Collies, there’s always something new to learn. One thing is, these beautiful dogs all have different personalities, and that needs to be taken into account when you interact with them every step of the way. They are not just smart, but instinctual dogs that love their work.

The next morning after that trail, Blade and I and the mixed breed Nash got up early and went on some goose control visits. Nash had the day before off from geese control. He had stayed home and was the farm dog taking care of the sheep and poultry while I trailed, and Caleb took Border Collies Tara and Jim on goose control visits. As the visits, that morning went on Blade enjoyed himself despite the weekend at the trials. He wasn’t overly tired. He and Nash did very well herd-chasing geese from three schools. Chasing geese is tricky for Border Collies because they fly. Sheep don’t fly! This is just one example that it is essential to make sure the dogs are good with their work, don’t get stressed and that they understand the objective. It’s important to keep your dogs happy and focused when herd-chasing, getting rid of Canadian geese on a visit.

Later that day, Caleb scrambled up some of our duck eggs to feed out to the dogs for an extra treat. Lots of work requires a bit more, input, feed. The dogs happily gobbled their eggs down that afternoon and settled in for an extra long nap. I indeed joined them with Skye cuddling by my feet. The garden work would have to wait.

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.

Border Collie and handler on a goose control trip

Spring Finally Happens, Goose Control Work Takes Off.

We started working for some of our clients, this year back in February. They were already getting geese on their properties. But that didn’t last too long as winter storms arrived in March. However, the snowfall was variable from even town to town, and we were soon back to work in a limited way. Through March and into early April our client list slowly increased as clients wanted us especially to keep geese pairs from nesting. This client list includes municipalities, schools, golf courses, corporates and some privet clients.

Most of April didn’t feel like Spring to anyone, but maybe it did to the wildlife, including the geese. Many different types of birds have been here for weeks. Robins were hopping around on my lawn in the last wind-driven storm, and Red Winged Black Birds have been singing for a long time. Depending on the location, geese had started to become territorial or not. We found only a few geese pairs who had gone to nesting. Unlike most years the timing of when geese nest seems variable this year. The weather has made it a hard early goose control season to figure out what is going on.

On a recent quiet Sunday morning, I slipped the kayak into a calm Berkshire County, Massachusetts Lake. The water was still as glass, and the air warmed from the evening chill. Spring, real Spring had finally arrived. Blade our three and half year old Border Collie sat in the kayak in front of me. We were looking for any nesting pairs near a clients property. It was so quiet I could almost hear the fishermen cast across the Lake. Blade and I did spot two pairs of geese. Our presence lets geese know they should stay away from our client’s property and gives me an idea of geese activity on the Lake. One of these pairs had nested on an island, and the other pair had not done so yet. As we got out of the kayak on the client’s shoreline, I marveled at the morning’s warmth, how refreshing to be out on a morning such as that.The weeks before had us working in cold, windblown weather that the geese did not seem to mind, though they mostly had postponed nesting.

For our next goose control visit, I drove up into the higher hills of Berkshire County in Massachusetts. The property we were visiting is on an old reservoir which several summer camps and residences use. Our client’s property has a beach and an inlet from the Lake which geese like to frequent. They nest in spring and raise their young in summer. The families of geese cause a great disturbance, getting in the way, leaving amazing amounts of droppings on sandy beach and lawns. The male geese can be aggressive toward people, camp kids, and counselors too.
This Lake on this Sunday Morning was still partially iced over. The air was also a bit colder, and the water had a bit of a chop to it, more like late winter.This time Nash, one of our rehomed dogs sat in the kayak with me. Nash is not a Border Collie but a rehomed mix breed that has been with us for three years. Years ago he would not sit quietly in a kayak on a goose control trip to help chase geese, but now he does very well. As I paddled through the choppy water, cold spray hit our faces.The geese either flew a ways further into the Lake or hopped up on the ice of partially still frozen Lake. None of these geese had nested yet. Spring had not entirely settled in at the camp.

As Nash and Blade and I loaded back into the vehicle and were to set for home in New York, I thought of how different the two Lakes were that morning. I had goose control visits in the Hudson River Valley of New York in the afternoon, and the temperature and arrival of Spring would be even more striking. On our visits, that afternoon we encountered many runners, walkers, fishermen, and even a lemonade stand. Everyone was enjoying the arrival of Spring in New York’s Capital District.

As evening set in on our very last goose control visit, the Border Collies and I were walking along a dock next to the Hudson River. A late middleaged couple sat on a bench enjoying a Spring evening, finally. Jim, our oldest Border Collie, and Skye were my team that afternoon. As we walked past the couple, Jim reached out with his head and gave a warm, dignified look to say hi to the couple. The woman patted Jim, and the man remarked, “Isn’t it a nice evening.?” ” Yes, I said, much better!” We all laughed and Jim, and Skye and I walked on into the evening’s warmth.

A Border Collie Named Blade,a well breed Border Collie becomes a goose chase dog.

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.

Goose Control Can Be Challenging, Border Collies Really Help!

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.

Non-lethal Wild Goose Control, “Humane and Effective”

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.

How to Control Geese with Border Collies

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.

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