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.