When is the best time to chase geese off a property, whether it is “yours” or you are doing the chasing for a client? The short answer is, you don’t have to chase or as I call it herd-chase every time geese show up, but you need to do it enough, or more importantly be effective enough. Border Collies are often used for goose control but they are not the only breed that can be used. Other working breeds can be used. Herding breeds may be best at goose control, but we also use a mix breed, though he is well schooled being around and has learned from experienced Border Collies. Our handlers, myself and my two sons also practice regularly and train often.
The most important thing to get geese to give up on a property through repeated chasing is to “get inside the heads of the geese.” Herding, which is what Border Collies were initially bred for is a mind game mostly. Its a mind game with well-timed runs to specific positions on a field by the Border Collies with the guidance of the handler. Learning how to handle the Border Collies well is a must. Border Collies can become distracted or too amped up to function effectively.
It is best to know the timing of when geese fly or swim onto a property. Sometimes chasing off geese when they are first arriving or newly arrived is very useful. Chasing off geese when it is at dawn or dusk can be more effective than broad daylight. Remember you don’t have to be there every time the geese show up that is a waste of time and a big headache. However, enough goose control chases, herd-chases, will be effective enough to cut the numbers way down or get all the geese to give up on a property. Make sure that your dogs or staff act like they are determined to “get after the geese”.Geese can tell if dogs or people “mean business” or not. But, make sure your dogs and staff are well trained. Our handlers and dogs, understand the proper restraint so nobody, geese, dogs or human get hurt.
Last Summer I had the team of Skye and Nash on a goose control trip to Connecticut. We were on a trip to corporate clients. Our first stop was on an office park property with big lawns and large ponds. There were 50 or so geese on the biggest lawn by one of the ponds. I got out of our vehicle and brought the dogs to the edge of the lawn. The geese became aware of us before the dogs moved. I first sent Skye, the Border Collie on a wide outrun around the geese to get their further attention. The geese started to honk and walk or trot around in alarm. Just then I sent Nash, our mix breed straight toward the geese. The geese saw with alarm one dog coming around from their backside and the other straight at them at a full run. The flock took off together and flew straight away from the property. They didn’t even think about landing in the security of any of the client’s ponds.
Visits like that one repeated over a month, in this case, kept most geese away from this property, except for a couple of persistent nesting pairs. It depends on the property and how the wild geese were managed, or not, before a series of chases or herd-chases that will dictate how effective or the number of visits it will take to “keep geese away”. Goose control calls for patience but persistence and some amount of know how.