My border collie, Kate, is a girl with a lot of skills.
She is often serious…
sometimes silly…
always patient…
and an all around good girl.
She has a lot of jobs here on the farm,
from moving the big boys…
to the little guys…
She knows when to use the power that she posseses and when to turn the other way…
She has a tremendous work ethic and never quits.
I was recently contacted by a local college to provide goose hazing services with my border collie. I knew I had the dog for the job, but there was a lot of other questions to find answers for. Thanks to a good friend, the internet, and some really nice people – I have my answers and a new job for Kate.
So, you may ask – what is goose hazing and why does a college need that done?
The goose dog stalks the geese using their ‘eye’. This unsettles the geese because it looks very similar to how a predator moves and hunts. The geese perceive this as a genuine threat and therefore are encouraged to move on to a safer location. Frequent visits are made and the geese soon learn their only option is to move on.
The hazing technique is humane to the geese and the dogs work quietly and unobtrusively. This means no pesticides, no environmental issues, and no loss of enjoyment of the land or facility by the public or paying patron.
The athletic fields at the college are COVERED in goose poop! I definitely wouldn’t want to be a soccer player sliding across the ground – YUCK!
Here is Kate in her new work attire…
The orange vest is to help us look official 🙂 There are a lot of people at the college and we wanted to help them understand that it isn’t a loose dog running after the geese. I think it makes Kate feel important!
We are visiting the college at random times and when we arrived this morning there was just one pair of geese, but while I was getting Kate out of the car a big flock flew in.
As with everything else, she figured the job out very quickly…
and had the geese flying off in a couple of minutes.
I can’t wait to see where this leads us in the coming year.
What an awesome job!
Stories from the Farm 
That is so cool! You must have quite the relationship with Kate that she can learn new jobs so quickly.
OMG I LOVE KATE!! But you already knew that! She rocks! BTW Gyp looks up in the sky when geese pass over honking….maybe she needs to come help! he he he
I especially like the picture of Kate with the lamb, it is a tender moments type of picture, as is the one with your son.
Wow, how blessed you are to have a dog that goes to work, and enjoys it, right along with you!
I love Kate too! I think we should start a fan club. 😉 I’m very happy for you on your new job! It looks like a lot of fun! 😀
What a great job – and an very interesting job title 🙂
Kate=luckiest Border Collie ever!
We have a dog that comes to the pond located at my work site every few days for the same job. I think it’s a lab mix but it does a great job. The handler is very good too. Our company cafeteria is next to a pond and we have a patio area, so it’s important to keep the geese away from areas that people are eating. Well, not in these temperatures, but you know what I mean! Last year, we had a Canada goose make her nest in our parking lot below one of the trees. The male was very aggressive and knocked over an employee walking to her car. They had to call in the DNR to move the nest. Yikes!
Borders really are the best! I miss mine, (I lost her almost 3 years ago now) but they take such a lot of time and work and since I work full time now, well, I will just have to get my border collie fixes from good folks like you! Thanks for letting me look over your shoulder at your lovely girl.
I’ll make sure Kate knows that she has a growing fan club 🙂
Claire – The hope is to move the geese before they start pairing up and nesting. They get VERY aggressive during the nesting season.
Kim – Sorry to hear that you lost your Border Collie, they are the best! You are welcome and I will continue posting pictures of my girl for you.
Wow! That is great. I’ll bet Kate loves going to work like that!