Geese can be a common sight in parks, golf courses, and waterfront properties, but their presence often comes with messy droppings, loud honking, and goose damage issues. While dogs can play a vital role in helping control the goose population, managing a dog's instinct to chase these feathered visitors is essential to ensure a harmonious coexistence between geese, property owners, and their four-legged companions.
Why Do Dogs Chase Canada Geese?
Have you ever tried translating animal behavior or wondered why your pet does what it does? Dogs chase geese for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s an instinctual behavior, especially for herding breeds like the border breed of collie. Other dogs may chase after geese to protect their territory, or simply because it seems like a fun activity.
The instinctual drive: Dogs are hardwired with an instinctual drive to pursue moving objects. This behavior can be traced back to their ancestors' hunting and herding instincts. When dogs encounter Canada geese, their graceful movements serve as a powerful trigger for this inherent chase response. Border collies, for example, were originally bred to herd sheep. This herding instinct can be triggered and cause dogs to chase after Canada geese.
Territorial instincts: Dogs are also known for their territorial instincts. When they perceive Canada geese to be entering their territory, they may feel a sense of protectiveness. This territorial instinct compels them to chase the geese away to protect their space.
Playfulness: Dogs are naturally playful creatures, and the sight of a goose can be interpreted as an invitation to engage in a fun game of chase. The dogs’ playful nature can sometimes get the best of them, leading to uncontrolled chasing behavior.
Movement and noise from a goose can trigger a dog’s desire to chase the birds. Geese move swiftly, which can attract a dog’s attention. Loud honking from the geese can also pique a dog's curiosity and drive to chase.
While letting your four-legged friend chase the geese away from your yard can be a great way to prevent geese from settling on your property, there can be consequences when the behavior is left unmanaged. For example, your pet could chase the geese into traffic or hazardous areas, posing risks to their safety. Geese that are constantly harassed can also become stressed or injured, disrupting local ecosystems.
H2: How to Manage Goose Chasing Behavior
There are steps people can take to work with their border collies and other dogs and teach them how to act around geese. Whether you want your pet to ignore the bird or chase it off your yard, it’s crucial that your dog is trained to follow your commands.
The “sit,” “stay,” and recall commands are essential for controlling your dog's behavior when geese are around. You can also use leash training for greater control over your dog and to prevent them from trying to chase after geese without your command. Desensitization techniques involve gradual exposure to geese, which helps dogs become accustomed to their presence without feeling the need to chase. Additionally, praising your dog for staying calm and quiet around geese can help prevent them from taking off after the birds. Positive reinforcement can go a long way during the training process. Reward your dog with treats, praise, and affection when they follow commands or resist the urge to chase the geese.
In addition to training dogs for behavior management, you can also offer different forms of play as alternatives to running after geese. To appease your dog’s desire to chase, try using a toy attached to a bungee cord that you can drag around the yard and your pet can chase after. Playing fetch can be a great way to allow your pet to chase after something while encouraging them to return to you. Agility courses and other sports allow goose chasing dogs to channel their energy and motivation into an engaging activity.
Goose Management Tips and Professional Geese Control Services
One way to help manage your dog’s desire to chase Canada geese is to reduce the number of geese present in the first place. There are a variety of methods you can try to prevent geese from hanging around your yard, including do-it-yourself solutions as well as hiring a professional geese control service. The key to these methods is making your yard undesirable to geese.
Decoys: Trick Canada geese into thinking your yard has predators by setting up decoys of animals like coyotes or dogs on land and swans on water. Ideally, the geese will decide that your property is too dangerous and will move somewhere else. However, geese are smart, so decoys may only be effective temporarily.
Repellent sprays: Spraying liquid goose repellent on the grass makes the birds’ food source less appealing. These repellents are made with grape extract, which causes the grass to taste bad and causes stomach irritation for the geese. The geese decide to look elsewhere for better food options.
Noisemakers and scare tactics: Noisemakers can be used to scare geese off of your yard. You can buy noisemakers at a store, or make your own by placing rocks into an empty laundry detergent bottle. Tie a rope to the bottle and shake it as you walk towards geese to scare them away. Remember not to hit the geese! Another tactic is to yell at the geese, use an airhorn, or play recorded sounds of predators.
Make the property less inhabitable: Canada geese look for good nesting sites with plenty of food and access to water. To make your yard less inhabitable, limit geese’s access to food, water, and nesting sites. If you notice a certain area geese like to nest in, place a large, heavy object in that area to prevent geese from nesting. Be sure to do this when the site is not occupied. If you see a nest or eggs, leave the site alone. If you want to remove the nest, you’ll need to get a permit from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. You can also cover your pond with a wire grid to prevent geese from landing there while still allowing waterfowl like mallard ducks to enter. Additionally, geese like manicured yards, so consider letting the grass grow tall, especially grass that forms a border around a pond. Be sure to also ask people to stop feeding the geese.
Hire goose control experts: One of the most effective and humane solutions to goose problems is hiring a goose management and removal service that uses working dogs to chase away resident geese. At Goose Masters, we bring our highly trained border collies to your property on a regular basis to make your yard appear to be inhabited by predators. Using their herding eye and love for a good goose chase, our border collies stalk and chase the Canada geese, causing them to flee. Over time, geese learn that your yard is not safe and find somewhere else to live.
Controlling your dogs’ goose-chasing behavior is an opportunity to create a safer environment for your pets and the geese. Still prefer to get rid of the geese? Contact Goose Masters to learn more about our goose control and geese management service.
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