Flock Shock

Our current ‘Top Dog,” is a 2 year old, neutered male, Bernese Mountain Dog, named “Moses”. He began his training in July of 2007 at the tender age of 7 months. While he still exhibits some silly puppy behavior, he loves his work and performs it with gusto. He is in top physical condition and is the happiest dog I know. He is extremely people friendly and a wonderful ambassador for us. He commands attention wherever he is.

Most of the companies like ours are located back east somewhere, where Geese have been a problem for many years. They all seem to use traditional “stalking” dogs, like the Border Collie, or the Australian Shepard.

It has been our experience that an established flock of Geese will often not lift off when approached by these “smaller” breeds of dogs. Additionally, “stalking” dogs, do just that, they stalk. Which is something the Geese are familiar with. Studies have shown that whatever Geese become too familiar with, they no longer fear. Most often these dogs simply herd the geese into the water, then have to go in after them if they want to get them to lift off. If the body of water is large, the job then requires a boat.

However, when “Moses” approaches the Geese, he does so like a freight train, and heads directly into the middle of the flock. This causes havoc and the entire flock lifts off at once, as they usually have no time to reach the water. The unusual approach, combined with his size, speed and deep loud bark, has them in great fear for their lives. They think a Bear is after them! It’s a scare that seems to stick with them. For those instances where the birds are in the water, the dog is actually trained to work out of either the Kayak or the motorized inflatable, to drive the flock to land and continue the pursuit, until they lift off!