Skip to main content
The Intertwine

A coalition working to preserve and nurture a healthy regional system of parks, trails and natural areas

navigation-menu

Menu
  • Explore Places & perspectives
    • Subscribe to Emails
    • Outside Voice Blog
    • Northwest Family Daycation
    • Calendar
    • Add Event to Calendar
    • Intertwine Listserv
    • Summit 2019 Keynote Address, Meera Bhat
    Take a look
    The Intertwine Alliance has three big strategic goals
  • Power of Partnership Partners at work
    • Vision for Inclusive & Accountable Events
    • Intertwine Summit 2024
    • Intertwine Summit 2023
    • Intertwine Summit 2021
    • Regional Trails Advocacy Group
    • Connecting Canopies
    • Regional Urban Tree Policy & Programs Report
    • Other Partner Convenings
    • Equity & Inclusion Cohorts
    • Regional planning documents & other resources
    • Intertwine Projects
    • Partner Spotlights

    Get outside and find out with Northwest Family Daycation

    What's hopping?
  • The Alliance A growing coalition
    • Donate
    • Mission & Vision
    • Partners of The Intertwine Alliance
    • List of Partners (PDF)
    • Join The Alliance
    • Partner Dues
    • Board of Directors/Public Advisors
    • Staff
    • Action Alerts & Recent Advocacy
    • Policy Committee
    • Advocacy Position
    • Strategic Plan 2019-2024
    • Equity Strategy
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • Partner Testimonials

    See what's happening in our partner blog

    Use your Outside Voice
Twitter Facebook

Header Menu

  • Donate

Search form

  1. Home
  2. Outside Voice blog
  3. Geese, meet these guys!

Geese, meet these guys!

Border collies humanely herd excessive grazers

by Liz Clune, June 02 2014
Goose chase!

Enjoy urban wildlife? How about geese? If you said yes to the latter, the following fun fact should make you happy: Over the past 20 years, the North American Canada goose population has quadrupled to over 4 million!

If you’re among those who said no, you probably find this fact cringe-worthy.

That’s because, due to the extreme resiliency and city adaptability of Canada geese, they easily disturb and crowd out native wildlife like Great Blue Herons. Take the average adult Canada goose, whose daily consumption of three to four pounds of vegetation yields two to three pounds of droppings. Multiplied by hundreds of geese, these droppings, combined with overgrazing, can create animal and ecosystem health issues such as soil erosion, poor water quality, and lost habitat for other urban wildlife species.

In 2009, a Canada geese engine strike dropped US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River.

Then there’s when geese attack humans, either intentionally, like during breeding season, or not, as when aviation bird strikes threaten planes and all aboard.

Whether you love geese or not, one thing’s for sure: you’re going to see more of them. Portland, situated on the Pacific Flyway, is a highway for West Coast bird migration. Due to our ample food supplies for waterfowl, lack of predators, and wide-open spaces, we’ve also become a year-round habitat for part of the Canada goose population. These new full-time residents also attract large flocks of migratory geese to properties -- and that’s often when trouble emerges.

Goose dog Fish sets boundaries.

But how to handle these nuisance neighbors humanely? Time has shown that Canada geese quickly ignore other deterrents such as swans, fake coyotes, flashing lights, noisemakers, and pet dogs.

Here at Geese Guys, LLC, we believe we’ve got an answer: working border collies!

With a goal to encourage ecosystem resilience and biodiversity, Geese Guys uses an integrated approach that includes a dog herding program, habitat modification, egg depredation, and humane wildlife education. We do all of this in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s management protocols and permits, and the methods we utilize are supported by the Humane Society of the United States and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Goose dog Daze demonstrates how her stare and stalking moves the geese.

Our border collies are trained to humanely stalk and flush Canada geese off client properties without physically coming in contact with the animals. A Geese Guys dog does this with an intense gaze and stalking behavior, both bred into border collies over generations, that mimic a wild predator, such as a coyote, and quickly make the geese believe that their current site is not safe.

We work predominantly with schools, condominiums, golf courses, and cemeteries. We are also involved with habitat restoration efforts to temporarily keep geese away while native plantings establish themselves. 

Daze chases a flock off a client's property.

Our clients benefit from cleaner grounds, improved water quality, decreased maintenance and landscaping costs, and increased biodiversity of native birds and mammals.

At Geese Guys, we believe that Canada geese have a place in the Pacific Northwest, in less detrimental numbers, and we support the efforts of local agencies to create viable habitat for wildlife.

Have questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Liz Clune

Liz Clune is an Associate Account Manager & Dog Trainer at Geese Guys, LLC. She has a degree in Zoology and spent 12 years working as a Zookeeper, training and caring for primates, marine mammals and large carnivores. Over the years, she has also been involved in the wildlife conservation and dog training communities.

The Intertwine

P.O. Box 14039 
Portland, OR 97293

503-445-0991

info@theintertwine.org

© 2016 The Intertwine Alliance
Site Map Subscribe

Explore

  • Subscribe to Emails
  • Outside Voice Blog
  • Northwest Family Daycation
  • Calendar
  • Add Event to Calendar
  • Intertwine Listserv
  • Summit 2019 Keynote Address, Meera Bhat

Power of Partnership

  • Vision for Inclusive & Accountable Events
  • Intertwine Summit 2024
  • Intertwine Summit 2023
  • Intertwine Summit 2021
  • Regional Trails Advocacy Group
  • Connecting Canopies
  • Regional Urban Tree Policy & Programs Report
  • Other Partner Convenings
  • Equity & Inclusion Cohorts
  • Regional planning documents & other resources
  • Intertwine Projects
  • Partner Spotlights

The Alliance

  • Donate
  • Mission & Vision
  • Partners of The Intertwine Alliance
  • List of Partners (PDF)
  • Join The Alliance
  • Partner Dues
  • Board of Directors/Public Advisors
  • Staff
  • Action Alerts & Recent Advocacy
  • Policy Committee
  • Advocacy Position
  • Strategic Plan 2019-2024
  • Equity Strategy
  • Land Acknowledgment
  • Partner Testimonials
Top