<\/p>\n
Six years ago, Deerhurst Resort had an accommodation problem. Flocks of geese were taking over the resort and staff needed a humane solution to make the area safe for guests.<\/p>\n
“We had a terrible goose problem,” said Amanda Irving, goose and wildlife control program facilitator with Deerhurst. “Guests couldn\u2019t walk from the resort to the beach. It looked gross and smelled badly. Geese mate together for life and they will come back to their nest site every year, and if they have hatchlings those hatchlings will return the following year as well, so it\u2019s like a snowball effect.”<\/p>\n
Staff reached out to dog trainer Sherri Hall of Bye Bye Birdie Goose Control.<\/p>\n
“She came here and surveyed our property and gave us a layout of what we need to do,” said Irving.<\/p>\n
They got their first trained dog, Len, from Hall and they\u2019ve used him to train the other dogs used in the program. The resort now has four dogs trained to herd geese.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a lot of hard work, a lot of repetitiveness,” said Irving. “Our dogs are trained to herd, not kill or harm. The most important thing is to have your dog go when you want them to and come when you want them to. Any dog can chase but it\u2019s the ability to stop chasing when you need them to. That\u2019s where the training comes in. We never want to injure a bird, we just want them not to be here. It\u2019s a humane way to keep our property beautiful and people safe.”<\/p>\n
Iriving loves working with the dogs, which she\u2019s been doing for six of her 10 years at Deerhurst. “It\u2019s kind of a dream job,” she said.<\/p>\n
Irving was taught how to train the dogs to herd geese by Hall and working with Len, the resort’s oldest dog.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s just knowing a lot about dog body language,” said Irving. “Len trained me. I\u2019ve learned a lot from watching him. He\u2019s the heart of our program.”<\/p>\n
Len is 12, and the other dogs are 11, 3 and 2. Two are border collies, one is an Australian koolie and the other is an Australian shepherd.<\/p>\n
The dogs are trained to only chase geese, which they identify by their shape, size and sound.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s not harmful to the animals and what we do is cruelty-free. We don\u2019t harm anything. The dogs don\u2019t chase ducks or herons,” said Irving. “It\u2019s a humane way to keep your property looking beautiful and keep people safe because Canadian geese can be aggressive.”<\/p>\n
Len helps Irving train the other dogs. It takes about four to five years for a dog to be fully trained in chasing geese.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a process. Lennie has this crouching, sneak walk and he\u2019s our only dog that can do it on command. The other three are still learning,” she said. (See one of the dogs, Marlowe, in action in the video below. Footage courtesy of Amanda Irving.)<\/p>\n