Circle L Stockdogs offers working cow dogs services, herding border collies, geese control and cattle leasing in Chandler, Arizona
Circle L Stock Dog Arizona

Using working cattle Dogs to control geese population in Arizona:

Geese Control AZ with stock dogs

Photography by Dan Lind

Our mission is to provide the most effective  goose control service, using working cattle dogs (Border Collies) in Arizona. The Canadian geese population explosion has created a serious problem in urban areas. An adult goose can destroy up to five square feet of turf per day and may leave up to a pound of waste per day. Canada Geese are a nuisance in urban areas, but they are regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, making it unlawful to kill, sell, hunt, or disturb nests and eggs The most effective way to humanely control the goose population on your property is to introduce a “predator” into the environment. Border collies have a predatory crouch, stalk and stare that they use to move livestock. Geese harassment, or hazing as it is also called, does not harm the birds, but disturbs them so they leave to graze and nest elsewhere. This method is simple, cost effective, and environmentally safe. We design effective and comprehensive programs for schools, athletic complexes, municipalities, corporate lawns, golf courses, country clubs, airports, HOAs and private homes. Border collie harassment programs can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in landscape repair and sidewalk cleanup. This method is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) approved and is the safest and most natural way to discourage nuisance geese. We will also contact the US Fish and Wildlife Department before coming to your area. As a fully insured small business based in Chandler, in the Greater Phoenix area in Arizona, we can supply prompt, efficient and reasonably priced service whenever you need it. For more information about our hazing services, please contact Wendy.

Read articles about Wendy and her dogs helping with the control of geese in Arizona

Wendy Larson and her Working Dogs
By Becky Stow
Province Life

Geese Control in Arizona

Photography by Dan Lind

Wendy Larson and her Border Collies were hired by the Province HOA to help control the population of bird pests,especially the coots on the property. The problem with the American Coot is that they not only cause damage to golf courses, residential lawns, city parks and farms but also contaminate man-made lake sand reservoirs. If left undisturbed, their activities can cause real economic hardship or create human health hazards. Coots mess up the place with their droppings, their nesting activities and their foraging behavior  eating up lawns and shrubs. They leave slippery green droppings on paths and driveways close to ornamental lakes and other waterways. And the birds are not easily deterred. When Wendy arrived with the dogs, Gibbs and Riggs, they are wearing bright red swim vests mainly to identify them to on lookers as”hired help”not your average pet. The job Wendy’s dogs are hired to do is referred to as hazing.
They are excited to have a job to do. She gives them commands such as,”Away!”Walk Up!””Run up!” “Here” “Come!”and”Come behind.” By these commands they know exactly what Wendy wants them to do. There are hundreds of Coots on the vast lawns around the man-made lakes. Gibbs and Riggs chase the birds and sometimes they fly into the water to escape the harassment but that is not a problem for Wendy’s dogs.

“Away away!”Shouts Wendy,and the dogs circlet he water waiting for her next command.”Get in!”and they jump into the water.As Gibbs swims after them I see her kick the water and bite at it playfully.”Do you think she’s tired?” Wendy asks me and we both laugh,it’s plain to see the dogs enjoy their work.
Of course the birds don’t like being bothered and move to another area but the dogs are hot on the trail,racing to scare those birds again and again.The schedule days and times for hazing have to be switched because the birds soon lear her routine. The hope is that the birds will no longer feel comfortable in this area and move on to different territory. It is against the law to kill or trap these birds. The only resort os to use hazing techniques

When Wendy is hired for bird harassment her services are in compliance with the State Fish and Game Dept. and she notifies them before beginning a new job. Even though her Border Collies are intimidating to
the birds,they are still gentle and kind. I saw Gibbs catch a coot in her mouth yet she held it with a soft mouth. When she heard Wendy shout,”Leave it!” she dropped it unharmed. Even though they are employees, they are also a part  of the family.Wendy cares for them and makes sure they enjoy their life. Her website address is listed below for more great stories and photos of her dogs and ranch, Circle L Stock Dogs: www.circlelstockdogs.com

Province birds going to dogs
By Wayne Block
February 3, 2012 – 10:00 am

http://www.InMaricopa.com/Article/dogs-chase-birds-province-peta

Working Dogs Arizona

Birds in Province waters have proliferated to the point of nuisance. Photo by Wayne Block.

Ducks, geese, coots, herons and other waterfowl can be beautiful to look at, but a bother and even a health concern when they gather in large numbers. So, the community of Province has turned to the aid of another animal to rid it of the unusually high number of birds taking up residence in the communities’ large lakes and ponds. Community Manager Shelley Reith contracted with Circle L Stock Dogs, of Chandler, to assist in trying to convince the birds to find other lodging. Circle L has been using stock dogs to help control its own herd of cattle. “We try to keep all of our stock on pasture,” said Circle L’s Wendy Larson. “These dogs were mainly used to move the cattle from one pasture to the other. They run them through the chutes and help load them in the trucks.” The cattle respond better to the dogs than to cowboys, Larson said. “They’re basically our foremen,” she said. “And they’re some of the best you can have because a dog can usually take the place of four cowboys. The cows respect the dogs so much more, and the dogs are so much quicker.” Larson began using the dogs on her own ranch to control birds eating the seed planted in the pastures. It worked. She also supplies stock dogs to other operations.
Enter Province, which has had an on-going battle with the fowl and decided to give Circle L a chance. As dozens of community residents watched from the banks of the waterways and even the balcony of the clubhouse in late January, Larson and her troops went to work. With assistants Babette Klaus and Travis Kadding each controlling one of the stars of the show, Larson, and the others, fanned out to form almost a military pincer movement, coming at the birds from three directions. The dogs were, indeed, the stars. Five-year-old Riggs, 1-year-old Gibbs and 5-month old rescue dog Socks reveled in the chance to dive into the water at the simple command of “get the birds.” The idea is to harass the birds enough they decide to move elsewhere. The operation is completely humane and approved by PETA and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. On this day the operation began in a small waterway south of the clubhouse, with the dogs chasing the birds to the large lake bounded by Smith-Enke Road. Then it was over to that side where hundreds of waterfowl were gathered on the shore, and in the water, near the road. The pincer movement again scattered the birds which flew off in a variety of directions. The program, which began Jan. 23 when Socks made his debut, doesn’t work quickly. Circle L will be out nearly daily for a month, trying to convince the birds the Province lakes are not where they want to make their homes. Larson varies the time of day, and locations, where the dogs work, knowing that patience is the key. Over time, the birds will get the idea and not return. She hopes, however, to continue working her dogs in other locations that have problems with waterfowl. “This is a trial for us,” she said, noting this is the first actual job the dogs have undertaken working with birds instead of cattle. “Province, and Shelley, are nice enough to give this a go. These are still working dogs, they’re still going to be used for cattle,”
Larson said. More information on Circle L and the dogs is available at www.circlelstockdogs.com.

“Wendy Larson Circle L Stockdogs” By Becky Stow
From The Stockdog Journal, Volume Five – Issue 3:

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