Tuxedodog Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 The company I work for has a Border Collie goose patrol that comes daily. Some days it is the highlight of my day to watch the dogs work the geese around the pond, I just have to walk down the hallway with all of the windows at the right time. I am totally amazed by the amount of energy they have, my BC is a slacker by comparison, for which I am eternally greatful! I was wondering however, how cold is too cold to go swimming? One of the dogs was in the pond this morning and it was only about 36 degrees F outside. I keep my dog away from the water when it is that cold, because he has to go in. I have also noticed that only one of the dogs goes into the pond, it always seems to be the same one, he seems to have a longer coat than the other 2 dogs on the team. I never thought I would like "goose" season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Fortunately goose season is slow during the coldest months, but the dogs can swim, with chest protection, in ice-covered water for short periods. It's not needed though very much because if the water is frozen the geese typically desert the area or are very easy to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy V Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 The dogs that are internally driven to swim after birds will do so regardless of temperature. I do keep them out of the ice, though, and keep a stack of towels in the truck to dry them off. Although it is quite useful to have a kennel full of dogs that have this level of swimming desire, I find that I have dogs that prefer to swim and dogs that prefer to run the shore line (swimmers and flankers), and I tend to pair the two when working. This swimming preference is without regard to sex or coat length. It still amazes me that the dogs are willing to swim in such cold water and will do so several times a day. Needless to say, the swimmers get extra helpings of high-fat foods. I would say that when working stock, the swimming dogs have less eye and are very forward driven, but this is a loose observation. I'm glad that you enjoy watching the dogs work. I take great pride in handling my dogs in a workman-like fashion. Stock work is the foundation of their training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Just curious... Do the dogs work at the same time every day? Canada geese are so darn persistent, I wonder if you have to keep 'em guessing? Like, you never know when the black and whites might cruise by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuxedodog Posted April 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 The dogs are here at all different times of day. I am guessing the handler goes from site to site. I know we share our swans with a company that adjoins ours, so I suspect the geese get chased from pond to pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 My dogs will swim in almost any weather. We've not had an occasion to swim in much ice having just moved from AR. But the other day there was snow on the ground and if we weren't by a creek I think there'd have been ice. They all swam and didn't seem affected by the cold. They were running around before and didn't stop after. But...the other day they were out 4wheeling with DS and got head to toe muddy. They had ice mudballs haning from any thing that could catch a mudball. Before I could even let them in the house I had to squirt them off with the hose. It's well water so COLD, they were all done playing by then so laying around. They all came in pretty cold after the hose deal. I had to rub them with towels quite a bit to feel like they were warming up. I've never thought of ice being a danger to their chests but probably cause we haven't swam in that kind of ice. I love watching any stockdog doing it's thing, goose work, sheep work, agility or even frisbee. As long as the dogs are giving it their all, it's all beautiful to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.