The Border Collie, a herder of…birds?

According to Stanley Coren in “The Intelligence of Dogs:” the Border Collie is the smartest dog breed. The Poodle is second, but my Poodles have been trying to get a rematch for years.

I see a lot of “Border Collie: “Free to good home” ads, but I think they may put the ads in the paper themselves when they find that their owners are insipidly dull couch potatoes who don’t provide the mental and physical stimulation that the breed needs.

They love work. They don’t like days off. They don’t like to sit and watch TV. If forced to be inactive, they can become quite annoying.

They were bred to herd cattle, but some can be trained to transfer their skills to birds. When the dogs work, the birds think they are being hunted and fly away. Because BC’s have herding rather than hunting or killing instincts, they work well in places where the birds should be shooed away without being harmed.

Geese can be disgusting and scary when they walk around in areas meant for people. The Border Collie doesn’t harm the geese. If they can’t fly, the BC will herd them safely into areas where they should be confined.

At Southwest Florida International Airport, Radar the Border Collie has a life mission to keep the birds out of the way of the airplanes. Working with operations agent Rebecca Stansifer, they form a team as the airport’s certified wildlife management team.

Birds and airplanes can make a deadly combination.

Almost 200 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes since 1988, according to Bird Strike Committee USA, a volunteer group with members from both military and civil aviation.

The committee also reported that each year, wildlife strikes cost the world’s airlines more than $1 billion, mainly through aircraft damage and fuel dumping before making precautionary unscheduled landings…

And, the risk of strikes is heightening with greater air traffic and bigger bird and mammal populations, as environmental conservation efforts pay off.

Stansifer and Radar are making the ponds and canals less inviting to wildlife around the runways. Mowing grass to a height that makes alligators and otters more visible also tends to attract birds.

Southwest Florida International is the first commercial airport in the nation use a dog to keep birds away. The cost for Radar was $6000 including training.

Radar is proving to be well worth the expense, not to mention he is having a very good time being a working Border Collie.

Source

Thanks for this story to Diamond Eyes, a most remarkable cat and a fun blogger.

Comments

[jackiesue]

i love border collies and think next to the pitty bull dog, golden lab they are my favorite doggie..
i think my pitty bull dog nate had border collie instincts..when the graddaughters were little and they would come over he would get so anxious cause there were 4 of them and they would be all over the place and he couldn't keep his eye on all of them and finally he herded them into the corner of the living room and just stood there blocking there way so they couldn't move and then he was happy...he would be just spent when they would go home..ha

[threecollie]

You know they are my favorite...we use one of ours to keep ducks out of our feed storage. They don't like him much

[Diamond Emerald-Eyes]

My Bean says the only contract she's had with Borders is the nerotic one that her neighbor owned, and the ones that they are training to be service dogs. She did used to own a foodle though, and says they are very smart, but not as smart as cats. Or, at least, she's never had a cat do any of the fool-assed things the foodle would do - like try to jump out of a car window when the car was in motion.

[Chris]

Great post Jan. I love to watch the border collies doing their agility trials. I could never see my cocker and chihuahua doing that, so it really impresses me.

[Tony]

There are actually some BC's working in Boston to help deal with some of the Canada Geese that are taking over the city. (There almost as bad as pigeons around here) I think the city needs to hire some more though.

[Gus and Louie]

Blue Heelers are bred for herding too. Mom and Dad are going to get us into a herding class. First we have to go to obedience train which starts in March. We can hardly wait..

[Saint Lover]

I love Stanley Coren's books!

[Sling]

Watching these brilliant dogs actually working is a sight to behold.
In rural Colorado,traffic can come to halt for up to 30 minutes while sheep cross the road.All the while,Border Collies are keeping each and every one in proper order.It's amazing!

[rosemary]

Our neighbor had a BC. Hank. He was wonderful.....but he bit a kid riding a bike along the road. As for the last post about Vivi....in Sandpoint in the yellow pages is a pet "therapist."

[cube]

I love watching the border collies work their herds. It always reminds me of the movie, "Babe" though.

[schnoodlepooh]

My poodles would love to herd my birds. But they wouldn't just round them up to a safe place. They would "play" with them. I don't think the birds would like it much.

[Johann]

I'm in awe of Rader and his job! Mum thinks I'd make a great Geese-A-Way dog, I naturally like to herd birds! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTyZPX-1TXw

[Therese]

My border collie is a rarity (aka oddball). His favorite place is either lying on the floor with his head under the bed or on the couch. He is most definitely not the typical border collie. He's an absolute gem though!!

[Tracey]

I love border collies, and I've always enjoyed watching the sheep dog trials with them. Thanks for sharing this story.

[Chrissy]

What a great post! It's so true too! Border Collies have so much energy and are really intelligent! They're great to have on a farm!

[Chrissy]

The one thing about having really intelligent pets is that we always have to keep them occupied...or else they get themselves into trouble! When I first got Chance, he was just a tiny puppy. I was at work for most of the day and I lived in an apartment in Toronto. While I was working, he'd be destroying EVERYTHING in the house. He's the type of dog that needs lots of physical and mental stimulation. Now that he's 5 yrs old, he still acts like a pup, but is not as hyper as he was before. Now, he'll actually come inside from chasing wild animals around the farm and he'll lay down in front of the TV while Hubby watches CSI! LOL!

Chance is husky/wolf/black lab, but the vet thinks he may have a bit of Border Collie in him too. He's a regular Heinz 57!

[Coll]

Dogs (not sure if it is only BCs) are now being used on our golf courses to keep away the geese. They truly are a great breed.. but do need to have a job or tend to get into mischief.

[Nickie]

Baxter, our pet dog, is a border collie, and you're right. They don't do very well in sedentary lifestyles. Bax is also part black lab. He's cute, and I miss him when at college. But I could see him loving a job like this!

[Border Wars - Christopher]

I think the Border Collie's need for stimulation and constant work is over stated by the masses who assume that zero stimulation is appropriate. Border Collies can be lazy and mellow and low-key. In fact, the best ones usually are.

Most people get little glimpses of BCs while they are in full work mode, but that's hardly a good picture of them off duty.

Sure, BCs are likely to expose problems with bad owners, but I don't think they are so different that normal people couldn't enjoy one. I especially cringe when I hear people who have dogs like Australian Cattle dogs think that they're not ready for a Border Collie. If you can survive a motivated and stubborn cattle dog, a motivated and eager BC isn't a very big leap.