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Border Collie and young children?


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Old 01-02-2012, 20:10
avasgranny
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Hi, daughter has been offered a 12 week old border collie. They have a 3 year old and a 1 year old baby. I have read that they aren't very good with young children. The pup is a bitch. Can anyone advise? Thanks x
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:35
Croctacus
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As its only young it should be ok if handled firmly. They can be a bit nippy but only because part of the herding instinct...at least they are easily trainable (probably easier than the kids will be).
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:37
Butcher Bill
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I suggest that if she has such young children she may not have time for a border collie.
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:39
husted
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http://www.bcrescue.org/bcwarning.html
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:40
avasgranny
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Hubby at home too! Daughter grew up with puppy walking guide dogs so hopefully that training may help? They moved from a city to an ideal place to have a dog.
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:42
avasgranny
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:46
North Downs
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Some years ago I had a neighbour who had a young border collie. They were always taking it out for walks and really seemed good owners, it was a lovely dog.

Then she had a baby. The poor dog gradually got more and more ignored and eventually seemed to be permanently tied up round the side of their house, barking continuously through the wrought iron gate. We moved shortly after this so don't know the outcome. Hopefully they let someone else have it who had time for it.
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Old 01-02-2012, 20:46
Butcher Bill
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Hubby at home too! Daughter grew up with puppy walking guide dogs so hopefully that training may help? They moved from a city to an ideal place to have a dog.
It is quite a demanding breed though in many cases - with regard to attention I mean.

Long walks, plenty of exercise, plenty of stimulation etc.

In my own experience I'm glad I had a very relaxed and undemanding little terrier when my children were growing up. They are, after all, very demanding on their own and I can quite comfortably say I may not have had the energy for the demands of a lively dog as well.

I'm not saying they shouldn't get a dog - jut not one that is likely to be so demanding.

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Old 01-02-2012, 21:07
missloo
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We have 3 border collies 2 of which are about 14 weeks old and they are quite a handful. Luckily we live on a farm and have lots if space for them to try and burn it off.

Of she has a small garden or little time to walk it, I don't think a border collie would be right for her.
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Old 01-02-2012, 21:38
Aarghawasp!
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I had a BC, she was a brilliant dog. Lovely gentle nature, not at all nippy, and incredibly intelligent... but never halted. Hyper, 24 7. Walk her for miles, she'd come back, have a quick drink and be ready to go again. Fabulous dogs but they are very demanding. They need a HUGE amount of mental stimulation and physical exercise or they will get bored, and bored dogs become destructive dogs and destructive dogs end up in shelters.

Personal opinion? With such a young family I'd suggest a lower maintenence breed. http://www.bcrescue.org/ is a very good site. Read through it (especially the rticle section) and think carefully. Can they really manage a 3 year old, a toddler and a very active, intelligent dog? Can they walk with a young child, buggy and puppy? Do they have sufficient time to spend on training? All dogs need puppy socialisation and training, but collies in particular would be a nightmare without any training. Too many collies end up in rescue because folk don't realise just how demanding they are.
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Old 02-02-2012, 08:10
avasgranny
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Thank you all for your help and advice. Has anyone had one that was ok with children (theirs and other people's) or as I sadly fear that is a huge no no?
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Old 02-02-2012, 08:43
TWS
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honestly collies are not ideal around children they are lovely dogs if you have the time attention space for them but their herding instincts are extremely high which is not a good idea with children
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Old 02-02-2012, 08:57
molliepops
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Mollie only has a bit of collie in her and is now lovely with children but when she was younger the drive to round everyone up was very strong and she did that by nipping the back of people's legs - OK in an adult but scary for children. She has been quite a handful during her life time, needing a lot of time and energy to keep her busy so she doesn't have time to be naughty and as a youngster she was a dreadful chewer, far worse than any other breeds we have had, mainly because we had my Mum living here so I didn't have enough time for her. Personally I wouldn't have a collie with young children unless it was as old as Molliepops (10) and calmed down significantly.
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Old 02-02-2012, 10:25
grassmarket
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Mollie only has a bit of collie in her and is now lovely with children but when she was younger the drive to round everyone up was very strong and she did that by nipping the back of people's legs - OK in an adult but scary for children. .
Same thing happened with some good friends of mine, they could count on the collie to keep things in line during the walk to school, shopping trips etc.
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Old 02-02-2012, 10:29
Aarghawasp!
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Ours was brilliant with kids, but as I said she was never a heel nipper. She was a lovely gentle natured dog. She was more interested in dropping her ball/stick/random object at their feet and repeatedly looking between their face and the toy while frantically wagging her tail. 'Throw it! Need to chase. Throw. Chase. Ball. Go on. Please. Throw. Chase. Ruuuuuun!"

We still had Meg when my first was born and she was brilliant with her as a baby and toddler. We may just have been lucky with her, I know heel nipping is a common trait as part of their strong herding instinct. Read through the link, lots of good information there.
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Old 02-02-2012, 10:34
stud u like
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Borders need very long walks.
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