Border Collies and Children: Are They Good With Them?
It actually comes as a surprise to me that so many first time owners think Border Collies are not family friendly dogs, however in reality nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a fact that there are several breeds that are not suited as family dogs, and Border Collies can also be in that list, but the whole debate of BC being a suitable breed for families or not can be subjective, as it depends on different factors that makes it difficult or manageable for a family to own a Border Collie.
Personally if you ask, we have 2 daughters, a son and our beloved BC Dina, we have raised all three of them together, and we have never had any problems as far as having a border collie with children is concerned. However, we have also seen families who have had problems with their Collies, because of bad behavior problems and lack of proper training. That is the reason why you must take some of the serious consideration into account if you are planning to adopt a Border Collie, specially it becomes even more important if you have children or maybe you’re expecting a baby.
We receive hundreds of emails from first-timers regarding our opinion on having Border Collies with children. As I have said earlier, it’s absolutely fine to raise a BC with your kids. Take my example, I have 3 and our BC has been a wonderful dog with my kids.
Border Collie dog can be a wonderful addition to your family, as long as he is properly trained and raised by taking care of his/her essential requirements. As a family friendly breed, they get along with children, people and other dogs and are known to have a strong bond with their owners. However, an untrained BC may develop excessive herding instinct that cause him to bite, nip and chase, but that can be fixed with appropriate training methods.
Personally I believe that having a BC at home living with your kids doesn’t make any difference as it’s just like having any other dog breed living with you children. It’s the training and how well your raise your BC that makes all the difference between having a well-behaved Border Collie or one full of bad behavior problems. If the owner is educated and understand the breed there should be no issues at all.
Herding instinct of Border Collies could be the biggest problem for owners who have kids. Border Collie puppies naturally have herding instincts, and because of that they tend to pickup moving things fast. Your puppy herding at your kids is cute and adorable, but when he grow up and turn into a 40+ pound giant and herding at your children, it won’t be cute anymore. Therefore training a BC pup living with kids is very important and should be given top priority by the owner.
Herding at kids can be fixed by training your BC at a young age. What you can do is when your puppy is in the thought of herding, stop him right there. By saying catching your puppy in his herding thoughts means, as soon as you notice his eyes are locked on some object and he is about to herd at it, do something to distract his mind. For example, you can clap, shout or throw his favorite toy to him.
It’s not just about Border Collie living with your family, but your kids should also understand and learn that they are living a with a breed that is full of life, energy and excitement that needs to be controlled with positive reinforcement. Parents should teach their dog as well as their children that what are their limitations and rules to play with dogs. They both have to learn what is allowed and what is not to build a healthy relationship between them. For instance, you can teach your kids to not allow the dog to herd them and avoid encouraging them to herd while playing.
In the end all I can say is Border Collies are wonderful dogs and if trained and raised well, they can be a perfect life companion for you and your children. After all, responsible pet ownership has many rewards.
