Is an Australian Shepherd better with small children than a Border Collie?

Question

I am currently researching getting a puppy to be a member of my family. I had a border collie for 12 years, she was my baby until I had a human baby! She was not happy and did not do well with my daughter so I had to retire her to a farm in which she was very happy but I still miss her. My question is that I want to get a breed as close to the Border Collie that I can find as far as their intelligence and bonding but I would like one that is not quite as much focused on the herding and nipping, jealousy, etc. as my Border was. I know she wasn't raised with kids and that makes a difference but I have been researching it even here on Yahoo and the Borders get a very low score with small children (my DD is 4). I have been looking into the Australian Shepherd and see they get a much higher score with children and are close in intelligence, any advice?

Answer 1

Aussie Shepherd.But they are both beautiful dogs.

Answer 2

i own a rescued aussie and she is wonderful with kids and a great dog overall and i would recommend them for a family i dont know if any other breed had your interest such as the golden retriever or lab each of which are both very intelligent breeds and great family dogs. borders and aussies are both classified as herding breeds and with that comes the intelligence and need to stimulate that part of their brain its what they were breed to do so if your willing to provide the stimulation such as agility or herding then i would definitely say go with the aussie but which  ever breed you choose i would definitely  recommend training classes to not only teach your dog acceptable behavior but also help you and your  dog bond and it also helps stimulate your dogs mind because you are looking for such an intelligent breed they tend to get bored faster so constant stimulation helps keep them out of trouble.

Answer 3

10 REASONS TO ADOPT AN ADULT DOG

1. Have you really thought about what getting a puppy means?

• Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.

• Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.

• Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the dark and in the rain for at least 20 minutes

saying, "Be a good puppy, go potty now - hurry up - come on, lets go!"

• Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.

• Leave your underwear on the living room floor, because that's where the puppy will drag it

anyway. (Especially when you have company.)

• Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program and run to the door

shouting, "No no! Do that OUTSIDE!" Miss the end of the program.

• Put chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning. Don't try to clean it up until you return

from work that evening.

• Gouge the leg of the dinning room table several times with a screwdriver - it's going to get

chewed on anyway.

2. Puppies are not housebroken! Most people work during the day and are gone for 8 hours or more at a

time. Puppies need to go out on a regular schedule so they have frequent opportunities to eliminate

where you want them to. Puppies can't wait for the boss to finish his meeting or the kids to come home

from school. Adult dogs can "hold it" for longer periods, and may already be house-trained.

3. Intact Underwear. Puppies chew! You can count on at least 10 mismatched pairs of socks and a

variety of unmentionables rendered to the "rag bag" before a puppy cuts all its teeth. Shoes? yes,

puppies like to chew them also. Expect holes in your carpet (along with urine stains), backs and pages

missing from books, stuffing exposed in couches, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how

well you watch them, it will happen. This is a puppy's job! An adult dog can usually have the run of the

house without destroying it.

4. A Good Night's Sleep. A puppy can be very demanding at 2am and 4am and 6am. Puppies naturally

miss their littermates and a stuffed animal is not a substitute for puppy pile with littermates in the dark

of night. Prefer peace and quiet? An adult rescue dog usually sleeps through the night.

5. Finish the Newspaper. With a puppy loose in the house, you will NOT be able to relax when you get

home from work. Do you think kids ever really feed the dog? Clean up the messes? Walk in the pouring

rain every hour to get the dog housetrained? If so, you probably have a severe case of denial. An adult

dog will generally sit calmly beside you as your workday stress flows away and your blood pressure lowers

as you pet it.

6. Easier Vet Trips. Puppies need a series of puppy shots and fecals, then a rabies shot, then surgery to

spay/neuter them, and generally a trip or two to the emergency vet after eating something dangerous.

(All of this usually adds up to substantially more than you paid for the dog!) When adopting an adult

dog, the adoption fee should get you a dog that has been altered, is current on vaccinations, heartworm

negative and on a preventative, at the minimum.

7. What You See Is What You Get. How big will the dog get? What will its temperament be? Is it easily

trained? What will its personality be like as an adult? Will it be hyperactive? Adult dogs are, to steal a

term from internet lingo, WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get.) All of your questions are easily

answered, because the dog is already an adult. You can pick large or small; active or couch potato; goofy

or brilliant; sassy or sweet. Further, the shelter adoption counselor, or rescuer and/or foster homes can

help guide you in choosing just the right match for you. (Rescues are FULL of puppies who became the

wrong match as they got older!)

8. Unscarred Children (and Adults). If a puppy does not teethe on your possessions, it will teethe on you

and your children. Rescuers often get calls from panicked parents sure their dog is about to seriously

injure their children. It usually turns out the puppy is just doing what puppies do, i.e., mouth or nip.

Parents, too emotional to see the difference, just want to get rid of the dog. A growing puppy is going to

put anything and everything in their mouth.

It must be taught bite inhibition. As the puppy grows, the puppy's jaws become stronger and adult teeth

replace its puppy teeth. The mouthing and nipping it did as a puppy now can have serious consequences.

Far better to get an adult dog that has "been there, done that, moved on."

9. Matchmaker Make Me A Match. Puppy love is emotionally appealing. They are so cute! But, in

reality, cute is not a sufficient reason to get a pet, a pet that will probably live 15+ years. It may be

cute, but cute can grow up to be hyperactive. It may be not want to share your home with anyone else,

including your spouse, children, or other animals. It may want to be a couch potato, when the main

reason you got the dog was to run with you every day.

Pet/owner mis-matches are the MAIN REASONS owners "give-up" their pets. 60% of the animals in

shelters nationwide are there for this reason. Good shelters and rescuers extensively evaluate dogs and

applicants to insure both will be happy with one another until death do they part.

10. Instant Companion. With an adult dog, you have a dog that can go everywhere and do anything with

you NOW. You don't have to wait until the puppy grows up and hope it will like to do what you to do

with it. You select the adult dog most compatible with you. You can find one that travels well, loves to

play with your friends' dogs, has excellent house manners, etc. You can come home after a long day's

work and spend your time on a relaxing walk, ride, or swim with your new best friend rather than

cleaning up after a small puppy.

11. Bond – Rescue/Shelter Dog Bond. Dogs that have been uprooted from their happy homes or have

not had the best start in life are likely to bond very closely to their new owner. Yes, dogs that have lost

families through death, divorce or lifestyle change can go through a mourning process; however, once

they become attached to their new family, they seem to want to please as much as possible to make sure

they are never homeless again! Those dogs

that are just learning about the good life and good people seem to bond even deeper. They know what

life on the streets, life on a chain, or worse, is about, and they revel and blossom in a nurturing, loving

environment. Most adult shelter or rescue dogs make exceptional, extremely loyal companions.

1. NEVER BUY A PUPPY just LOOKS, colour along, fur type-COLOUR, fur type and looks HAS NO INDICATION OF DOGS TEMPERMENT!

2. Consider your lifestyle-

4. Are you out more then 8hours a day

5. Consider your energy requirements, Size, Grooming.

6. Don't just buy because someone says this is the dog for you, people particular on yahoo answer will give you there particular favourite breed& what suits them, not what actually suit you.

7. Read all you can-THERE are alot of false information on the web and in books about different dog breed.

8 DON'T TRUST THOSE DOG BREED SELECTORS-MOST OF THE RESULTS ARE INCORRECT. Ex i search large breed dogs, and the Pomeranian came up, which of cause is a toy dog breed!!

9. NEVER BUY FROM A PETSTORE, BACKYARD BREEDER, PUPPY MILL OR NEWSPAPER, DON'T BUY FROM NEXT DAY PETS OR DOG BREED INFO, RESCUE AN ADULT DOG OR SHELTER PUPPY!

Adult dogs are the best option over 2yrs of age.

Oddly enough big dogs are generally more tolerant of younger children-Children grow to respect big dog more because of there larger size and are generally more cautious of them! Young children don't understand the fragile size of the Small/toy dogs and think there a toy, so they'll naturally play more roughly with a small/toy dog breed and are not as cautious and the small/toy breeds just don't understand the roughness or rouwdyness of young children and are too fragile for a 4yr old to handle-Small & toy dogs were breed for adults, so they are inclinde to be snappish if the going get rough! Larger dogs such as labrador and Golden Retriver Newfoundland and medium Collie were breed to tolerate families and young children under the age 8yrs, but are not suitable for people with allergies.

I wouldn't recommend any dog apart from  these breed below for children under 8yrs old.

Answer 4

Any type of herding dog, your going to have problems with chasing, nipping, and herding (sometimes jumping) when they are young puppies until they are trained. With this being said, be prepared for this.

What i do notice is the working line aussies are a little more prey driven and have a more energetic attitude. Show lines are a bit calmer, which is what i would recommend. BYB's are just high strung, nervous dogs, which is NOT what an aussie should be. They do not bark as much as border collies. They are naturally very tolerant with children especially when raised properly with them. As far as jealousy and such, just remember that the very first day you get your puppy to start implicating ground work. The first thing any dog should learn is ALL humans in the pack are above them.

What's a really intelligent dog and has a much more calmer,gentle disposition is the english shepherd. Which could be what you're looking for.  

Answer 5

I have a Border Collie who is brilliant with children, we got her from a farm as a 2 year old so it could have gone horribly wrong but she has fitted in just fine.

I have no experience with Australian Shepherd so I won't comment on that but have you thought about getting a Lab.

We had a Lab when my children were newborn and toddlers and he was great with them, gentle and loving.

How old is your daughter?