Thinking of adopting a border collie - are they good with kids?

Question

I found a 7 month old border collie for adoption. I've read mixed reviews as to whether they are good with children or not. What is your experience? Only people with border collie experience please - thanks!

Answer 1

I have a border collie and he is almost six now. He is so amazing with kids. As long as they are around them before they reach about one year then they will be perfect for the rest of their lives. If they haven't really been around them a lot they might be a little frightened at first. But i love my dog and he is one of the smartest dogs. If you get it make sure to teach it lots of tricks it amazing how intelligent they truly are. Good luck i hope  you get it :) you won't regret it

Answer 2

I think you are in the wrong section, great question nevertheless!

Border Collies are smart, loyal, sporty.  They do nip though when they are puppies.  This is due to their herding instinct, they want to corral everything.  If you have really small kids they will chase them and nip at their heels which can be scary for the kids.  It can be trained out of them though.  They are wonderful dogs, and once you get through this, they make awesome family pets!

Answer 3

i have a border collie. She is almost 8 now. She is the best dog I have ever. She is great with everyone, she loves kids and they love her.  Borders are social and sweet and very easy to train since they're so smart. I would never own another breed after having such a great time withher.  Good luck

Answer 4

My aunt has a border collie, and he is fabulous with the kids. They are HIGH energy dogs, and are very intelligent. They really need a lot of attention, and space. If you don't nurture them by teaching them a lot of tricks, and spending a lot of time playing outdoors, they may retaliate with bad behaviors like tearing up the house or barking. Agility training is perfect for this type of dog. If you have an apartment or do not have a lot of time, you may want to reconsider. Make sure to take him for obedience training, and expose him to lots of people and children to keep him socialized.

Answer 5

Border collies are great dogs!  Like all herding breeds, they are intelligent and high energy.  They need stimulation and interaction, so they're probably not the best dogs for infants, but if you need an energetic dog to run around with your energetic school age kids, they're wonderful!

I do recommend training for any herding dogs.  Like I said, they are very, very intelligent.  If you don't give them something to do, they are going to find something to do.  And you might not like what they find!

Answer 6

AHAHAHA! Sorry, this kind of made me smile... a question about animal adoption in the human adoption section.

The main thing is to talk to the the people who have rehabilitated the dog.  They'll be the most informed on what kind of personality he has as well as his reactions to people... including children... as well as what kind of history the dog has and how it might affect your family should you chose to adopt him/her.

Answer 7

A border collie is a herding breed, therefore they may try to herd the children.  That is what mine did...

Answer 8

excellent dogs!  agile, loyal and smart!  they'll do great with children but please watch your children with all pets.  They can be a little too rough or a little loving and squeeze the love right out of 'em!

Answer 9

As with any dog good training is key.  But in general yes, border collies are very good with kids.

Our border collie, does very well with my niece and nephew.  They are a very high energy dog and require alot of tasks because they are considered a "working dog."  If they don't have a purpose they will get destructive around the house, i.e chewing shoes, clothes and furniture.

Regular outings to the park and even doggie daycare would be advised.

Answer 10

They're hyper. And yes, they have very strong herding abilities. Our first collie used to herd us up the stairs every night, and our recent collie who is two tried for ages to chase everything (like cars...I mean what would she do when she caught one?) but both have been wonderful with kids.

They just need a lot of training and lots of excercise, and problems like nipping at people's ankles can occur (as part of their herding instincts) which can get them into trouble if they don't learn not to do this.

Answer 11

Our border collie is great with our baby. He is calm and very respectful. However, he is hyper with our nephew and cannot calm down around him. It all depends on whether the child/dog grow up together and if the dog is calm around the children's parents and understands the children's place and importance. If the dog sees the kids as playmates then the dog will be too rough just from getting exciting about play. If the dog sees the kids as your property and an extention of you then he will behave around them. You just have to teach the dog who is boss (in a nonaggressive but assertive way).