Border Collies & children

Border Collies and children. This is a topic I get asked about regularly and it's always a good question! With the energy level and herding drive a Border collie brings to the table, it's definitely a good idea to be cautious. But in my opinion and in my experience, Border collies can be fantastic dogs with kids if they are stable, thoughtfully bred, and owned by people who are willing to train their dog and set healthy boundaries. Going back to their roots as farm dogs and "ranch hands," do you think farmers would have kept dogs around that were volatile to their children? I don't think so. But at the same time, I don't generally classify Border Collies as the picture of a family dog, primarily due to their very handler oriented nature. They want to have "a person" who is their dedicated and primary handler. They will certainly have relationships with everyone in the household but often they do best with one person who is the primary. 

Puppies and young Border collies who haven't had much experience with children may want to chase them and may be enticed by or possibly wary of a child's high pitched voice and quick movements, but Border collies are also incredibly in tune with their owners and live to please. They are a breed of dog that is more likely to default to training than many breeds and are highly biddable! Which means it should be relatively easy to teach your Border collie how to appropriately interact with your kids. If you have kids, plan to have kids, or spend time around kids regularly, you can set yourself up for success by choosing a temperamentally sound and well bred puppy and you should prioritize carefully exposing your puppy to kids whom you know and trust, who will listen to your direction during the training process, and you can make it a fun learning experience for everyone involved! In the right hands and from the right breeder, Border collies can absolutely be a great family dog.

I have many pups from my litters that are fabulous with their family's babies and children, with the right handling and advocacy from their owners.