Preparing for a BC

[CptJack]

I think the difference in perspective re: farm dogs comes to some degree down to how useful the dog was, maybe. I know my grandfather would have (and did) shoot a dog or two for menacing the kids or other people or the chickens but those were pet dogs who just kind of... hung around.

The working collie had a LOT more leeway because that dog was important to the running of his 'farm' (which was tiny, but still provided quite a bit of food for their own table) and he NEEDED the dog too much for him to get rid of and start over or go without (especially when he couldn't really afford a new started/trained dog) because it didn't like the kids or grandkids. At that point it became viewed much like a piece of dangerous farm equipment. Up to the kids to stay away from.

 

A dog outright seeking out kids to attack and going great lengths to do so wouldn't have been tolerated, but a dog who bit the kids if they were doing something boneheaded (up to and including running and screaming around the dog, not backing off when growled at, trying to touch it, stopping the dogs retreat) was just sometimes a fact of life and 'Stop messing with the dog, you're gonna get bit!" was not an uncommon thing to hear.

[simba]

The dogs who bit were mostly collies who did some kind of useful work, worked cattle or sheep (or had done so in the past) and/or were watchdogs in often relatively isolated houses, so maybe the kind of logic CptJack mentioned. I know people with permanent scars from ordinary farm collies. I am unsure as to how much was simple lack of training (although the dog I mentioned above was regularly exposed to dog-savvy kids) and how much was inherent temperament, but it would make me very wary of having a collie and kids unless I could pick the collie as an adult. YMMV.

 

They were kept outside, all the time, or allowed only in particular rooms of the house or in at certain times of the day. The dog wasn't expected to have to play nice with kids or strangers because they shouldn't be interacting with your dog or going too close to them. Which, you know, in some ways is very annoying (why not train a dog not to threaten children unprovoked?) and in some ways is quite sensible.

 

Like CptJack says, it was that you stay away from the river by yourself, you stay away from the building with the unstable roof, you stay away from the farm machinery, and you stay away from the dog.

[GentleLake]

When I first got into border collies 35 years ago it wasn't at all unusual for people to remark to me about how they were mean dogs. People had either had personal experience or knew this by reputation.

 

It always surprised me because that had and still has never been my experience with them. I really don't know whether it's nature or nurture, change in expectations and what people will tolerate, change in breeding or some combination of those things.

[TxMom]

Your post caught me eye because we're in about the same place -- we plan to adopt an adult Border Collie sometime in the next six months. Our kids are 7, 5 and 3 and we also homeschool. I don't have any actual advice because we haven't done it yet, but I'm trying a similar approach of setting some of the routines in place ahead of time.

 

One big thing for us has been getting the kids into a daily walking routine. I wanted to do that anyway because it gets me exercise and it helps our school day go more smoothly when the kids start out a little tired. I mapped a route through our neighborhood, and we walk a mile or two every morning (depending on the heat) and another mile or two most evenings after my husband gets home. It took several weeks to get to the point where it all went smoothly with the kids. No whining that they're tired and want to go home, no fights over who gets in front of who, etc. They go on their bikes and they know at which points to stop along the route and wait for me to catch up (usually corners, occasionally a light pole). If we had started all that at the same time we added a dog, I think I might have gone crazy because it took a while to get to the point where I wasn't flustered trying to direct kid traffic.

 

I'm also working on getting better about my housekeeping, specifically keeping up with clutter. We currently leave too many things lying around that might make attractive chew toys. So I'm in the process of going through the house room by room and making sure everything has a place, and trying to gets the kids and myself in the habit of putting everything away when we're done with it. I imagine that would be even more critical with a puppy.

 

I've also sat down and thought through when I would have time to work one-on-one with the dog without the kids (figuring 5 to 15 minutes at a time). My plan is before breakfast, early afternoon when the kids are having rest/reading time, in the evening right after the kids go to bed, and right before I go to bed. I've made sure I have a consistent personal routine that will accommodate that: I get up at 6 and the kids get up at 8, so there's time in the morning for training and if for some reason I won't be walking with the kids later, I can take the dog for a walk early before my husband leaves for work.

 

We already have cats, so the kids understand the concept that animals have personal space. They know not to chase the cats when the cats walk away from them, and there are zones in the house that are off limits to the kids where the cats can go to get away. We'll also apply that to the dog when he or she walks away and/or goes into the crate.

 

We do plan to get an adult because I want to know we're getting a dog with a solid, known temperament and who won't be uncomfortable around the constant low-level chaos that is a house with young kids. I'm excited to be working with a rescue group who knows their dogs well and can help us make a good choice.

 

Again, none of this is tried and true, but I thought it might be sort of what you were thinking of in your original post.

[D'Elle]

Just wondering where you are planning to get your puppy, since you did not say. Please read the "read this first" section if you have not already done so. Please be sure that you do not buy from a backyard breeder or a puppy mill or someone who is breeding border collies for anything other than their working ability.

 

*Also, please do not count out rescues because you want a puppy! *

 

Many rescues get puppies in, sometimes whole litters, or else a pregnant female, who then has her puppies and the whole litter is available for adoption. This happens pretty regularly. You can still get your baby from a rescue. Texas has an excellent border collie rescue and I highly recommend that you investigate that option. :-)