# Red Heeler/Border Collie mix good for kids/cat patrol?



## tracyballard (Feb 13, 2008)

I would like a small to medium size dog to bark at cats and whoever else might be around the house. I also have 5 kids age 1-10 that are real handfulls. The dog would be able to go outside or come in whenever it wants, I have a large backyard and large covered concrete patio. In the paper right now I see some free Red Heeler/Border Collie mix puppies, also some Chihuahua/Schnauzer puppies. I saw some yellow labs too, but they may be a bit too big. Any helpful ideas? I really prefer a dog that is pretty calm for the most part when it's older.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

A Heeler/BC mix puppy is going to be a handful. It'll want to be right by your side all the time, and will probably not be happy doing it's own thing, going in and out as it pleases. Some will bark at cats, some won't. Honestly my sheltie barks at cats and it drives me nuts, I'd love it if he _didn't_. Also, some will nip at kids, some won't. One of my three is a kid nipper, we're working on it with training but it takes alot of supervision and intervention whenever he starts rounding up the kids. He recently decided on his own that the kids were not allowed to go upstairs and I had to get that under control quickly. My bc never barks or nips and is great with kids, but he is needy.

I do think herders can be fine with kids, but also they need owners who want to be active and involved with their dogs, spend their free time with them, etc. If that's you, then go for it. I do think with a kid as yound as one, I'd look into an adult dog, not a puppy though.


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## tracyballard (Feb 13, 2008)

I think I'm going to keep looking, the herding behavior doesn't really sound good. My wife is wanting a terrier mix, I like poodles myself, so we'll just see what turns up. I was seriously considering one of the yellow lab puppies, but I just don't think I want to clean up after that big of a dog.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

You might want to go see the Lab pup's parents.....I've seen some 50-pound Labs, and some 90-pound Labs. But most I've seen are around 70 pounds. However, I really wouldn't recommend getting a Lab from a newpaper ad----unless they're giving the pups away for free, then I would consider it to be a rescue. Badly-bred Labs are prone to hip problems and weird behavior issues. I wouldn't want to PAY somebody for the "privilege" of taking on those kinds of issues. The BC/Heeler mix wouldn't be good with all those kids, nor would a little dog (he'd probably get hurt). 

Since you have so many kids, I think an adult dog would be a much better choice. One that's been temperment tested and proven to be good with kids of all ages. You never know how a pup is going to turn out, so it's better to go with an older dog in these situations. Your local shelter or dog rescue would be a good place to start.


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## Larson6 (Dec 2, 2011)

We have a red heeler / red border collie mix and she's WONDERFUL with our kids (3, 5 & 8)! She's never nipped! The herding thing is because they're being protective ~ that's all! She just had her 1st bach of pups and is a WONDERFUL mother also! We love her to death ~ couldn't have asked for a better companion! And our male is a red long border collie & black short border collie mix and he's AWESOME! He's mine & my husband's best friend! We feel honored to have them as part of our family!


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## FaeryHound (Nov 12, 2011)

Larson6 said:


> We have a red heeler / red border collie mix and she's WONDERFUL with our kids (3, 5 & 8)! She's never nipped! The herding thing is because they're being protective ~ that's all! She just had her 1st bach of pups and is a WONDERFUL mother also! We love her to death ~ couldn't have asked for a better companion! And our male is a red long border collie & black short border collie mix and he's AWESOME! He's mine & my husband's best friend! We feel honored to have them as part of our family!


Then you've been lucky, because many aren't good with young kids. I have a border collie who is very mellow and wonderful but she is very sensitive, cannot stand loud noises and she isn't good with young children, she will chase, herd and nip them, so I do not let her off leash if I see children around. To the OP, how much exercise are you able to give a dog on a daily basis, you can't just stick a dog in the yard especially a high energy big dog, they go stir crazy if not physically excercised and mentally stimulated every day, it's a LOT of work and ANY dog needs constant supervision around young children. A small dog is at risk of injury espcially something fragile like a chihuahua, so maybe something smallish but sturdy?


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## Sybille (Oct 5, 2011)

Just a quick note, the OP is from 2008, I seriously doubt it is still an issue ;-)


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Please don't get any heeler or mix with young kids in the house & ESP a bc/heeler mix that was intentionally bred. There are countless great dogs in shelters waiting for a loving home, instead of feeding the rash of indiscriminate breeding of what are essentially mutts. I doubt that the "breeders" do temperament testing or generic testing on their dogs www.petfinder.com is a good place to start also googling the breeds you are interested in to get more information perhaps someone knowledgable in BCs but I can help with the heeler (officially known as the ACD) side :

www.cattledog.com www.acda.org


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