rkrdan

Hey Liz, yes we definitely want to make sure she doesnt try to herd our child, which is the point of my making this post so that I am able to find good resources, tips, etc to help prevent this. I will definitely look out for those behaviors. The freeze and crouch I have stopped in the past when I noticed them, however, sometimes she doesnt use the patterened, classic behaviors, or they are so subtle that I dont even notice them and then shes nipping at a dogs heel and I have to stop her once she's already engaged. Here is what she does when she goes into herd mode when it's not a classic sign, so perhaps you can help me at identifying and preventing it in the future: She will be playing with another dog, normal dog play mode, and then she just automatically starts going for the back leg as part of the play mode. So it's something we monitor closely, where if they are playing we stop her immediately as soon as we see that. But they can be playing normally as normal dogs do before then for quite some time. Here's another move she does. If say out in the yard, without any leg or heel biting/nipping, she will do almost like a bump with her chest or nose at a dog when they move and then she just stands there looking at them and this move literally freezes the other dog. The other dog dont move or try to run or anything. Will just stand there frozen. Of course we intervene. But this stuff happens without any signals that I am able to pick up on before they happen. It seems almost like a flip of a switch. Please let me know if you have any tips! Thanks so much!!

THanks scout, jealousy is something we are definitely going to be mindful of and try to make sure doesnt happen. Dont want any bad behavior to happen out of jealousy. We can leave our BC with full run of the house unattended right now while we are at work and there is no destructive behavior. So, I definitely dont want that to start. Do you have any good tips or advice to prevent any type of jealousy?

Thanks for ALL the great tips and advice guys!!! As most of you stated, I agree, we want to start working with her now before the baby gets here so we are prepared and we dont have any issues. I tried to respond to everyone so if I missed anyone I apologize. Also, it may be good to note that I will be strictly working from home once the baby gets here. So, while my wife is on maternity leave we will both be here all day, every day with the dog and the baby. Subsequently, once my wife returns to work, I will be at home all day with our baby and dog, so I feel like this will be very good for us making it smooth.

Thanks, Puppytoes. I dont know if my dog knows how to growl, lol. She has seriously never ever growled at anything since I have had her for the past 5 years. She was guessed to be 1yr old when I got her from the shelter and I think her previous owners badly abused her, but, I dont know what her life was like the first year. The shelter did say that they think she had a litter of puppies before being brought in there. While her herding instincts are very very strong with other animals, she has never tried to herd any people/adults. Everyone who meets her and sees her comments on how well she is trained. She is a very good dog, the herding other dogs is just the one area we havent been very good with, shes really stubborn with it. A side note, though, our neighbor has 7 cats that just roam around, and the cats will run away from our dog or come around our house and our dog doesnt really care about them, just stands there and watches them but doesnt chase.

Thanks Gloria, some great tips here, I am definitely going to use all of these! She is crate trained so definitely something we can take utilize. I am really excited and anxious for my daughter to grow up with a dog and I really hope they bond and she and the dog have a special relationship that you had growing up with your dog. I never had a dog growing up despite my and my siblings constant efforts to get convince our parents otherwise. So, I really really want my daughter to have that.

Thanks Urge! She is crate trained so this is a great tool we can use and again, I didnt even think of this being something that we can really take advantage of, thanks! Anytime our nephew has cried she didnt even bat an eye. She just continued to lay in her dog bed and didnt care or mind it, so that's a good sign I think.

Thanks for the links Liz!! Definitely great stuff. We have always corrected the herding and put an end to it everytime she tries it, but she always tries to see if she can get away with it at first. She has NEVER tried to herd any adults, just dogs, and so my concern there is that the child crawling or beginning to walk would be the same size as a small dog and so while she doesnt herd adults, she may see the child as a dog or small animal she should be herding. These links will be of great service.

GREAT IDEA, I didnt even think of this! Thanks so much

Hey guys, my wife and I are expecting our first baby due in Nov! We have a 6 yr old Border Collie and we are wanting to know from people with experience with BC's and Children if you guys have any tips? We have some concerns that I will lay out to see if anyone else has any experience with. She hasn't really been around children too much. She would meet children when we are on walks, etc and she does fine and lets them pet her as long as its 1 or 2 children, groups are a problem, but it's never been in a household environment, etc. There have been times when we were walking and an entire group of very small children ran at us excited because there was a dog and came over to try to pet her. Our dog got very very scared and overwhelmed and showed signs of aggression. She didnt bite anyone as I quickly saw the signs and was able to calm her and comfort her and things were ok. My sister-in-law just had a baby and when she brought the newborn over, our dog would come over to sniff him in his car seat or while we were holding him and then just ignored him the rest of the time. But my concern lies when the child is starting to crawl around, walk, etc. When other dogs are around she tries to herd them all the time and bite at their back legs/heels. This is the #1 concern for us with a small child. She also likes to chase small animals. Whenever we have had other dogs over, they love our fenced in backyard, but it ALWAYS ends up with the two dogs standing still in the middle of the yard or in a corner because our dog has decided to herd them and wont let them run around and have fun. Please let me know if these could be concerns with children and what we can do now to work on it so it doesnt become an issue. Thanks so much!

Thanks for all the great posts guys! Sorry, for the delayed response as we were on vacation with limited access to the internet. My other 2 bc's had been quite smaller and their personalities were so so different than this one which is why I decided to write my post. We dont ever give her rawhides and this was the first time I noticed this, because my parents came down to visit and my mother brought a rawhide down for her. I figured 1 rawhide in 6 years can't be too bad lol. Just definitely not something we make a habit of. Per her weight, the vet says she is an ideal weight. you can feel her ribs easy and she is a very muscular dog.

Ok, so I am convinced that I own the weirdest Border Collie ever! Her name is Dottie. I am also not sure if she is mixed with anything, maybe she isnt even a bc, kinda why I am typing this to see what people think. I have owned 2 other bc's in the past and so I am fairly convinced she is at least part bc. First off, not sure if this matters, but she is hands down, above and beyond more intelligent than any other dog or border collie I have owned or been around. She has the markings, black and white and has a herding instinct. When other dogs are around she will herd and she will use the bc stare and crawl. Other than that though, she isnt like any other bc I have ever been around. Here is why: So, let's start off when I got her. She came from a shelter in Tennessee. She was abandoned when they found her and pregnant. She was thought to be around 10 months. She is now approx. 6 years old and lives in NC with me. She was very very timid and shy and fearful of people when I first got her. She would cower and hide in the corner of the room when people first came by. She has been well socialized and now I would describe her as "cautious" around people, still timid and shy but gets better. She is very very sweet but not outgoing at all. She will play if you play with her, but she never initiates it. She is larger than most BC's, almost 60lbs and also a little taller with longer legs. She has a fenced in yard but never wants to go in the yard, expect to go to the bathroom. She is very dainty, and will only run around the yard if there are other dogs around for her to herd or small animals to chase. She WILL NOT play fetch or chase anything that is thrown, i.e. balls, sticks, toys, doesnt matter, if you throw it, she wont chase it. She has very very little interest in dog toys as well. She WILL NOT chase humans of any kind, adults, children, etc. If you run she will stand there and watch you, it amuses her I think. She WILL chase birds, cats, rabbits and other dogs. She will eat birds and other small animals that she could kill. She likes to hide rawhides. Last week she burried a raw hide in the back yard. A week later, she went and got it. Started chewing on it, decided she was done for now and took it back out and buried it again. She is territorial when it comes to her dog bed and the kitchen (i think maybe because that's where she is fed). She sleeps under the bed, always. if she does get on the bed or couch, she has to create a nest with blankets and curl up, otherwise, not happening. She NEVER barks, ever. In the past 5-6 years I have heard her bark only a handful of times. She is very very stealth like. My wife and I joke and say she is a ninja because you never hear her make a sound, ever and she walks very quietly and stealthy. She follows us around everywhere we go and is very bonded and protective of us. She is also the most sensitive dog I have ever met. I dont even have to say anything at all, if I catch her in the act of doing something bad, she will stop doing it and bow her head and walk away looking very shameful and knowing she was wrong. Also, if my wife or I am sick, she will just want to snuggle and comfort us the entire time and nothing else. She DOES NOT obsess over anything. Like I said, doesnt like toys or balls, doesnt obsess. She is a very happy dog and very content on being a lap dog. Just not sure if these things mean she is mixed with something else, and if so, what? could she be a hybrid with a wild animal? I have attached pictures of her, both with longer hair and her summer shave.