A VET has urged families with young kids to avoid a dog breed that has strong herding instincts.
These lovable mutts look cute but they can bite and chase people.
That’s not a great combination when you have toddlers around said Dr Katrina Warren (@drkatarinawarren).
She is a TV vet who has 49,000 followers on her TikTok and she loves these traditional working dogs – but she recognizes their downside.
“Border collies are my favorite breed and can make wonderful family pets,” she said in her post.
“But I don’t recommend them as a choice for families with very young children.”
This dog’s herd instinct is part of its DNA, which is brilliant on a sheep farm, but less so in a family setting.
They require a lot of training, which she admitted was difficult to do while also rearing a young family.
“Raising and training a border collie puppy is intense and it’s really hard to give them the dedicated time when you have little children pulling your focus,” she said.
“Border collies are really active and they can get very excited by the noise and the chaos that often comes with young kids.”
The vet said some habits, such as nipping and jumping up, could be hard to untrain.
And these energetic pooches cannot shake off their basic instinct either.
“Remember, border collies are a herding breed and they can also learn to round up and chase children if they’re not being trained properly.”
The breed, she wrote, was far better suited to families with older children and could make “wonderful family pets.”
She concluded that: “Raising and training a border collie is a huge commitment and requires focused attention.”
But opinion was split in the comments section of her post.
“My border collie has been around all three of my children since birth and he is the most beautiful dog with them,” said one person.
It was a similar response from a second person: “Maybe I got lucky, I have a border collie and young kids and he is just the best most gentle dog ever.”
But this person was on her side: “Totally agree. We have the most amazing border collie but wouldn’t recommend if you have kids under eight.”
September 14, 2023 at 01:20PM
from The Sun