Australian shepard/border collie mix?

As it turns out -- Mama dog was happy to have spectators!

My neighbor stopped by this morning asking me to just look in on her since he was going to be out most of the day. The puppies weren't due for another few days so it was just a precaution.

Mo and I went in to check on her - she ran out to the door, looked at us, turned and ran back to the bedroom. We followed. There was already one puppy. I ran to the phone (followed by Mama - this would set the trend, if I left the room she did too) and called Neighbor - voice mail. Puppy 2 -- voice mail. Puppy 3 -- voice mail. Puppy 4 - finally connect.

He's back home midwifing now.

The dog was happy to have us there.

Mo got bored with the whole thing after Puppy 3 and went out to play in Neighbor's backyard with Neighbor's other dog.

It was all pretty neat.

I'm sure glad you and Mo picked the right moment to go and check on MamaDog! sounds like she has a nice disposition to pass on to her puppies.

Awwwwwwwwwww!

We just checked in and there are now 8 puppies. They are so cute.

Mama dog is doing great; she' a natural.

She does have a really nice disposition. Daddy dog is the one that lunges at the fence and also the one Mo played with in the backyard today without any kind of aggression or problem at all. He's very mild mannered in "person".

8! wow

Sounds like DaddyDog has fence issues - not a bad dog - just needs some help understanding how to deal with what's on the other side of the fence.

(my guru, the Dog Whisperer, deals with fence stuff quite a bit)

So, 8 weeks from now... that could be really good timing, right?

(I hope we can see some little puppy pictures...!)

Yeah - 8 weeks will be right about MY birthday.

I wish it would fall closer to Christmas or Mo's birthday when they are ready to go.

Mo's already asking if it is too early to take one home.

Mr. B's already saying "good thing we haven't promised to take one".

But, you know, when you've seen them being born...... you really gotta have one.

I have a mix of an australian shepard and border collie, and i'm 11 years old. We've only had our dog for about 2 months, and it feels like she's been part of the family all my life. They are definitally both great breeds for families, even babies. She's five, but she still LOVES to run, excercise, and play. They are great breeds for kids, but it also depends on the dog and their own personality. Both are herding breeds, as you know, which can be very helpful. If you teach them not to be near or go into the road, they will listen, and make sure your children learn the same. They don't have a very wide attention span, but if it's something important to them, they won't stop being alert to protect their family. To dogs, you and your family is their family, or pack. They will always protect their pack from harm. Especially these breeds. My dog will bark and growl nonstop, at strangers or when someone's coming in the door or up or down the stairs. She won't stop until you convince her it's okay, she finds out who it is, or that she's just hearing things. My dog usually only barks for about 1 or 2 minutes, but we usually have the same people over a lot, so their like her pack, too, but not as close of a pack that she is with us. So she does it less now that she knows most of the people. They can be very patient, and they don't bite unless seriously prevoked. She loves all five of our cats, but our cats are still a little shy and nervous around her, because she's new and a little clumsy. Their hasn't been any fights, though. When my sister visits with my niece, who just turned one, she is very gentle with her and let's her tug at her fur and ears, and there is no snapping, growling, or clumsiness there. They treats kids as their young, so their a little more protective of them. They also like to cling around people a lot. She doesn't like to be alone, but she's never destroyed the house or anything like that. My mom says that she's a great dog, but also a pain in the neck in the kitchen, because she's always pacing around, and herding my mom while she's trying to cook. You'll never know what their really like, until they're about 1 or 2 years old, so don't take whati'm saying too seriously, in case their personalities are way different. I hope I answered your questions and gave you a better point of view of the australian shepard/border collie mix, and I hope you will have fun with your new dog.

Hi cleok9 and welcome to A2K.

My dog will be two years old in just a few weeks -- I asked this question quite a while ago!

I couldn't ask for a better dog. My dog, Diamond, sounds very much like your dog so I think you are right on target with your evaluation.

Thanks!

Shepherd/cattle dogs are great for kids provided you train them well from the begining. They are easily trained in general and are very smart. My grandparents used to leave us grandkids alone with their aussie cattle dog and she would watch us play in swimming pool or the yard. If one of us stayed underwater for what she thought ws too long, she would stand at the edge of the pool and bark until we came up. Likewise if we went out of sight she would go round us up. that is one thing you might have to break your dogs of...the urge to go retrieve anyone who has left the room. These dogs can count and they know how many people are in the room and when one leaves, even if they don't see them leave. Also, as these dogs tend to mistrust strangers (animal as well as human), they will always sound the alarm when one gets too close to their "pack." Hope this helps...

Shepherds, heelers, catahoulas, Polish shepherds, Borders, etc all need constant stimulus. A tired sheep dog is a happy sheep dog. Weve had all kinds and the rule has always been

1pure breds retain all te bad features of tyhe breed

2 mixed breeds can magnify either all the good or all the bad features of the twop breeds.
If yoyve got a great mixed breed heeler/border, then consider yourself lucky. Ive seen these types of dogs in the hands of experts when they are hyper andADD. Ive also seen the other side of the coin where the mixed breed is very intelligent yet much calmer.
Yopuve got a housepet not a working dog so your needs have been fullfilled. Dont take this as the way ALL such crosses will act. The "dogs from sheepherding hell" are usually crossbreeds who like to gather up your sheep, then scatter them all over again.