Kids, Collies, Poodles...and puppy vs adult?

[scruffy_the_cat]

I have smooths and spend more time with smooths and can say that temperamentally they’re no different than roughs. They are certainly not more like cattle dogs or more “on”. They do, IMHO, shed in a more annoying way than roughs, like Bluey said. There are however, big differences in temperaments in different pedigree lines. While all share their “collie-ness”, they have different degrees of humor or energy or inquisitiveness or pushiness depending on their pedigrees.

I also think that collies are very easy dogs to get as adults, even if they have been show dogs exclusively. Collies are fastidious about their living space so wherever they live and eat, they don’t want to soil. House training them is pretty easy at any age.

Yes, collies can be barkers. Mine don’t really bark at all, but they are a bit of an anomaly.

Can you see the following picture? It’s from our local performance group’s collie-day get-together. Mine is the one looking offended about wearing a hat. The blue next to him’s brother just won BOB at the Collie National today.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/t31.0-8/s2048x2048/12356895_10208055658566526_8993611322835341574_o.jpg

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=cleo570;8592830]
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses!

We will be taking a field trip to visit collies and poodles next weekend. I’ll definitely post an update after our trip.

My 6 year old son informed my husband that he wants a collie. My 3 year old daughter just doesn’t want a dog that will run over her :lol:

I’m looking forward to our expedition. And I’m so excited to have a dog again. I need the exercise and I think it will be good for the kids. Sounds like my husband will just have to deal with hair, no matter what breed we choose. Heck, he has to deal with mine. What’s one more shaggy critter? ;)[/QUOTE]

One good trait of collies best, poodles second best, they are very, very respectful of personal space, won’t go around bowling kids over, what an idea!
Now, a lab or great dane, well, they really can’t tell where their bodies end and the world starts, thus are called “full contact” dogs.

Collies tend to be some of the most gentle bigger dogs.

[scruffy_the_cat]

LOL, my older collie kept “getting in my way” when I was walking down a hill that was covered in loose rock. I was getting aggravated how he kept “getting underfoot”. And then I realized- he was trying to keep me safe by being there so I could put a hand on him to support myself if I slipped. He has natural instinct as a stability dog. This particular dog isn’t the brightest candle on the cake, but he knew his job was to make sure I was okay.

[Bluey]

We have a neighbor that always has some smaller collie.
I have seen them stand between her grandkids playing in the yard, playing interference, to keep them from going out in the road.
Not that there is hardly ever any traffic on that dirt road, but the dog knows they are to stay on the grass.

[tallyho392]

lol…lol…I really ha a laugh about the um, lower intellectual abilities of a collie…yeeeeeees, I have to agree, my gal is not as sharp as my terriers or shepherd, but her “softness” of personality more than compensates for that…and her natural protective,“nannyness” as well…and I will agree, that out of all the big breed dogs I have owned , the collie is the only one who seems to have a body awareness, and does not crash into people or things like the other dogs…very sensitive to others, in a good way

[judmor]

I’d be very interested in any leads about where to look for an adult collie (over 5 years) I had to have my old man put to sleep last month because he just couldn’t get up on his own anymore. He really had no quality of life. I still have an 11 year old Golden Retriever. This is the first time in about 20 years I haven’t had a collie and I miss them.

[MsM]

I had a good bit of experience with Std Poodles. Lots of variation in temperament. With kids, I would definitely go with a female. Some can be very active, clownish dogs. More about “me” than the nanny-type. Others are wonderful affectionate, smart dogs. If you get a retired show/breeding dog investigate its background thoroughly. Some have lived in a kennel their whole life and know nothing of living in a house. Interesting trying to teach a dog that size about stairs!
Have only known a few collies. They had lovely temperaments though barky. Owners I knew used groomers as they didn’t have the time or skill to brush all the way down to the skin to stop mats.

[Townsend]

[QUOTE=MsM;8593551]
I had a good bit of experience with Std Poodles. Lots of variation in temperament. With kids, I would definitely go with a female. Some can be very active, clownish dogs. More about “me” than the nanny-type. Others are wonderful affectionate, smart dogs. If you get a retired show/breeding dog investigate its background thoroughly. Some have lived in a kennel their whole life and know nothing of living in a house. Interesting trying to teach a dog that size about stairs!
Have only known a few collies. They had lovely temperaments though barky. Owners I knew used groomers as they didn’t have the time or skill to brush all the way down to the skin to stop mats.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely agree. I have had Standards for years and currently have my 3rd and 4th girls (one just turned 8 and one just turned 3). I have to say I totally agree with this post. In general, they are an even tempered breed, have rarely known an aggressive one, but temperament can vary. I do all kinds of performance things with mine - agility, obedience, rally, barn hunt, have lure coursed and have herding certificate on one. They are high drive, very active and energetic and were picked for me by my breeder per my requirements for what I planned to do with them based on the temperament testing she does on her litters to match the right pup to the right owner. They totally suit me, would not have suited someone else who wanted a more laid back dog. Make sure any puppy you get, collie, poodle or other is from a breeder who strives to make a good match to the owner/family needs. There were pups in the same litters I got each of my girls from who were much quieter, had less working drive, etc. that went to homes that they were suited for.

[cleo570]

Some of these posts crack me up. Thank you all so much for your comments.

The ones about collies being not the brightest really make me laugh…many of the comments suggest that they are very trainable and that they frequently anticipate commands or needs. Sounds pretty smart to me! So what does smart mean when it comes to dogs?

And… scruffy the cat - I loved the photo of all the collies! Those blue merles are so striking!

[Brooklyn_Born]

OP You have gotten lots of great advice! I’m so excited for you and your family. I have had two collies and they are my heart dog. Both were fabulous with children, and loved to “herd” them. I also found their long hair much easier to handle than my current mutt with a medium coats who sheds constantly! They weren’t particularly fond of grooming, but tolerated it:)

The only thing I want to mention about collies that I didn’t see brought up in these discussions is their possible sensitivity to certain drugs. Many collies have a MDRI (multi drug resistance gene) mutation that can make certain drugs toxic to their systems, including ivermectin, which is common in heart worm medications. A responsible breeder should advise you about this. This is a test to determine if a particular collie carries this gene. To be safe, I gave my collies a different kind of heart worm medication that didn’t contain ivermectin.

Please let us know how your puppy/dog search goes! And post pictures!

[Foxtrot_s]

A lady I know who has a standard poodle describes her dog as empathetic - thought the was nice.

[vxf111]

I just treat all herding dogs like they have the ivermectin allergy. Better safe than sorry

[jherold]

I think U.C. Davis does the test for the gene mutation. It wasn’t too expensive and good for your vet to know. There are other drugs that he/she will want to avoid.

I love my collie. So easy. She does bark, but a not as much as suburban collies. Remember, a tired collie is a quiet collie! And they need a job. Fortunately, mine thinks her job is to watch the horses. She lays on the hill overlooking the pastures and will watch them for hours.

[scruffy_the_cat]

It’s actually Washington State University. At this point I just assume a collie has it and deal with it accordingly. It’s very easy to just use something like Sentinel instead of HeartGuard, though the levels of ivermectin in HeartGuard are considered safe. My vet has been on the board of the Collie Health Foundation and is a collie expert and she gives her dogs HeartGuard successfully. I’m happy with Sentinel and my delicate flowers seem to do just fine on it. Technically, it’s not an allergy. It’s a mutation of the MDR1 gene which causes certain medications to cross the blood-brain barrier too easily so essentially overdosing the dog. There are several medications which cause problems so it’s good to get tested or be very familiar with the list of medications AND have a vet who will really listen to you. Also be ultra careful if the dog is going to eat horse or sheep poop on worming day or up to the week after worming. And never, ever, ever try to save money by buying horse wormer and doling out “just a little bit” for the dogs. Here’s the link to WSU: http://vcpl.vetmed.wsu.edu/

Jherold- I wonder if that’s why my collies don’t bark? They do get 2 very long and stimulating walks through the woods a day so they just snooze in the house. They rarely bark, though I certainly agree that most collies are much more vocal. It’s a really piercing bark, too. :-p

[vxf111]

Mine has to bark because so many cats commit transgressions and need to be scolded. Don’t sit there. Don’t move when I wasn’t expecting it. Read my mind and do that thing. ;)

[LibertyRun]

I’ve had 2 collies that were very different in personality. My first girl was a lovely lawn ornament. Content to just be out in the yard and go for walks and just be beautiful. My second girl was semi Border collie in her behavior. Much more herdy and in control of the entire farm. She was never more than 10 feet from me if I was outside. Both very trainable, easy to get along with dogs. Fantastic with kids and cats and horses. Not barkie unless there was an intruder or someone was breaking the rules… I couldn’t figure out the behavior differences until someone came over that really knew collies. They laughed and said I had one "bench’ bred (show lines) and one field bred (working lines) collie. That explained everything. Both were wonderful and I miss them a ton. Now I have dachshunds!!!

[Lexie55]

I’ve had a rough collie and the hair was unbelievable. Mother in law has a poodle and she’s a super sweet dog; she’s had poodle since my daughter was a baby and poodle has been perfect with her through entire life. Mother in law has never learned grooming, so poodle is an expense to keep groomed, and mother in law drives 30 miles to get it done. So it’s a time suck once every couple of months.

What about a labradoodle? Hybrid vigor, no shed?

The very best dog I ever had was a red border collie that came from a pound in Arkansas. My daughter was 8 at the time. She took the dog to the local Mutt Strut the following weekend and had a blast; the dog was perfect with other dogs and with her. That dog was so incredibly grateful for a warm bed and regular grub that she never dreamed of putting a paw wrong. She never barked, never chewed, never bit, had zero herding instinct, and didn’t shed much. The worst thing she ever did was kill (and eat) a turtle in the middle of DD’s 10th birthday party (blech). I think she had to forage for herself at some point in her life, because she also once swiped a baby bunny I was trying to get barn kitty to let go of. At least baby bunny met a swift end with the dog.

The dogs we’ve gotten as puppies, who never had a hard day in their lives, were stuck up divas

[cleo570]

Well… fate works in funny ways. The collie breeder got norovirus (!!!) so we were unable to visit her dogs after all. We did visit the poodle breeders - two breeders, 3 litters. After the first puppy litter, I knew we were not getting an adult dog!

Fortunately, we held out until we met the last 9.5 week old puppy, who was exactly what all the temperament tests describe as a kids’ pet…and despite my plan, we brought him home that day.

I’m thrilled I was on the losing end of this debate - I adore this little guy. I credit the breeder with giving him a good start with crating/housebreaking/leash, and 9.5 weeks is a huge difference from a 6 week old puppy. And he is just a solid, calm dude. Poodle puppies are irresistibly cute. My husband even mentioned getting two - I had to draw the line there!!!

Many many thanks for all of your experiences, opinions, and perspectives!

[vxf111]

Congrats!

[scruffy_the_cat]

Excellent! Congratulations!