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South West MN | my boys(5, 7) are pretty sure they need a dog. what is a good dog that chases cattle and is good with kids. I don't want one that brings the cattle to me. |
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Camp Douglas Wi. 40miles nw of wi. dells | +1 on the border collie |
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The Shell Knob Basin (Southwest Missouri) | border collie crosses are the best!..... EVERYTIME stupid smart but not cray...... our best dog ever is that one i posted a few pics of the other day!.... hes half border collie, half aussie...... as smart as a person, even has deductive reasoning skills!.... very calm.... and doesnt have any weird ticks..... all straight Aussies have weird ticks of some sort and love to bark and nip and make you want to shoot them.... ALL of them (my dad went through prob 50 trying to get a good one)!... even if theyre not crazy, theyve got a tick of some sort!.... and alot of straight cow bred border collies are hyper and like that too!.... but if you want just a perfect cattle dog that drives cows when your driving them, but doesnt when your calling the, and figures out what your doing and does it with you instead of one that wants to be a sheep herder and bring stuff too you all the time and be weird, then get a border collie cross.... I have two pups out of that SuperGrizz (thats what we call him) dog and a heeler female... they are proving to be every bit as good as him.... my neighbor just got a full blood "cow bred" border collie.... thing is crazy as a loone..... |
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NC | First Dog- I would actually think about getting a Corgi
They pretty much just hang with you and bite when they walk up on something and it doesn't move off you.
they are so laid back that its presence won't rile the cattle up.
Probably all you need for now.
If you have cattle that run all over the place you need a Border Collie or Catahula to teach them to stay together when you push them. |
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East River SoDak | Had a lab cross mutt show up at my house a few years ago. He's been the best cattle dog I could ask for. He couldn't care less about a cow, loves kids and people without smothering them, and best of all stays home without being tied up.
Edited by Traveler 3/20/2013 17:40
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New Mexico | cross bred dog will do.
takes one with some smarts, and a kind eye.
Edited by Markwright 3/20/2013 17:44
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Wisconsin | Get a Heeler!!!! |
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SE South Dakota | Border collies are very devoted and friendly but if you don't want a dog that brings the stock to you then DON'T get a border collie!!! Many good border collies have been shot when people discover that they are always "standing in the gate." It's their very nature to work on the opposite side of the stock that you are on and have to be taught to work on the same side.
Most Border collies are also VERY busy dogs and if they don't have a job to do all the time, they are going to make one up. Likely you won't like the job they pick for themselves because it can often lead to a lot of fixing fence and rounding up stock (or picking up the dead stock depending upon how agressive the dog gets with them). My good dog is either with me and I watch her like a hawk or she's in her kennel.....never do I let her just run lose.
What I am understanding that you want is more of a driving dog.....that would be the Healers and corgi's like other people are mentioning. I used to have healers and loved them for their devotion and protectiveness but switched to Border collies because I wanted more of a "handle" on them when we are moving cattle.
Edited by bordercolliesonly 3/20/2013 18:33
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Nova Scotia | Have had some great border collies and some not so great ones, usually takes a lot of training to get them work with you. They do have an endless supply of energy, even at 17 our old girl would still chase the soccer ball all day long right there next to the 5 yr old one.
I have a lab mix and he's great, pays no attention to the cows until he's told.
A friend of mine has an Australian Shepherd, smartest dog I've ever seen, great with kids and does exactly what it's told around the cows with little training. |
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| The last thing on earth I would ever get is a Border Collie. Hyperactive and run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Neighbor had several of them, and all were so hyper they were worthless. One or two he shot, and one got run over. We've had German Shepherds over the years that were great with the cattle. Right now, we've got a Great Pyrennes, but they make good guard dogs, not good cattle dogs. |
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Central indiana | Border Collies tend to be hyper and I imagine more cowy than you are looking for. We are on our second Corgy. The first one lived for 13 years. I can only talk about the two that I've had and the two that my daughters have, but they are the smartest, easiest trained, and best kid dogs I've seen. Also they never do lose their puppy look. |
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Iowa | he said he doesnt want the dog to bring the cattle to him so border collies are out. australian shepherd or blue heeler work from behid and drive the cattle away from you to the pen. border collies work from the opposite side. |
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Thunder Bay, Ontario, Great White North | Whatever you do, get a dog that will be good with your kids - you will never forgive yourself if your dog injures one of your kids or even worse one of their friends. We currently have a flat coat retriever, she is gentle as a lamb but pretty much useless around cattle, but I wasn't looking for a stock dog when we got her.
I had a Border Collie, was a little too aggressive with my dairy cows, he decided to snap at me once when I was wearing a yellow rain slicker, he lasted about 5 minutes after that. I have ZERO tolerance for a dog that will bite someone, just glad he didn't decide to get nasty with one of my kids.
I know a couple people with nasty facial scars they got from the family dog when they were little, please be careful when choosing a family dog. |
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N. E. Indiana | Heelers, you just have to be smarter and harder headed than them |
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| Cross . between a heeler and a border for me . MY dog is a three repotision dog do it three times and she does it from there. |
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SW IN | I couldn't get along without a heeler. |
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southwest minnesota | Border Collie! We have had two of them, and with a little patience and training they will be the best thing you have ever owned. Our collie loads and moves hogs, watches gates, and heards cattle from BEHIND them. We got her as a pup and it took some work and some patience but in the end she does an amazing job. Most cattle dogs will do this but she enen distracts the cow when we are processing a new calf. Any cow calf guy will tell that its a nice feeling not having a cow breathing down your throat while working with a calf! haha They are hyper but besides dragging whatever wild animal she kills to the back door of the house she doesnt really do anything that affects the livestock at all. |
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| Well We have a Corgi and she would be great for the kids, Chase cows -- No way!! She will herd you and the kids to the refrig tho. Jake |
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south east Indiana | I am by no means an expert but i have been using border collies on stock for 13 years. It seems cattle folks are opposed to having the cattle bought to them. They believe the cattle need to be pushed. If you are working wilder cattle this is true, I stay away from those. The thing is the dog is pushing the cattle, it can push them toward you OR away from you. Yes Border Collies gather and they drive. Just takes training to do it well. IF you have ever moved a herd of cattle a distance it works best IMO to have someone in front Leading the way - be that a person on a horse or pickup or 4 wheeler. Cattle, sheep ect follow what is in front of them. I do not see a problem with you being in front and the dog pushing from behind. If that doesn't work for you or the situation simply teach the dog to drive and both he and you are behind the cattle. If cattle are out of the pasture I would prefer to be the one at the gate and the dog bringing the stock back to the pasture. I want the dog saving me work and time. To work cattle well no matter the breed the dog needs to quiet, confident and always moving steadily forward into the cattle. A stron eyed border collie will not work cattle as well as a looser eyed border collie
No matter the breed of dog temperment and the way the parents work needs to be taken into account. Talent and temperment is passed down. My working border collies are not hyper. I can have them all in the house and they each find a spot to lie down but they get plenty physical and mental excersice. I want all the knowledge of stock in the dogs heads already as a pup. They know where they need to be in relation to one cow or a herd of cattle to turn them, move them forward, stop them,... My training is basically bringing out the knowledge that is there and showing the dog the way in which I want it to relate to stock. I correct it when it is wrong and let it work when it is right. I want to be able to have my dogs in the woods, around a corner on the next hill and know all will be well and not have to be standing next to them every minute. Each dog brings a bit of different strengths and weakness to the table. Herding is a team effort so you have to be there to help them when they need it and they are there to help you. The Relationship you have with your dog will make all the difference.
The last 5 years I have worked with other folks and their dogs - many different breeds from Aussies, Eng Shep, German Shep, Cattle dogs/heelers, and others. The thing I see is that there are more talented Border Collies out there than the other breeds. Simply due to the fact the other breeds have been bred for other purposes. I find generally Aussies can be more aggresive toward people and stock mostly due to lack of confidence. Good ones are tough to find but they are out there. I do not see the 'range' of ability in them that a bc has. They work closer to the stock and benifit from more direct supervision/assistance. I feel they tend to work individual stock as opposed to working the 'herd'. This comes from working closer, they don't see the large picture as well. They simply take a different training approach.
Cattle dogs Heelers that I have worked I feel can do a few things well but again they seem a bit limited in skills where they excell. I do not run across many shepherds with a lot of herding talent. Everyone has The Breed that works for them, you have to watch enough dogs work to figure out what work for you. |
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| Blue heeler, best dog I've ever had bar none. |
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whats a good cattle dog?
