[TheDers]

Hi there, I have a 19 month old border collie mix. She's not a big fan of people but she never shows aggression and will approach people but shies away from being touched by most strangers. She'll play ball with them all day long but won't approach a person she doesn't know well for any sort of physical contact. She will play games with children but same deal, doesn't want to be pet by them. We've noticed some very strange behavior with kids though. If a child is picked up by a parent the dog seems to get very anxious and will start barking and jumping up and nipping around the child being held by the parent. She'll also show the same reaction if a parent or adult hugs a child or is in close physical contact with the child. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas as to how I could deal with this behavior or why the dog is exhibiting this sort of behavior around a child? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[cigwyllt]

Hi there - I can't offer you any advice I'm afraid - I have to say that bc's are the one breed/type that makes me nervous LOL! I just wanted to reassure you though that her behaviour isn't that unusual. My parents had a bc who showed very similar behaviour. She would get very distressed and nip if someone lifted up a child or tickled one. My parents didn't work with her or even discipline her very much so the behaviour was avoided rather than stopped.

[CorkyMax]

I just found this on the net: (It is from a Border Collie Rescue site) A larger proportion of the dogs are given up because they have bitten someone, almost inevitably a child. The herding instinct, if strong, is overwhelmingly incompatible with a household containing children - particularly when the child and adult owners have not been trained or educated in how to deal with the peculiarities of the herding instinct. Border Collies can make good family pets, but only for those dogs that do not have the intense herding instincts and for the families prepared to deal with the ramifications of this behavior.

To a Border Collie, a child is basically a sheep without much wool - a sheep in wolf's (kids) clothing if you will. A child running across the backyard or out the front door is, to the dog, a sheep that has decided to break from the fold. Seeing the child "making a break for it", the Border Collie's natural instinct kicks in and it streaks out in front of the child to cut off its escape. If the child is unprepared for this, the experience of a dog cutting him off and staring or barking at him with seemingly evil intentions, is quite a traumatic event. A normal child's reaction to this is to become frightened, possibly let out a scream, and run further and faster to escape the dog.

Since this child (sheep) is being uncooperative, the dog must escalate his attempts to round up the errant stock by barking and nipping at the heels of the child. A child's normal reaction to this is to become even more frightened, run faster, and scream louder. This cycle escalates until the dog must resort to its last means of control - gripping (biting), normally used to grab an excessively stubborn/brave sheep or cow. The two natural instincts of the child and the dog are entirely incompatible. The child is doing what comes natural to him - reacting in fear to a threat and attempting to flee. And the dog is doing what comes naturally to him - trying to round up an escaping animal by ever-increasing uses of force.


This does not give you an answer as to how to correct your problem--But if you can figure out why --maybe will help you find an answer. I only looked at this one site but if you put this in your browser--> Border Collie nipping at children--a lot more sites will be listed and maybe there is some help offered in them! Good luck!

[CorkyMax]

I just was reading a few of the posts in here and saw this--maybe you could try it with your dog whenever he nips at children---Have a spray bottle of cold water and spray him in the face every time he goes to nip a child. Trainers/Ree--Do you think this would teach a Border Collie that kids were a no no--if it was set up to create the situation to be able to 'condition' the dog---repeat-repeat--- every time it tries to herd the child. Hope you get what I am trying to say here!