Its been a few years since our last dog died which was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We trained him well and had no real issues when walking him, with kids etc.

We are thinking of getting another dog and I’m kind liking Border Terriers. What I’d like is a bit of advice on how they are with kids other dogs etc. Any advice is welcome.

Cheers

Pugwash

Excellent with kids, though I am training Molly to attack binners’ kids if she ever sees them.

How they are with other dogs is mostly down to how well you train it when it’s a pupster.

They’re brilliant with kids, all ours have been. The one we adopted last year when he was 2 had never been with kids and he’s settled in lovely with them, excited when they come home from school and loves to play with them.

They’re Ok with other dogs most of the time but they may suddenly decided they don’t like a certain dog, usually the biggest toughest one, if you’re lucky the fight may be short.

Overall though they make a great pet, will walk forever in a day but happy on just a short pootle.

Family Holiday Scottish West Coast 2010 by Lee Collis, on Flickr

brilliant nature,very laid back dont seem to get flustered, they remind me of gracious lions. had pups from mine and they were adorable . go get one now you wont regret it .

Mine is the most good natured dog I have ever known. Bit stubborn and dim mind 😀

Oh, get one of me!

Dottie is 11 months. She’s an absolute joy. We take her to a dog club and she loves all the other big dogs. She’s currently doing her good clitizen silver award at the moment and all the other dogs are huge in comparison. Her two favourite friends are a Bull Mastiff and a Lab.

Dottie is going through adolescence at the moment and is really starting to push more boundaries but as long as you’re firm with her she soon learns.

I’d advise on getting one from an accredited breeder through Kennel Club. By doing this you should be given a 5 generation family tree through KC to ensure there’s no cross breeding as well as three months free pet insurance.

Fantastic with our kids and the ‘maul him to death’. Really great dog, wouldn’t hestiate to get another.

here is Archie

DSCF0108 by eastham_david, on Flickr

Definitely the leftie-middleclassworld forum dog of choice.

I presume you don’t drink instant coffee and would never vote tory?

Jesus, you do come out with some cockery sometimes druidh.

EDIT: I’ve had a think about what I said. And I should have put it more strongly.

WTF? All of a sudden a dog is a political statement?

Druidh, you’ve made me agree with Darcy. That makes me angry…..

*Turns green, calls tailor in preparation*

Our two have been fanastic with our boy and other kids. Although they are getting on a bit now (14yrs) they are still great. They can be stubborn to train and strong willed, although I did train them to retrieve (eventually).

They can be scrappers with other dogs (most terriers are). One of our dogs used to never back down to anything when she was young and the other ran in the opposite direction every time a big dog came up to her. It depends on the dog you get.

We’re considering getting another.

Mine has been great, has a fantastic nature and loves to play and relax in the same breath. He’ll go all day if you like. As for kids we don’t have any but when meeting other peoples he’s amazingly gentle and is just the same with other pups. He has the heart of a Lion and will take on the biggest of dogs but it’s more an issue of little man syndrome.

Overall I can’t fault the breed.

I presume you don’t drink instant coffee and would never vote tory?

She’s more of a tea drinker and we never discuss politics.

I love the vid 2hottie! Brian looks great.

CaptainFlashheart – Member
WTF? All of a sudden a dog is a political statement?

Where did I say that?

There are certain things that are “fashionable” in STW land that are at odds with what might loosely be called “a representative sample of the UK public”.

Cheers Tony,

As for Brian he prefers a nice pint of mild.

stevenmenmuir – Member
> I presume you don’t drink instant coffee and would never vote tory?
She’s more of a tea drinker and we never discuss politics.

Still, you could put a red rosette on her and she’d win a seat in Glasgow 😆

I wouldn’t bother explaining yourself druidh, you just look even more of a cock.

Where did I say that?

Erm….

Here?

Definitely the leftie-middleclassworld forum dog of choice.

I presume you don’t drink instant coffee and would never vote tory?

HTH.

She wouldn’t be seen dead in Glasgae. More of a Morningside type.

Archie again with our eldest.

P1000163 by eastham_david, on Flickr

I’d really like one as my next dog, as I’ve usually had terriers. Never a TB though so I’m building up by using a french press and reading the Guardian on my iPad2. When the 29er arrives I’ll bring one home from the middle-class breeder in my Audi.

iDave – Member
I’d really like one as my next dog, as I’ve usually had terriers. Never a TB though so I’m building up by using a french press and reading the Guardian on my iPad2. When the 29er arrives I’ll bring one home from the middle-class breeder in my Audi.

😛

Don’t forget to stop at Waitrose for some cat-shit coffee on your way home.

I’ll have a BT and risk being pigeon-holed. And they’re not cats who shit the coffee beans, weasel family I believe.

LOL. Each time a thread with these dogs crops up i get drawn to them more and more. I was fancying a border terrier with all the nice pictures up top until Druid put me off it!

I still like them but i think i would always have it in the back of my mind that at some events,races or anything bikey… i might have to hide the dog.. or at least disguise it to keep STWers off the scent that i too.. might be an STWer.

Flying goggles and a wee leather helmet?

Thanks all for your posts they look like the kind of dog we are looking at getting.

“Definitely the leftie-middleclassworld forum dog of choice.
I presume you don’t drink instant coffee and would never vote tory?”

Sorry voted Tory at the last election and drink too much coffee, instant or not I’m not bothered. Its a dog that under current laws isn’t as far as I know allowed to vote….

I’d advise on getting one from an accredited breeder through Kennel Club. By doing this you should be given a 5 generation family tree through KC to ensure there’s no cross breeding as well as three months free pet insurance.

Don’t be fooled by this it’s far form fail safe as the papers are just filled in by the breeder.

It’s a dog’s life. by Lee Collis, on Flickr

I’d say the two most popular breeds on the forum seem to be BTs and Spaniels (working, cocker, springer, etc) and on a forum where you’re likely to come across people that love the outdoors, these are the kind of dogs the members are likely to have.

I’d decided many years ago that when it came to having a dog, I was going to have a BT – because I’d had two clients in a row with BTs (both vets, friends of one another) – and one in particular would sit with me all day in the room I was working while I sawed, nailed, sanded and generally crashed around. She would come for a cuddle when asked – covered in sawdust. The other was similarly chilled out.

The photos of some of them on STW reinforced my liking for the breed – I think they’re a fantastic looking dog – I like the scruffiness, the cute face, the hardiness and the character of the breed. We’ve had Molly for a year now and to be honest, I’m only kicking myself for not having had one sooner.

You won’t be sorry after getting one. I’d just advise that you’re pretty hard on it when you get it as a puppy – well, not hard so to speak, but strict. Of course, it’s most difficult to be strict when it’s a puppy and if you have kids, even harder – because it’s very tempting to constantly cuddle it and spoil it. But a few months of being strict and disciplined, means (IME) that you get a dog that looks up to you and wants to please.

As with any terrier breed – your most important command is recall. We reinforced this over and over again. And then a bit more. Second to that, socialise, socialise, socialise. Terriers that don’t get on with other dogs end up getting into a lot of trouble – or you end up having to have it on a leash forever, which while pleasing quite a lot of STW, is a pain in the arse.

Best of luck with finding a pup. We’re in Bristol if you’re ever nearby and want to meet one – but from the STW BT Club, there’s bound to be someone near you with one.

Happy Christmas from Molly:

When you have a BT you can’t do a single job in the house without them sticking their nose is in, literally. Jake nearly got smacked on the head by the log splinter the other day as he was too busy being nosey.

Always at your feet Drac? Sounds familiar. 🙂

Ours has been great. Brilliant with kids, will walk/run all day! Recall can be a problem if she gets a sniff of something interesting and she loves to roll in any fox/badger crap she can find!
It would be fair to say of most Borders that they dont realise they’re lacking in stature as she definately punches above her weight!

He’s there now DD, little bugger is not even allowed on the bed. They constantly have to be involved with what’s going on, cleaning the fire, filling the dishwasher you name it he’s right there watching every move.

Absolutely brilliant dogs – Molly is very good around children, yet has to go and say hello to every other dog she comes across. Some will say they’re very head strong, and I’ll agree with that to some extent. They have excellent personalities though…

Recall can be a problem if she gets a sniff of something interesting and she loves to roll in any fox/badger crap she can find!

We have this problem if she sees another dog – has to go say ‘hi’!

When you have a BT you can’t do a single job in the house without them sticking their nose is in, literally.

Also get this – she has to help with wrapping presents, putting up the christmas tree, hoovering etc.

I would agree with comments above about getting them socialised very early… take them to places popular with other dog walkers, so he/she knows how to behave when interacting. I’d also advise finding somewhere safe and quiet and get used to him/her being off the lead – we found this helped with teaching recall. The worst thing we did with Molly was use an extendible lead, as it taught her to pull.

Regards pulling, if they do it, we found a harness really helped. They can pull so hard they choke themselves, and the harness really spreads the weight.

Ours, Gylly, is 14 months old. Our neice and nephew are 3years and 12months old respectively and he is great with them. Considering he is such a lively and cheeky chap, when they are about he is calm and lets them stroke, poke and climb onto him without batting an eyelid!

Lots of energy, an hour of offroad running with me only just scratches the surface of his stamina but he can be found cuddling up to Mrs Julioflo on the sofa every evening.

Currently has an obsession for tennis balls.
To be fair he seems a little OCD about a few toys and routines…but hasn’t a bad bone in his body. Loves other dogs, is a player rather than a fighter. But we have found that we sometimes need to curb his excitement levels, which has escalated occasionally at dog training class.

Wouldn’t be without the little pretend wookie!

Pugwash, I seem to think you are in South Devon. We work in Totnes and Gylly is with us most days if you feel the need to meet another Border!

jullofo you’ve pinched my dog! 😯

Here’s Sprocket approaching High Cup Nick November 2010.

They are generally great with kids and how they react with other dogs depends on how well you socialise them as said above.

Sprocket now hates male black labs after being attacked by one, he did draw blood in retaliation though 😈

Drac, Ha Ha – wouldn’t dream of it.
Love the mid air Yoda ears in your the picture in your 1st post!

My Dad has one that must be about 7 years old and a younger black lab, they get on great together although he doesn’t really like any other dogs.
He’s ok with kids but gives a growl if they’re annoying him, then a quick nip if they persist. But the labrador is soft as snow so the kids usually bother him instead!

‘More of a cat man myself, but if I were after a dog, I’d consider one of these or a cocker spaniel (‘cos they always seem daft!)

Here’s my last one he was also brilliant but detested Rotties, Dobbermans and Collies after an experience with each one attacking him. That meant war on everyone he seen from then on had to unclamp him from the throat of a rottie a couple of times.

Tod Bean Bag by Lee Collis, on Flickr

She’s currently doing her good clitizen silver award

*snigger*