Watching Children

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Originally Posted by luvofallhorses

golden retrievers and labrador retrievers are pretty mellow imo.

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That depends on what they are bred for. My Labbie girls are both from field/hunting and performance lines, and they can be VERY hyper. If you can, try to find out if the Lab is from show or performance lines, it will make the world of difference. The show Labs, while still active, have much less drive and energy and would fit your situation better. At 3 years old, a show Lab will be pretty mellow (usually) while a field/performance Lab will still be very hyper. I'm very active in Labs, and know plenty of dogs from both types of lines, and this all comes from personal experience with them.

If you don't know her family history, another way to tell is by what she looks like, though this isn't always completely accurate.

Field Labs are leaner all over, with longer noses and more alert eyes. Click here and here for pictures.

Show Labs are more stocky, with a shorter nose and a softer look to their face. Click here, and here, here for pictures.

I agree with Karen, a trial run may be the best way to go. Good luck!! :)

Although certain breeds may be more suited to that type of work, I'd have to agree with Karen, it's gonna depend more on the individual dog.

I have 2 Smooth Collies, Oz and Gull and Oz just naturally does the things you're wanting, without any specific training. Whomever he determines is part of his herd, he watches out for them and lets me know if anything's amiss. I don't have any children, but he treats my nephews as if they were his responsibility. He watches them like a hawk and actually gets distressed if they get out of sight. He's very gentle with them. There's no nipping of heels. Collies tend to herd, by nose poking. Although I don't think I've ever seen him even do that towards the kids.

For my other Smoothie, Gull, though, it's all about fun and play. He's not always aware of everything going on around him. He doesn't seem to have that natural watchfulness trait that Oz does. I'm not sure "concern" is something easily trained.

I think it takes a very special dog to be a service dog. Good Luck!

Par...

My rough collie, Bijou, is much like Gull is -- Bijou is all about activity and playfulness and being silly and fun. She does herd my kids (I have five kids also, ages 2-12) but with more of a "nose in the back of their knees," rambunctious, chase-about kind of manner, not a "nip with teeth to get them rounded up in a group" kind of way. She also tends to herd my younger ones much more than the older ones, though she likes to jump on my 10-year-old the most -- I think it's because he's most her size when she's up on her back paws "standing" up.

Because my own collie is just over a year, and we adopted her when she was a 14-week old puppy, I can tell you that this first year was hard with having both her and the children to care for. She loves the kids, and they love her, but the smallest ones were a bit fearful when she first came into the house because she was so active and hadn't had any training at all. My pup didn't know she wasn't allowed to race through the house and jump on and off furniture at blazing speeds, and my kids didn't understand that the dog didn't want to eat them! Honestly -- my little ones used to call out, "Bijou's gonna eat me!" It took several weeks to get everyone living together in relative harmony, and we're still working on Bijou not jumping on the kids from time to time - it's simply the puppy in her that gets her going, I have no doubt in another year or so she'll be much better behaved, and of course the kids will be another year older/taller as well.

That all said, I do feel that a collie can be a magnificent choice for your family if you're able to adopt an older dog and know a bit more about temperament/activity level, etc. Bijou is enormously tolerant of the kids and always has been, even as a puppy. The kids are as careful as kids can be with Bijou, but they tend to give love in a big way which means lots of hugging and occasional tugging and joyful snuggling. It's really beautiful! My two-year-old daughter often throws her arms around Bijou and says, "I love my Bijou!" and Bijou looks at me with her big brown eyes as if to say, "Well, this sure beats living alone in a barn back before you brought me home!" Everyone feels good having her as part of our family :)

Best wishes -- you've received very good advice and I agree that a trial run is the best way to go and if you're unable to do that, then adopting a dog with a known history and temperament is most important. I've always believed that the temperament of an individual dog is a more important consideration than a specific breed in and of itself.