WANTED: Good home for one adorable Australian Cattle Pup!!!

About a month ago My Husband and I adopted a puppy from the local shelter. Low and be hold his DNA tests results came in and we have an adorable Australian Cattle dog mix. As much as I'd love to keep him we're expecting our first child at the end of summer. Our Puppy has made great strides in obedience school. He can sit, lay down, stay, come. He's house broken, crate trained, fixed, chipped up to date on all his shots and is very eager to please. He's such a love I want to keep him sooo much.

Historically Cattle dogs aren't great with small children due to their nipping and biting. He's doing fairly well with correction but the nipping is a big part of who he is. He requires a decent amount of exercise, consistency in behavior training as he is still only 12 weeks old.

My biggest concern is when the baby is born. Plain and simple we could still give him at least an hour of exercise a day but in general Australian Cattle dogs need to have some work to do in addition to plenty of exercise. That may be manageable for most however they still don't do well with small children. They do well with children who are able to reinforce positive behavior and correct negative behavior. Small children clearly aren't capable of this. I wish we had known his breed before we fell in love with him He's one of the sweetest dogs ever!!!!

Check your adoption papers and make sure that you didn't sign them with the condition that the pup be returned to the shelter if you could no longer keep him for any reason. It's more common for smaller rescues to have such a clause, but more shelters are putting that in there too and if they did then you legally can't rehome him yourself.

Personally, I think you should keep him. Obviously, you knew when you adopted him that you were going to have a baby at the end of summer (or at least I would think you did, since my baby isn't due until well into fall and I've known for several months). So I would hope you had a plan to integrate the puppy with the new baby before you found out that he is (probably) a cattle dog mix. Yes, cattle dogs are not usually an ideal breed for families with small children. However, I have known many families who have made it work when the dog was there before the child. Frankly, the problems that you think you are going to have just because he is part cattle dog are problems you are likely to have encountered with any breed given the age the puppy will be when the new baby is born. Even if they are problems that are specific to the breed in general, you can't base how an individual dog will be with children on how some or even many others of the breed behave around children. Not to mention that while dog DNA testing is far better than it used to be, it is still not 100% reliable. It also can not tell you with any degree of certainty which traits will be inherited from which breeds in your dog's background.

If you know what behaviors to look out for, then you can easily formulate a plan to avoid them now. For example, if you think the biggest issue is that he will be nippy, then the simple solution to that is to keep a barrier between him and the child until the child is old enough to understand the basics of how to behave around a dog. That could mean using a baby gate to keep the dog in one part of the house while the baby is on the floor playing or keeping the dog on a leash tethered to you while you keep an eye on the dog/child interactions. You will also need to work with him now on not putting his teeth on people and teaching good bite inhibition.

I agree with Aina 100%. Just because you dog is a certain breed, doesn't mean he will display all the bad traits of the breed. I have a rescued lab mix who doesn't swim, won't touch toys, and is very very lazy. Not to mention, the dog DNA tests can be way off. I have heard of people testing their very well bred pure breed dogs, and coming up with an outrageous mix of breeds. It sounds like you are doing a good job of raising and training him, and It doesn't sound like you want to let him go. If you do decide to re-home him, I would be extremely picky about his new home. There are far too many neglectful owners, puppy flippers, etc. lurking around. Not to mention that shelters are very full, especially at this time of year.I feel like you only want the best for your pup, so think this over for a while. I hope you can make the best decision for your family, as well as your puppy. I know all of my dogs and cats are here until the day they die of old age for me. They are just as much part of the family of all the humans : )

I've got an Australian cattle dog that I've had for sixteen years now. She's been with me from me being a kid myself to having four kids of my own. She has NEVER even thought about nipping at my kids, chasing them or anything. Other kids however are not her favorite, though she's only makes faces at them and has a few harsh words about it.

My niece had a wonderful cattle dog mix rescued from the shelter - his only vice was he wanted everybody to throw his ball for him 24/7. He welcomed people of all ages. Before he passed, they got a young cattle dog pup from rescue, and despite some grumbles they worked it out without bloodshed. The new dog loves everybody. A few days ago she alerted my niece and her son - to a gas jet on the stove that wasn't fully turned off. No flame but, gas leaking into the house.

Personally I thought it was a bad idea when they got the first dog, and even worse when they got the second. I had no knowledge of the breed apart from a neighbors cattle dog running around loose that used to pop up snarling in my face. Now I see my niece made good choices.

Cattle dogs not good with babies?

Really?
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b...by stuff/?action=view&current=10-29-08007.jpg

Help! A baby ate my dingo!
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b... stuff/?action=view&current=2009-05-01029.jpg

It's all about socialization. There are CDs of baby noises you can play for your puppy. Take your pup to the park to be around small children. If the puppy has strong herding instincts, you can still teach them WHO they can herd.

Oh, we also have a German Shepherd. It isn't the breed. it's the training and socialization. Also, never, ever, leave a baby alone with a pet. Period. Always supervise. One of our son's first words was "gentle" because he heard it so much when he touched the dogs or cats.

If you love your puppy and DO want to keep him, don't be too hasty in finding a new home for him. I had a wonderful ACD, she loved my grandson from the time we brought him home from the hospital. She loved him so much that she would gather up anything that was his, socks, toys, tshirts, bottle, pacifiers and put them all in "her" little pile on my bed everyday! I would pity anything/anyone that would try to harm the baby!
By the looks of the pup in your picture, even though the DNA supports it to be mostly cattle dog, I would say maybe the tests were either mixed up with another pooch, or the tests isn't very accurate. I would have never guessed it to be a cattle dog, even though many breeds are in the make up of the cattle dog breed.
Good luck, I hope whatever you decide, you will do what is right for this pup.

I wish we lived closer I would take him. I live on 33 acres of land in the mountains. He would definitely get a workout here....

those DNA tests are crap, honestly. People have taken known purebred dogs (one I know was an Am Staff) and tried out the test and got some wild and crazy results back. This review cracks me up http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-accurate-are-dog-breed-dna-tests.html He looks like a hound dog

As for not being good with kids?? 99.99999% of the time that is a training issue. Yes, just like some people hate kids, some dogs are going to hate kids. Even that, though, doesn't mean that they can't live happily in the house with kids. It means that you need to manage the issue. Your dog doesn't like kids? Then don't let the baby mess with the dog. TADA! Just the same as you wouldn't let the kids bug Uncle Charlie when he's in a bad mood, don't let your kids bug the dog. That's actually good advice even if your dog LOVES kids.
Always make sure that the dog has a quiet place to go (a crate, a certain room, his blanket in the corner) where NO ONE is allowed to bother him. Dogs need quiet time to be left alone just like everyone else.

Now, the herding/nipping behavior. That is common with ALL breeds of dogs though, yes, some are worse than others. Dogs don't have hands - they explore the world with their mouths. Dogs play with their mouths and grab and nip and growl and tumble around with each other. Of course, people are a bit more delicate and you need to teach your dog how to play nicely with people. It's something that you hopefully started the day you brought this lil cutie home. If not, it's not too late to start now. At his age, you shouldn't be correcting him. Instead, you should be showing him what TO do. When he starts nipping, redirect him to an appropriate toy. Make sure he's getting plenty of exercise - physical and mental. Teach him "gentle"

Yes, it's a lot of work. But, as someone said, surely you knew that a baby was on the way when you got this little guy? Plenty of time to work with him.

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/bringing-home-a-baby-get-your-dog-ready has some good tips and there are tons of other sites as well.

Yes, with him being a puppy it will be a bit more work. He's going to need a lot of exercise and you and your family will have to put in that effort.

That said, if you just can't or won't do it, then by all means rehome him. And I'd recommend not getting another dog until you have fully researched the time and effort that is going to be involved. Just don't write off this guy because of some worthless DNA test and a generalization about a breed.

ETA: you've already made great strides with his obedience. He's obviously a smart guy and you shouldn't give up on him before he has a chance to prove himself. The things you are worried about can be problems with ANY dog. Also, a big part of the nipping/herding complaints people have about ACDs and other herding dogs are caused by children who were never taught how to act around a dog. Obviously not going to be a problem for you for a while but you can teach the baby as she grows how to behave. Pet gently, no running around the dog, etc

I brought my kids home from the hospital to a Large boarder collie and a cattle dog who was under a year. Those dogs would have giving their life for the babies. My garndbaby came home from the hospital to a black lab beagal mix and a neutered chow rotti mix who I took in as a stray who was the most paranoid dog anyone could ever meet I was sure I was going to have to outt him down as i knew he would take to new people or a new home. Both dogs took to the bsby the chow mix was the gentlest sweetest babysitter watch dog a person could ask for. Sadly he has passed away.
My daughter borught her son home to a coyote mix who was two, a great Dane who was under a year and a new Finland those dogs to this day watch over him and his sister.
Keep the dog

As for hearding the child lol, the board collie would let the kids go so far in the yard then grab the back of their pants and haul them back up to the invisible line she had set for the kids. Not once did she miss and nip the kids.