Is this a good idea?- please answer!?

Question

I have a pure bred border collie that is 2 almost 3 years old with
papers but we use her mostly for working and she also competes in agility and herding and she is a fantastic family dog, we have a friend with a male Australian Cattle Dog and he is about 3 1/2, and
we are considering breeding her, but the pups would be for working
use, so we would be keeping most of them and so would the studs owner. So we are
not selling the pups. We both have farms, with cows, sheep, ect. And
his dog is also used for work on the farm. So do you think it is a
good idea to mix the 2 breeds for working dogs? Thanks everyone.

Answer 1

Oh yeah definently that would be great! Border Collies and Australian Cattle dog's breed good together trust me. Plus you get to have cute little puppies! :D

Answer 2

This is an interesting question.

When you say working, both dogs herd cattle on your farms?

Honestly, I'm a bit puzzled how to answer. Do you NEED the pups? Does your neighbor friend NEED the pups as well?

In my mind, if these were horses and you needed them for your farm, the answer is yes, talk to your vet, talk to breeders around your area and do your homework and research first.

However, I asked a question I think you need to ask yourselves and be brutally honest. Do you NEED the pups? If the answer is No, then don't.

If the answer is yes, and both of you do, then you have other considerations. I would still be worried about my female whelping pups. I don't know that I'd risk her....

IF the answer is yes, and after you've done your homework, understand what you are undertaking, talked to the vet, looking into the health of BOTH parents etc etc... Then you and your neighbor have to get together and draw up a contract so that wihen the pups are born you agree on how many each of you will get and how you are going to split the cost of spaying and neutering the pups (grin).

I'm only going along with this because if these are working animals on a farm they are no different than a horse. However, only you know the real answer to my question about NEEDING thise pups rather than just wanting to play around here.

Be honest and do what's right. You already know all the stories about too many dogs and stuff.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

First....what if she has 10 pups? Are you and your friend going to keep ALL of them? Do you know how hard its going to be to train all those puppies together? What if some of them don't take to the farm work like the others? Will you still keep them? Have you ever owned a dog that has whelped pups? Do you know what to do and how to help if you b*tch has complications? Have both parents been tested and have a clean bill of health (hips, eyes, etc.)? I normally don't ever agree with breeding mutts but if you can answer yes to all of these questions, I don't see why not since the puppies will be staying in good, working, forever homes. However, If I were you, I'd check out your local shelter and look for some dogs to fit your needs first. They have lots of wonderful dogs that would love to get outta there and live with you on your farm. Plus, you would be saving lives. If you do go ahead with the breeding, get ALL of them altered after doing so.

Answer 4

I personally think that if you want the combination of traits, you can find it in another purebreed, and wouldn't need to combine the two breeds. Somone said you might get teh best of both...but chances are just as good you will get the worst. If you investigate other herding/working breeds, you might find the traits you want without the unpredictability of mixing breeds. Might want to look ay kelpies, Australian Cattle Dogs, bergamasco, Belgian malinois, and some others. There are over 400 breeds worldwide.

If you do decide to breed anyway, I'd strongly recommend doing the genetic tests reputable breeders do for each breed before committing to breeding. Also be aware that you might wind up losing her, which would put you waaaay back in terms of having a trained working dog on your establishment.

Answer 5

Of course they're going to make beautiful-looking puppies. Physically they're a similar size, so you shouldn't have any birthing difficulties because of size disparity as you might when a sire was large and a dam was small (sire - stud dog, dam - stud b*tch). That's the *easy* part!
HOWEVER! An Australian Cattle dog, sometimes still known as a Blue Heeler, is bred to "heel" stock, to bite hard at the back feet of cattle, to drive them forwards, to block them by biting hard on the nose. A Border Collie is more of a gently/softly dog. They have been bred to cast wide, and shepherd stock into a group. Cattle Dogs work better (generally) with cattle, cutting and driving, and best with small groups and in small yards - I think of them as "problem solvers", dealing with straying stock etc. Border Collies work better with sheep and much better in larger areas of space. And Border Collies are *not* supposed to bite stock and their temperment is different, softer, they're not as bullying as Cattle Dogs need to be with cattle. Border Collies use their ability to "eye" to help them work stock, Cattle Dogs don't have as much "eye" (watch them work and you'll know what I mean).
If you truly want to breed from your b*tch for genuine working traits, contact the Border Collie Club (ANKC registered) in your State and look for a decent stud dog - get an opinion from a few stud dog owners about your b*tch - she may have physical traits that you overlook (as a loving owner), which are not suitable for breeding with (i.e., a blue eye). They will scrutinise your pedigree to avoid genetic disease such as CL (Storage Disease) and HD (hip dysplasia), testing may be required. Once your have a consensus of opinions that your b*tch is suitable to breed with, you need to register a "prefix" (kennel name) and then choose a suitable stud dog, whether you sell your puppies or not, you have an obligation to ensure they are free from genetic disease and live long, healthy lives.
Same for the Cattle Dog - his owners should look for a good Cattle Dog b*tch (genetic disease in the Australian Cattle Dog include deafness) - there are working cattle dog competitions, so there must be a registering body (of course if he has papers, he can access b*tches through the relevant ANKC Cattle Dog clubs).
Also, you would expect that a cross of these two breeds would deliver excellent working puppies. But their temperaments are so different! Genetics also don't work as simply as that - it isn't just you pour all these genes into a cup and all pups end up equally gifted from both their parents. It's a lottery. Unfortunately, in every litter born there are stand-out workers and there are couch potatoes with no working ability but with buckets of undirected energy. Some will take after the dam, others after the sire, some a bit of both, but very few will be what you *think* you're going to get. There are no guarantees. Are you willing (if you're sure you're not going to sell any pups) to keep freeloaders who simply are bundles of energy but no idea what to do with a sheep? The very fact that they will have such strong working energy levels makes them unsuitable as backyard pets.

Just because it's cheap to use the dog-next-door, doesn't mean you should do it.

D.

Answer 6

Is your dog papered? If so do not cross breed. If you don't care then do whatever you want but after that be responsible and get her fixed there are way too many unwanted border collie's out there have you been to a shelter lately??? Tons of Australian cattle dogs too. It is a real shame millions are put to their deaths daily. It is a terrible thing, maybe you should go to the shelter and help out it might be good for you. It is so sad.

Answer 7

I think it would be a great idea. Both are great working dogs, and who knows, you might come up with something even better mixing the two breeds together. Good Luck!

Answer 8

Yes. I think any dog that would satisfy your needs is fine. Both those breeds are great herders, agile, and smart. It would be a good mix.

Answer 9

Read up on puppy breeding and raising, but I wouldnt see why not there both working breed dogs and would make wonderful additions to your working family and they would get the best of everything so you have my greater vote here!

Answer 10

If you are trying to produce good working dogs, then I think it could be a great idea. obviously they would be considered mutts and you wouldn't be able to register them, but who cares... some of the best dogs are mixed breds. good luck