What kind of dog is best about not wandering from property?

[Guest confidence]

I am planning on getting an outside-only dog and need some advice. I need it to be able to stay on or nearby my property of about 2 acres (unleashed) and not wander off all the time. Is a Border Collie best for that?

 

Also, I need it to not bark all night, lol and only bark at suspicious stuff. I have young children so it needs to be super cool with kids but still able to effectively protect them. I am leaning toward Border Collie because the Border Collies that I've seen my friends have in the past were awesome. Very smart. I'm open to other breeds, too, so please chime in!

 

My wife wants me to get this puppy that our friends are giving away. It is part chihuahua and part something else that I can't remember. Blah. It's a very cute puppy though and my kids have fallen in love with it. (Ack!!) This friend showed me another one of their dogs that was the same mix as this puppy and it was sort of medium small and looked like an overgrown rat. :(

 

What should I get?....

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I've heard that females are less likely to wander than males, especially if fixed.

 

From my personal experience (which may be wrong, just what I've observed)-- If you have two dogs, either a male + female or two males, will get along better than two females. Every two female dog household we've had has been filled with lots of jealousy and squabbling dominance games. Each one wanting to be the queen and willing to fight over it.

 

When we had female lab and female boykin spaniel, they were easily trained to stay inside a radio fence, the type with a buried wire around the property and proximity shock collars. It takes some training early on because if they ever discover they can run across the wire with only a brief shock, the fence is useless.

 

There are also some radio fences which do not require the perimeter wire, but haven't used one of those.

 

A disadvantage of a radio fence compared to a real fence, is that the radio fence won't prevent strange animals coming into the yard and picking fights with your dog.

 

If money was no issue and I wanted another radio fence install, I'd see about paying a contractor to install it. It is not a procedure which requires brains or expertise, but laying the wire a couple of inches into the dirt was a lot more sweaty work than I expected it to be. I used several methods to try to cut the shallow trench, all of which were a slow hassle in my rocky soil. Slow doing it with a manual implement, so I bought a power edger to try to speed it up. Maybe some power edgers would cut a quick little trench, but the one I got wasn't much faster than whacking with a hand tool. Presumably a pro would have some kind of specialized trencher to make the work easy. Maybe such a narrow trencher could be rented, dunno.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

One thing you need to need to take into account. .an intact male is more interested in  running off for females. They can smell one  miles away.

Dogs will bark at stuff. regardless of breed. Some breed are more vocal. I seen a a sneaky border collie just  run with head hung low and I know one that's a barker from hell..

I think it depends on the dog itself.. but Border Collie is prolly a better choice over all. .Just get him fixed.. Usually they will find their place in the family pretty fast and if you treat them right.. They will die for your family.

Also a small dog can get hurt easy by  young kids.. Chiuauhuas  have small bones and if they even jump off a bed they can break a limb.. No Bueno for small kids

And border collies are known to babysit kids..:)Chiuahuas  are not as tolerant of  little kids rough handling them.. Since they are small.. most will have small dog syndrome.. yappy . barking and snap at things they feel threadend..

Border Collies.. much better and more tolerant..

 

Just my 2 cents

[Guest confidence]

Do you think the Border Collie would try to "herd" the kids - in a bad way? Like get the herding instincts going and start nipping at them?

[austin7.62]

Sadly, hounds would not fit any of your requirements except that kids love em. That's my favorite breed(although broad).

[Guest Lester Weevils]

There is much to be said for a nice mellow female lab. She won't necessarily stay home except with a radio fence or real fence, but she will be great with kids and defend against strangers to the death. Intelligent dogs and they "want to pitch in and help" if they can figure out a way to do it.

[RobertNashville]

The kind that live inside most of the time with access to a well fenced-in yard!

 

Dogs are animals with a mind of their own...without some sort of restraint there is simply no way to keep them on a particular piece of property.

 

I can tell you the worst is any kind of hound or hunting dog...a hound, especially, because a hound will catch an interesting sent and follow it so far that they won't even be able to find their way home.

Edited September 3, 2013 by RobertNashville

[bersaguy]

I have had dogs all my life. Some pure breeds and some mutts but the better dogs were always the mutts. Actually smarter and easy to train. Getting them fixed is a real plus for sure. Mutts seem to be better natured in most cases also. Right now I have a female that I got as a pup from Humane Society and she was already fixed. I have had her 14 years and she is loyal and very protective but not in a mean way. Just watches my back so to say. Does not bark a lot but will let me know if someone comes around. Her name is kasey and she weighs about 70 lbs.

 

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[peejman]

If you don't want the dog to run off, train it or contain it.  Understand that it's against the (state) law to permit a dog to run "at large". 

 

If you don't want it to bark all night, train it.  Easy for some dogs, not so easy for others. 

 

Most any dog can be trained either to be a reasonable watch dog or family pet .  Dobermans, German Shepards, Rottweilers, and Boxers among others generally can be trained to be both a good pet and a good watch dog.  Some other breeds of working dog don't make such good pets.  Do your homework.

 

 

Do you think the Border Collie would try to "herd" the kids - in a bad way? Like get the herding instincts going and start nipping at them?

 

If you don't train it otherwise, most definitely yes.  Border Collie's are working dogs and need a job.  If you don't give them a job and show them how to do it, they'll make it up for themselves.

 

Chihuahua's.... eh.  Annoying little yippy things that get real ornery when they get old. 

[Guest Lester Weevils]

The kind that live inside most of the time with access to a well fenced-in yard!

 

Dogs are animals with a mind of their own...without some sort of restraint there is simply no way to keep them on a particular piece of property.

 

I can tell you the worst is any kind of hound or hunting dog...a hound, especially, because a hound will catch an interesting sent and follow it so far that they won't even be able to find their way home.

 

Yep any civilized dawg needs a dog door and free access to the inside and outside. They want to be with their people, not locked out and only get to socialize when their people happen to go outside.

 

Hounds might be the sweetest dogs and real people hounds, but they often like to sing, will dig and climb, are not especially "obedience trainable", and near-useless as a watch dog, though they will make sure that critters and cats are barked at and chased (and eaten if the critter is slow or unwary).

 

Six foot fence with buried chicken wire on the bottom is a good idea with hounds. They sure are sweet dawgs though, constant companions.

[Guest The Itis]

I have a chihuahua/terrier mix and she does not bark at all.

She is well trained and I walk her without a leash, she understands commands in 6 languages, and she can sing but only does so with commands. She's a nice medium sized dog, not the frail image of a chihuahua most people imagine.

I would say the typical criticisms and hate on small dogs is simply misdirected from the actual cause which is lack of training by the owners.

 

I don't think having an outside dog that roams free is a good goal to have. Have a dog with a large fenced in area for a den, and take it for walks regularly for the roaming part.

 

Again, within reason, training will matter more than breed. There is no "out-of-the-box knows everything you want" dog, just as there are no genetic formulations for a human being to be born knowing calculus.

Sex of the dog may even be more significant than breed, as someone else mentioned, a spayed female does not roam, and has a lot of interest in staying close to you.

[Jesse]

I have a beagle / jack mix... that mug is gone any chance you slip up. He has to be chained or fenced at all times. The moron leaps in front of cars like a deer. He got loose a couple time and runs from us when we get close. A neighbor had to grab him for us. All my neighbors dogs wont leave their yards. Im jealous.

[tnguy]

Please consider a fence or other restraint. I'll not get in to a big discussion on this but it's better for your dog and better for the people using property adjoining yours and ultimately, better for you.

[Dustbuster]

try a rat terrier,chihuahuas are not meant to be kept outside,rats are good,but ya need to fence or radio collar at the least for any dog to keep it home...

[LagerHead]

try a rat terrier,chihuahuas are not meant to be kept outside,rats are good,but ya need to fence or radio collar at the least for any dog to keep it home...

 

Rat Terriers are great dogs but they will chase stuff at the drop of a hat. I hate to sound like a broken record but you really need some kind of containment strategy for any dog. 

[Jesse]

Try a pug or weenier dog. That are what my neighbors have and they wont go far from their yards.

[ted]

Do you think the Border Collie would try to "herd" the kids - in a bad way? Like get the herding instincts going and start nipping at them?

boxer best family dog I think , but that's jest me I have two of them one male and one female .

[Raoul]

A two legged one.

[tnguy]

A two legged one.

 

 

Are you kidding? Once this sucker hits tarmac, he's *gone*

 

 

(Edit: That dog actually has non-functional front legs but the pic is so good I'm leaving it here)

Edited September 3, 2013 by tnguy

[Dustbuster]

agreed,ratties do chase,fences eliminate big problems by containing the small ones!

[Randall53]

A two legged one.

LOL.....I was gonna say one on a chain.....but didn't want to be a SA....Besides, I really hate to see dogs chained up. I pass one on the way to work every day. I've never seen him of of it, no matter when i go by, or anyone outside playing with him. So sad. I've been thinking of turning them in. Some people don't deserve the love and devotion of a good dog.

[R_Bert]

If one cannot train, contain, control, and continuously attend to it's need for companionship and affection, then please do not get a dog.

 

Barking dogs are every bit, and maybe even more annoying than roaming dogs.

 

Get a cat. They make better neighbors.

Edited September 3, 2013 by R_Bert

[jtmaze]

All are good ideas. The only way to keep on specific property like you are talking is awireless fence. Two acres is not much room for a medium to large dog. A lab(which are not mellow until about 4-5 years old) can be gone from 2 acres in a matter of seconds. My cousin next door has a lab mix in a wireless fence one about 1.5 acres and he will not leave period. Training the dog is going to be the biggest challenge. I believe that if properly tained you can teach a dog to do anything but type. I am living proof of that just ask my wife. Good luck with your search!!! Be sure to post pics.

[R_Bert]

Try a pug or weenier dog. That are what my neighbors have and they wont go far from their yards.

 

Over the years, we have had three wieners across the street or next door.  All three were territorial....with  my yard.  Little useless **!*s would cross the road to yap at me for as long as I was in the yard.

 

Did anyone say fences make good neighbors?

Edited September 3, 2013 by R_Bert

[DaveS]

One on a chain, regardless of breed.

 

DaveS