Are Border Collies dangerous (when they can be)?

Border Collies are known as brilliant herding dogs and as agility champions. But what about their character? Are Border Collies may be even dangerous and aggressive? After all, they had to herd flocks of sheep relatively independently. This could indicate that Border Collies are also dangerous and have a guarding instinct.

Are Border Collies dangerous? Border Collies are not dangerous or aggressive. They are very active, intelligent herding dogs that love children and are becoming increasingly popular as family dogs. However, if the Border Collie is not exercised enough, he may want to herd everything. This starts with children running wildly around the house and goes all the way to passing cyclists. When the Border Collie creeps up crouched, this behavior can seem dangerous or aggressive to one or the other.

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Are Border Collies dangerous?

First, it is essential to say that Border Collies are not dangerous or have any potential aggression. Border Collies are active, intelligent, and child-loving herding dogs from Great Britain.

That brings us straight to the point!

Border Collies are working dogs. They need a lot of exercises and want to please and work with humans.

You should know this before you get a Border Collie into your house. Going for a walk two times a day for 30 minutes is frustrating for the Border Collie in the long run.

Frustration and boredom can end in a wide variety of emotions. Aggression and increased barking are not uncommon.

A bored Border Collie, without a task, will also unceremoniously start looking for a job.

It is not uncommon for Border Collies to start herding children or even joggers and cyclists.

This may very well make a Border Collie dangerous.

Because if your dog runs after a bicycle and the driver gets so scared that he has an accident or your Border Collie “while herding” pinches your child, it is all but not harmless.

So a bored and frustrated Border Collie can be dangerous for other people if he starts to run after them to chase and herd.

Border Collie is aggressive

Aggressive behavior is not normal for a Border Collie and often results from poor training or no training.

As described earlier, Border Collies are very intelligent. They learn commands and tricks faster than any other dog breed and later implement them with extreme confidence.

Intelligence is both a curse and a blessing in certain situations. Because your Border Collie also learns things he should not learn.

Aggressive behavior in Border Collies can be a result of….

Too little activity

Misbehavior such as increased aggression often results from too little exercise and activity.

The Border Collie, in particular, needs a lot of activity. If you consider that the breed herds sheep for hours in the open, you can roughly guess what power is in it.

This does not mean that a Border Collie must be kept busy all day. But an above-average measure is already necessary.

Besides enough exercise and activity, it is essential that your Border Collie learns that there is nothing to do. This is best started in puppyhood.

This way, you ensure that you don’t get a work animal that you won’t be able to keep busy later on and that he will show misbehavior like aggression.

Poor / Bad education

Therefore, you must educate your Border Collie from the beginning consistently and lovingly; there must be fixed rules.

Visiting a dog school or even an online dog school is recommended in any case – if you have no experience with Border Collies.

Bad experiences

But also, a traumatic event or bad experiences can make a Border Collie aggressive.

If you didn’t get your Border Collie from a reputable breeder, you don’t know what he has already been through or how the upbringing went in the first months or years.

It is not uncommon for Border Collies to end up in shelters because the original owners did not do enough research on the breed and its unique needs.

During my research, I encountered some aggressive or dangerous Border Collies in various forums, which almost all came from foster homes to the current owners.

I have also read reports from completely clueless dog owners who have acquired an aggressive Border Collie – through incorrect training and poor husbandry.

Again, there is a risk that the Border will end up in a shelter and may be back with an owner who doesn’t know what he is doing.

It is not bad if you have no idea. It isn’t good if you don’t get help from a dog school and don’t want to acquire knowledge.

I think it should be EVERYONE who has never had a dog should take their dog to a dog school or book a dog trainer.

In my opinion, dogs that are specifically suitable or not suitable for beginners do not exist.

It depends on how much commitment the dog owner shows in the education. A motivated beginner who attends a dog school and trains with his dog daily will be more successful than an experienced dog owner who is not interested in a consistent education.

Do Border Collies get along with other dogs?

Border Collies get along with other dogs if they have been appropriately socialized from the beginning.

This means they have had contact with other dogs, people, cars, and bicyclists when they were puppies and have become accustomed to it. So it is not unusual for them.

So a Border Collie is also suitable as a second dog.

In principle, you can not say in advance that dogs in general, so also the Border Collie, get along or do not get along with other dogs.

As already mentioned, one point is socialization. But it can also be that the dogs do not like each other.

Our Cane Corso female has dogs that she loves and loves to play with, and then there are dogs that she would love to eat. Sometimes there is an aggressive mood from the other dogs, which then spills over to us (we are working on this with a trainer).

Do Border Collies get along with cats?

Border Collie gets along with cat

Border Collies and cats, it may or may not work.

Border Collies react to movement and then tend to chase and herd. A cat running by can be a welcome “victim.”

However, there are also many reports where Border Collies get along with cats and live together in one household.

I would say that it depends on whether Border Collies and cats get along.

The easiest way is if the Border Collie and the cat get to know each other when they are puppies or kittens and grow up together.

To bring a Border Collie, which has said cats so far, together with a cat, might be difficult and, on top of that, too stressful for both animals.

Conclusion: Are Border Collies dangerous

Border Collies can be dangerous to children, bicyclists, or joggers if they are poorly trained or not exercised enough. A well-trained and exercised Border Collie is not dangerous or aggressive. Border Collies react to movement and tend to herd anything when bored.

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