I was looking to get a Blue Heeler Rat Terrier mix, she is about a year old, but I want to know how these dogs behave around kids. I have 3 kids ages 2, 5 and 7. I hear they have a lot of energy which is good, I do have a decent yard for her. Any info you can give would be awesome! Thanks.
cdub039
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Well I have an ACD/rat terrier. I have only had him a few days, and he is 10 months old.
My guy takes after the ACD a lot. He really behaves like a small 20 lb ACD and not much like a rat terrier.
This dog is exceptional. I truly believe you could put him at any task and he'd do well at it. I do agility and dog sports and so he is perfect on that front.
He has more energy than any dog I have EVER had by FAR. His energy level is completely unbelievable. He is very fast moving and is like a little bullet on four legs. I took him to a field yesterday and he sprinted for an hour straight. I mean full out sprinted.
He is very trainable in that he learned sit in all of 1 minute (literally). He learned drop it and leave it in just a few repetitions. He needs no motivation, just doing things is enough. He is very checked in to me already.
He has no impulse control at all. I have small dogs and this is a problem. He wants to chase and bite them.
He bites. A lot. He is very over stimulated by movement and loud noise. Anything that makes him excited makes him bite. Affection- he bites.
He also jumps all over everyone and everything. He thinks it's fun to come full throttle into you and then slam himself into your crotch or at your head.
On walks, he is very over the top about cars, people, other dogs.
He plays ROUGH. He has a lot of power for a dog of his size. He'd fetch till I stopped throwing. He wants everything in his mouth and was dragging my rugs all around just because.
He is pretty much either sacked out asleep or is vibrating with energy. Thank god he has an off switch.
He is in your face and very affectionate (but bitey). He loves people.
He resource guards people and I am sure he would food and toys if I gave the other dogs access to him when toys were out.
I will be honest, I've had a lot of dogs and he's a real challenge. He's inherently a good dog but there is a looooot of energy (I can not overstate his energy level!) and a lot of desire to bite things and people and other animals.
My guy takes after the ACD a lot. He really behaves like a small 20 lb ACD and not much like a rat terrier.
This dog is exceptional. I truly believe you could put him at any task and he'd do well at it. I do agility and dog sports and so he is perfect on that front.
He has more energy than any dog I have EVER had by FAR. His energy level is completely unbelievable. He is very fast moving and is like a little bullet on four legs. I took him to a field yesterday and he sprinted for an hour straight. I mean full out sprinted.
He is very trainable in that he learned sit in all of 1 minute (literally). He learned drop it and leave it in just a few repetitions. He needs no motivation, just doing things is enough. He is very checked in to me already.
He has no impulse control at all. I have small dogs and this is a problem. He wants to chase and bite them.
He bites. A lot. He is very over stimulated by movement and loud noise. Anything that makes him excited makes him bite. Affection- he bites.
He also jumps all over everyone and everything. He thinks it's fun to come full throttle into you and then slam himself into your crotch or at your head.
On walks, he is very over the top about cars, people, other dogs.
He plays ROUGH. He has a lot of power for a dog of his size. He'd fetch till I stopped throwing. He wants everything in his mouth and was dragging my rugs all around just because.
He is pretty much either sacked out asleep or is vibrating with energy. Thank god he has an off switch.
He is in your face and very affectionate (but bitey). He loves people.
He resource guards people and I am sure he would food and toys if I gave the other dogs access to him when toys were out.
I will be honest, I've had a lot of dogs and he's a real challenge. He's inherently a good dog but there is a looooot of energy (I can not overstate his energy level!) and a lot of desire to bite things and people and other animals.
He's really not, he's just a lot of dog.
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He IS fun but a handful. I think he's a gem and so fun but his work load is very high and he really needs outlets for that energy. I've never had another dog that wants to learn so badly though. He is very very smart.
My main concern would be small kids and other animals. She is young and if anything like Hank she is herdy and likes to nip. I don't think Hank would purposely hurt a kid. He is very friendly with people. But he's seen kids on tricycles and running around and he wants to chase very badly. And any play with Hank at this point involves biting and nipping. I could just imagine a kid running past and Tripping and Hank getting over excited and nipping and scaring the kid.
For a comparison he has to be on a leash in my house right now 24/7 because he cannot handle the papillons running around or barking. My entire life right now literally revolves around teaching Hank to be calm around things that move fast and make noise.
I have known a few other ACD/terriers and they are all similar. Usually very very active, somewhat guardy, very nippy and a lot are destructive. So glad Hank is not.
My main concern would be small kids and other animals. She is young and if anything like Hank she is herdy and likes to nip. I don't think Hank would purposely hurt a kid. He is very friendly with people. But he's seen kids on tricycles and running around and he wants to chase very badly. And any play with Hank at this point involves biting and nipping. I could just imagine a kid running past and Tripping and Hank getting over excited and nipping and scaring the kid.
For a comparison he has to be on a leash in my house right now 24/7 because he cannot handle the papillons running around or barking. My entire life right now literally revolves around teaching Hank to be calm around things that move fast and make noise.
I have known a few other ACD/terriers and they are all similar. Usually very very active, somewhat guardy, very nippy and a lot are destructive. So glad Hank is not.
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Also looks-wise Hank looks about 50/50. His build is more rat terrier I think but is colored like a heeler. He acts like a heeler too.
Anyways don't want to discourage you but I do think heeler mixes and heeler terrier mixes can be challenging dogs. They are very common in Rescue and shelters around here. Usually it is for being too hyper or biting someone.
But If you admire a brilliant capable and athletic dog with more energy than you thought was possible they can be a lot of fun.
Anyways don't want to discourage you but I do think heeler mixes and heeler terrier mixes can be challenging dogs. They are very common in Rescue and shelters around here. Usually it is for being too hyper or biting someone.
But If you admire a brilliant capable and athletic dog with more energy than you thought was possible they can be a lot of fun.
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