Australian Shepherds Good With Kids? (14 Owners Asked!)

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With the many benefits of having your kids grow up with a dog, many people wonder about adding an australian shepherd to their family.

They’re beautiful, full of energy and intelligent dogs, but are australian shepherds good with kids?

Are Australian Shepherds Good With Kids:

After surveying 14 australian shepherd owners 78.6% said that their aussie was good, if not great, with kids. Many acknowledged their australian shepherds desire to herd small children, barking fits and occasional nipping but with proper training and socializing it can be avoided.

In this post you’ll discover:

What real australian shepherd owners had to say about how their aussie is with kids
4 reasons why australian shepherds are good with kids
4 reasons why australian shepherds aren’t good with kids
4 tips to help make sure your australian shepherd is good with kids

Let’s jump right in.

Table of Contents

Real Owners Experiences Having Kids & An Australian Shepherd

The only real way to know if australian shepherds are good with kids is to ask several people who have kids as well as an australian shepherd.

If my australian shepherd was good with kids that doesn’t mean all australian shepherds are good with kids.

So, I used australian shepherd communities online to see what people had to say about their experiences with having kids and an australian shepherd.

In total, I got 14 people who weighed in on the discussion of how australian shepherds are with kids.

11 people said they were good with kids.

2 people said their aussie didn’t like kids.

1 person said it was dependent on the aussie’s age.

Here’s all the people who contributed to my survey:

Good With Kids	Good With Kids	Not Great With Kids
darquone	freja_seymour	kwilcox
content_strucutre118	oneunderstanding3484	mazzymyers
rzafoshza	neuropeptidey	mensacurmudgeon
aussieaddie	proscuittoprosecco
toomuchsauuccee	dustyrovis
cubsfantransplant

A few people gave detailed answers I felt were very helpful that you can find below.

proscuittoprosecco – “I have a 2.5 year old toddler and 2 aussie puppies (11months and 3months). They do great together 🙂 I don’t want to minimize the herding, because there has definitely been a lot of it haha, however, both pups have also been very receptive to training. The 11month old pup is a PRO with kids now. He’s honestly the most gentle dog in the world.”

mensacurmudgeon – “An adult Aussie is wonderful with children. A puppy- not so much. I’m a good trainer, but mine was far too mouthy to be around even not so young children (under 12 if they’re small). I would see if you can find an Aussie that was given up because the owners couldn’t handle the puppyhood- at about 6 months, they get very manageable as a family dog.”

darquone – “Our new 2 month old aussie. Even though we got her only last friday, we can already tell she’s very smart. She knows how to pee on command, how to sit, she sleeps through the whole night, gets along with cats, kids, etc. But don’t get too impressed: she’s also pretty devilish when she wants to! :)”

toomuchsauuccee – “We got our Aussie, Roux at 8 weeks and our daughter was only 12 weeks old at the time (yes, I know that was a crazy decision). In our case it worked out wonderfully, they truly are best friends and Roux has learned to become very gentle when it comes to the baby. They’re both a year old now and the bond they have formed in the past year is so special. Aussies absolutely herd children by instinct, but there have been several instances where I’ve seen Roux do this specifically to stop my daughter from going somewhere she shouldn’t be so it’s almost a nanny instinct in my opinion.”

My Take On The Survey:

For the most part, many people acknowledge that the desire to herd was there.

But the amount of people who said their aussie wasn’t good with kids was very small.

If they did mention anything about their australian shepherd randomly starting to dislike children, many owners stepped in and said their pup had the same phase around 4-6 months.

And that it passed once they got a little older.

So all in all, according to many different australian shepherds owners, they are good with kids.

They definitely need exercise and training to be on their best behavior. But this makes it more dependent on you as the owner to ensure they’re good with your kids than the breed itself.

Any dog breed that doesn’t have positive experiences with kids at a young age won’t be well behaved around kids when they get older.

4 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Are Good With Kids

1) Great Watchers

Australian shepherds were bred to work on farms and ranches.

They were given the job to watch and herd their family’s cattle all day.

While they may not live on farms as much anymore, their desire to look out for and keep their family safe is still there.

So when their herding tendencies are trained out of them, all that’s left is a watchful pup that’s another set of eyes to have on your kids.

Australian shepherds are at their best when they’re helping their owners which means they’re happy to watch and make sure your kids are safe.

If you’d like to have a loyal protector of your kids an australian shepherd will fit the bill perfectly.

2) Perfect Size

Many people are hesitant to get an australian shepherd because they think they’ll be too big and their kids will get hurt.

But the truth is, australian shepherds are actually the perfect size for kids.

They’re not too big where they could accidently hurt your children by stepping on them or pushing them over.

And they’re not too small where your kids might accidently be too rough with them.

And if your kids do accidentally hurt them, australian shepherds are usually pretty good at ignoring it.

3) Lots Of Playful Energy

Australian shepherds are full of energy and love to play.

This makes them the perfect companion for kids who have lots of energy to burn off.

They can keep up with your kids when they’re running around outside and they’ll be happy to play games like fetch or tug-of-war.

And since they have so much energy, they’re usually pretty good at tiring out your kids before bedtime.

It’s a win-win situation.

Since your kids have lots of energy as well, they’ll happily play with your aussie and tire them out.

Which in turn also tires out your kids.

An australian shepherd will play until they simply have no more energy to do so which makes them a great match for high energy kiddos.

4) Learns Quickly

Australian shepherds are notorious for being quick learners.

This means that they can learn tricks, manners, and behaviors relatively quickly.

So if you’re concerned about them herding your kids or jumping on them, you can train them out of those behaviors relatively quickly.

And once they learn what behavior you do want from them, they’re usually pretty good at following through.

Also, since australian shepherds are so intelligent, they can also learn things like obedience and agility which are great activities to do with your kids.

4 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Aren’t Good With Kids

1) Will Likely Try To Herd Them

Even though you can train an australian shepherd not to herd, it’s still in their nature to do it.

This means that they might try to herd your kids if they’re running around or playing.

While many aussies will herd simply by running around with kids.

Others will go the more aggressive route and nip to direct your kids where they want them to go.

So it’s important to be aware of this natural tendency so you can watch closely when your aussie is young.

With proper training it can be trained out of them.

2) Bark Happy

Australian shepherds are known for being “talkative” dogs.

This means that they bark…a lot.

And while this might not be a big deal to you, it can be overwhelming for small children.

Your aussie might bark at your kids when they’re playing or running around because they think it’s their job to herd them.

Or they might bark when your kids are crying or making noise because they think something is wrong.

A bark happy dog can be scary for young kids and even prevent them from being able to sleep/nap.

Which will make the whole house a little more irritable/on-edge.

You can train them not to bark excessively but it will take some time and patience.

3) Sassy Period

Like many dogs do, australian shepherds go through a sassy phase when they’re young.

This is usually around the age of four to eight months old (some still have it even after 12 months).

During this time, your aussie might challenge you and your kids more than usual.

They might jump on them, bark excessively, nip at them, or play too rough.

It’s important to be consistent with your training during this time and not let them get away with bad behavior.

Otherwise, it will become a habit that’s hard to break.

4) Sometimes Stubborn

While australian shepherds are intelligent dogs, they can also be stubborn.

If they aren’t challenged mentally, they may start to refuse to listen to you.

Which is why training is so important for australian shepherds.

Many need more than simple command training like off, sit, and stay.

And if you have a stubborn australian shepherd in a home with kids, this won’t be good or enjoyable.

4 Tips To Help Australian Shepherds Be Good With Kids

1) Lots Of Socializing With Kids

One of the best things you can do to help your aussie be good with kids is to socialize them early and often.

This means exposing them to kids of all ages in different settings (home, park, friends houses, etc).

The more they’re around kids, the more comfortable they’ll be and the less likely they are to try to herd them or bark excessively.

If you wait until they’re older to socialize them, it will be much harder and may not work as well.

Start socializing your aussie shepherd early and often for the best chance of success.

2) Proper Training (For Both Kids & Aussie)

Proper training is important for both your kids and your australian shepherd.

Your kids need to know how to interact with dogs in a safe and respectful way.

And your aussie needs to learn obedience commands, socialization skills, and not to herd or nip.

You can’t just expect your aussie to know how to behave around kids.

They need to be taught, just like your kids do.

The better trained they both are, the more likely they are to be good with each other.

3) Lots Of Exercise

Australian shepherds are high energy dogs that need a lot of exercise.

If they don’t get enough, they can become bored and destructive.

And if they’re bored, they’re more likely to bark excessively or try to herd your kids.

Make sure your aussie is getting enough exercise every day (at least one hour).

Some even need 2-4 hours of exercise to really give them the exercise they need.

Exercise can be a long walk, run, hike, or even just playing fetch in the backyard.

As long as they’re getting their energy out, they’ll be less likely to act up.

This will help them stay calm and well-behaved around your kids.

4) Monitor Closely Early On

When you’re first introducing your aussie to your kids, it’s important to closely monitor their interactions.

This way, if anything happens that you don’t want, you can correct it and make sure it doesn’t continue.

After a while, you’ll be able to tell how well they get along and whether or not you need to continue monitoring them.

But in the beginning, it’s better to watch closely to correct any bad behavior from both your aussie or your kids.

Some kids are too grabby and pull on dogs tails, ears or fur.

And if your aussie nips them for being too rough, you might correct your aussie when it was your kiddos that caused your pup to act out.

Keeping a close eye on your australian shepherd in their first interactions with your kids will help ensure they’re good.

Other posts you might find interesting:

8 Best Dog Beds for Australian Shepherds | Beds That Last

Do Australian Shepherds Bark A Lot? (36 Owners Asked!)

Australian Shepherds Good With Cats? (21 Owners Asked!)

Do Australian Shepherds Shed? (114 Owners Asked + Tips!)