Cuddle a puppy at Collies & Co Cafe, Samford Village

First there were cat cafes, now you can cuddle puppies at Brisbane’s newest dog-friendly eatery where customers can book in to play with mostly border collie puppies three times a day.

FIRST there were cat cafes, now you can cuddle puppies at Brisbane’s newest dog-friendly eatery.

Anyone visiting Collies and Co cafe on 14 Main St, Samford Village, on Brisbane’s northside, can book in to play with mostly border collie puppies three times a day.

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Madeline Nixon, 31, said when she and her family opened the cafe last September she had no idea it would evolve into a popular puppy-cuddling place.

“I’m a vet nurse by trade but have been a stay-at-home mum since my first little boy was born,” she said.

“In my spare time I was breeding border collies, and became a registered breeder in 2011.

“When we opened the cafe, it kind of evolved.

“I knew it would be a lot of work, but didn’t think it would be so many hours.”

Mrs Nixon, own owns Zaryliam border collies, said they had a litter of puppies at home in Mount Sampson while they were setting up their cafe.

“They were cared for, but I wasn’t seeing them enough, so we all (staff) started to bring our dogs to work,” she said.

“We had them in a dog run during the day so we could spend time with them while we were busy getting the cafe up and running.

“Customers really loved seeing them, and the puppies loved getting attention from people.”

Visitors are welcome to spend time with the puppies during three separate one-hour windows a day.

The sessions are free, but bookings are recommended for the 15 minute blocks, especially on weekends.

Zara, 3, and Liam Nixon, 6, with puppies at Collie & Co, Samford Village. Picture: Claudia Baxter/AAP

Mrs Nixon and her husband Matthew, 34, have animal attendants supervising the interactions, which are scheduled during the time the puppies are awake and playful.

The mum-of-three said previously she would take the puppies out to get used to traffic and other people, but now they are able to get all that at the cafe.

“This is perfect as they have all that here. They have kids, older people, people in wheelchairs, you name it,” she said.

Though the couple – parents to Liam, 6, Zara, 3, and Ryan, 1 – have so far only had their own border collie puppies on site, they have now partnered up with Animal Rescue Queensland.

“We’ve had all of our litters for this year, so we’ve just joined forces with Animal Rescue Queensland after realising how beneficial this was for both people and puppies,” Mrs Nixon said.

“It’s shocking to see the amount of unwanted litters out there.”

There can be anywhere between seven to 19 puppies, all between about six and 14 weeks old.

A vet nurse is on-site and any visitors wanting to go into the run must step in a special solution and use sanitiser in an effort to reduce the risk of transferring diseases, such as parvovirus, to the dogs.

The 93-seat cafe is open from 7am to 3pm every day.

Customers are welcome to bring their own dogs to Collies and Co, which also sells dog accessories from Django and Co and treats from popular companies like L’Barkery, Hugo’s’ ice cream and more.