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[Roy Morgan <k1lky AT earthlink.net>]

[NOT FROM ROY]

I would not recommend a Border Collie. They have a pretty specific  
purpose, and although they may alarm at something new, they are just  
as likely to say.."Not a sheep....not my job"  and go hide behind you.  
My good dog, my good working dog...one night we went out on the porch  
and my neighbours heifers were in the front garden. I said to her,  
"Well, what do you think?" She said..."Dude, COWS? I don't THINK  
so"...and went back in the house.

My ex-husband and I had an Anatolian Shepherd. I'd have another one of  
those in a heartbeat. Everything that was ours was his and by god,  
he'd protect it or die trying, but he was gentle enough to let my kid  
play dress up with him and he developed a weird habit of carrying a  
guinea pig around in his mouth, from where it would emerge, wet and  
blinking, but completely unharmed. On the other hand, when I finally  
got fed up of my neighbours Heeler trying to chase foals, I went in  
the house and shut the door instead of calling him off and chasing the  
dog myself, and you know, that Heeler was never seen again, it was an  
odd thing.

He was so smart he would actually escalate his warnings...first  
standing stock still and staring, then ruff, then maybe teeth, ...if  
you didn't pay attention by the time he growled, you WOULD find  
yourself flat on your back being held down. NOT hurt, mind you, but  
held down.

But Gene is right when he says their is a certain amount of liability  
in a dog like that. I absorbed it because we really needed not to let  
client's foals die. My insurance company at the time (Farm Bureau)  
warned me not to put up "Beware of Dog" signs because it was a tacit  
admission I had a mean dog. They said to put up a sign that said "Dogs  
on Premises".

He was hard headed, though. I was fine with him but  I had real  
trouble with him with my ex. The dog assumed he was next in the  
pecking order to me, the boss, and he and my ex occasionally had to  
restore their own order, and I worried about it.

The BEST DOG I ever had for the job you describe was a mutt I picked  
up off the side of the road. She was mine, I was hers, and by god she  
let people know about it. She was monstrous loud alarm, with just  
enough of being a fear-biter that I knew if someone grabbed me or my  
kid, she'd nail them, but not so much that I ever worried about her  
actually harming someone permanently unless they deserved it.

A good mutt is worth his weight in gold, I think.

If all you want is a front porch squeaker, I have a corgi that fits  
the bill, she's three and would be happier as an only dog. Wouldn't  
bite her own fleas, though. ; )