I have a Border Collie/lab x I got at an animal shelter as a pup. 7yrs old.She is pretty good at guarding, - what I mean is she is a great watchdog for everything, will chase what small animals I like her to go after, but a bit too friendly on her turf with strange dogs sometimes, very good with the animals, very trainable, will not bark unless kenneled for too long without exercise or attention. (she is allowed free range of the yard and respects those boundries well). She is an amazing hiking companion and does great with our small children and all the livestock. Though it may be specific to her, she does not enjoy the cold unless she is out working in it. If there is one bad thing about her it is that she is too clingy, she likes to stay by the house more, or the door you come out of, lol! But she is trainable so we are working on that.
My other dog is a Hangin Tree Cowdog- 8 months old. She was specially bred for many traits to balance all sorts of things out with other dogs (mostly different abilities to work) and I would say it was a success. She is great now loose after training her, and great with the free range poultry. She rarely barks, is not much of a watchdog - yet, she has been barking at coons at night when she is kennled now and sometimes at people. She does have a strong desire to work, but has never been nippy with our heals. She is independent minded yet not too much like a Catahoula. She is very smart and especially car smart. Great with kids but you better be prepared to work/exercise them some way to keep that energy in check. We use stock or long bike rides several times a week. She is always plotting around our property, chewing, hunting critters or digging. Short coat, bred to be weather hardy hot and cold, with a toughness not even usually found in most Border Collies to boot.
If I didn't want more of a herding dog, I might try a full Catahoula, although they do have a strong will they can do a little of everything and what a great nose!
Also especially with working breeds like Borders and such, there is such a wide vareity of types around now, and most are not working lines now, so on a lot of "pet" quality borders out there that you find, the herding instinct has usually been dimmed, which may work in your favor, yet you could still probably get most to herd if you wanted to - to a degree anyway.
If you want somthing for wolves or coyotes, you might want something else because in a fight they are going to toast.
Also not to overstate the obvious too much, but raising and training that animal closely is just as important if not more so sometimes, than genetics.
Good luck!
