Clever Dogs

Most of the puppy picker tools are coming up with similar dogs (provided I lie about the size of my backyard). These are mainly the herding breeds with short hair. I'm not crazy about dogs (or men) with wet beards and food encrusted moustaches. So my first list is:

• Australian Cattle Dog
• Australian Shepherd
• Belgian Shepherd Dog
• Border Collie
• Cardigan Welsh Corgi
• German Shepherd Dog
• Kelpie
• Norwegian Buhund
• Papillon
• Poodle
• Shetland Sheepdog

I'd rule out the papillon, sheltie and corgi because they are small, and I'd like a dog that could provide at least symbolic protection, and the poodle because I don't want groomers to be an integral part of my life, and the german shepherd for no real reason - just don't like a lot of them I've met.