Lloyd

What age do I start leaving it by itself or do I start as soon as I get him. Or do I slowly brake him into it a bit at a time.

Yes

Does a Border Collie need a companion dog if its left alone while I'm at work?

Can a Border Collie be trained to use it's stare to discourage trespassers. Could I train it to give "the stare" on command?

I think I will go with the Border Collie!

Noooo- YOU cannot lock a thread - and it's not "long", until it gets to around 100 pages :p :p it is MUCH easier to keep everything in the one spot - for everyone :) oh- and there is also this:rule 17 <li>Only start a new topic ONCE in the appropriate forum For example, if you have something for sale or have lost your dog, there is a forum set up for those purposes. Whilst we understand your topic may be important, if everyone posted their topic in multiple forums, it would soon become annoying and confusing. ok

Ok this ones getting a bit long, I will start a new one about the same topic. :D How do I lock a topic?

I wouldn't be able to get a Schnauzer as they are not liked by family. They think that they are scruffy mutts.

Rural, good fencing(reasonably dog proof), Grooming-as long as its not more than every two-three days most of the year, I would clip the dog myself if necessary, no allergies, herding when needed if the dog can do it or I'd would do something else with it that would burn off the energy, I haven't owned a dog before because I wasn't allowed one but have had a fair amount to do with them (I quite often can get a dog to follow me rather than the owner) and have seen training in action, will have a part indoor and outdoor kennel with large run, no children, goats, rabbits, chickens are the livestock, watch dog preferable.

Shedding and I heard they drool.

Apart from the bit bolded above, you have described a Border Collie. Any loyal and highly trainable breed will want to be with their trainer, not stuck alone in a yard. Many dogs cope alone while the owner is at work but if they spend that time alone, they should be with the family the rest of the time. What I mean by can spend a lot of time alone is for a single working person. The dog has to be able to spend time by itself while I'm at work.

Trainability, Loyalty, Responsive, Doesn't bark too much, Doesn't Shed or Drool Much, Not High-strung, Willing to work, Even Temperament, Won't try to kill livestock or small animals, Not to small a dog, Doesn't have a tendency to bite, Can spend a lot of time outside or by itself if needed, Can think for itself like a GSD

I'm looking for a breed that has similar traits to the German Shepherd Dog but doesn't shed so heavily or have to look similar. Also a breeds that's either medium in size and weight to large. And not vicious or hard to train and can be found in Australia.