Australian Shepherd
by Joyce Pogue
(Shingle Springs, CA, USA)
They are such smart dogs that you can teach them anything. They are great for protecting children and ready to give their lives for their owners. We had an Australian Shepherd puppy, who at six months old, if I jumped into the lake to swim, would jump in behind me and try to pull me to shore by my hair. When our son was a year old and was going down the driveway, our dog attacked a large snake that was lying in the road near our son. He could track anything, and if our toddler got out of our sight, the dog could quickly track him.