Loyal dogs

Question
QUESTION: My husband and I will be looking for a dog soon. We have five acres, maybe ten soon, cats and horses. We want a dog that is going to stay home without having to chain her all the time, and that will be good with our other animals and children. (we have friends and family with kids, none ourselves)We would prefer a cross rather than pure, as they tend to be in better health and we would like to be able to save one from the pound or SPCA.

ANSWER: first thank you for considering a rescue,many are in need of loving homes and just saving one makes a big difference

Since you would prefer a cross it will actually be easier,but there's some types that are better for you

First you probably want to avoid anything with scent hound,like beagles ect as they tend to wander and not come back,and cannot be trusted off leash,same goes for huskies,also huskies are not good with cats at all-so those two groups should be avoided all together for you

Border collie type dogs(including cattle dogs and Australian shepherds)would probably be your first choice as they are excellent farm dogs,and are easy to train,and are good with other animals like horses,but they can chase cats,although can be trained not to and some do not do that-so anything with any type of herding dog would be a good choice,they are also generally good with kids,although sometimes they may try to 'herd' them at first

Also anything with any type of retriever would be good as well,as they too are great with kids and animals,and also make good farm dogs and don't really tend to wander

German Shepherds,or crosses are also excellent dogs for a big property and can also be easy to train

Also SPCA staff often know what dogs will do well in certain situations,so if you tell them what you are looking for,they might find the right one for you

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I had figured on the shepherd or retriever, but we had trouble with the collie cross cause she got bored, and started to wander, so that suprises me.

Answer
Yes,some collie type dogs do get bored,unless they have stuff to do(long walks putting them in agility ect)So you might want to avoid Jack Russel Terriers as well,as they are even more hyper then collies

But shepherds and retrievers are also good choices and are common in shelters so you may want to go with either of those

I also meant to mention poodles( of all sizes,but standards are the best with kids) are also highly intelligent and are good with other animals,and don't really wander-the downside is they need grooming