buying a puppy

Question
I am looking at getting a new puppy. We live on a farm and have had numerous dogs over the years. The last two were red heelers and they were wonderful. We had a working feedlot at the time so lots of work for the dogs. We no longer have the feedlot and now have a cow calf operation which means there is not as much work. I want a companion dog that could come in the house and could be out in the breezeway (with a puppy door) when not at home. There is only work for the puppy probably spring and fall and I would take puppy to obedience classes and spend much time with it as possible as it is so lonely now without a dog. I was looking at getting a heeler / border collie that could be both or should we just get a companion dog for the house and if we need a dog for the feed lot get one for outside? What would you suggest for a companion dog that would be okay for farm and home?

Answer
You might consider an Australian Shepherd.  Pick one from working dog lines.  They should be able to do the herding work without being as difficult to keep occupied in the off season as a BC.  They are successful as dog guides which must cope with down time.  

www.akc.org and www.purina.com have breed selector pages on their site.  You
might try them.   Don't take a recommendation for some obscure, hard to find
breed too seriously.   Even if your puppy doesn't grow up like you expected,
how you raise it helps make it what you need.  The first 12 weeks of a dog's
life greatly affect its adult personality.  Expose it to your lifestyle, and
it will be comfortable with you.   Gretchen, my little German Shepherd will
not grow up suspicious of strangers.  She knows no life except being out and
petted by strangers from the night we picked her up at 7 weeks old.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
dogs.  These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them.  You may
find a rescue near you starting at http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm  The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.