From this I would guess that a beardie has very little guardian instinct-

A guardian is left with the livestock all the time, from puppyhood on, but
specialty herding dogs are usually kept separate when the
owner is not around- by chaining or kenneling the dog when the owner
 is not present, or by taking the dog with the owner.

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> From: [log in to unmask]
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Bearded Collies
> Date: Sunday, August 02, 1998 00:37
>
> Beardies generally are upright, pushy, loose-eyed dogs; many are barky.
In
> Britain there are some Beardie-coated dogs that are really more of a
Border
> Collie type --originally these were just coat variants of the basic "farm
> collie," although many beardie-coated dogs were used as "huntaways" to
push
> sheep out of brushy areas and so some strains developed something of a
> particular working style -- barky and very active.
>
> The modern show beardies are descended from a rather small group of dogs
> "rediscovered" by a dog fancier and developed into a show breed.  There
is
> still quite a bit of working instinct in the breed, but many seem to be
on the
> hyper side.  Lots of experience and firm but gentle handling are required
with
> dogs of that type.  Aside from that, the "standard" training techniques
> generally are used to develop the basic working skills, although there
will be
> variations according to the individual dog and the individual needs of a
> particular situation.
>
> Linda R.
> Pacifica, CA