I love your observations @LemonPalmTrees , they're always very valid.
I think one of the reasons you fit so well into this little group is that you have a really good understanding of your own dog and a high level of commitment to getting the best out of him; though we've got a few different breeds here, we all have that in common. Out in the world, it's not always the case. We had this conversation with the dog trainer, he sees so many people that just have the wrong dog, because they didn't do their research and don't understand the breed traits, and I think he had half expected that with Brie until he met us.
My expectations of training have to be realistic. Whilst Brie is clever, I know her brain works in a different way from, say, a gundog breed brain. We all have different requirements, we can all see that @brushingboots has a much higher expectation of pupsy because she wants her to be an actual working gundog. She needs to have that commitment and focus on daily training, but with a guarding breed I can be more relaxed because I know she won't ever be trained to work with a handler in that way.
Even within guarding breeds there is another distinction. Dogs such as Rottweilers and German/Belgian Shepherds are commonly referred to as "guarding" breeds but technically they're not; they're herders and drovers. That means they have a prey drive and they will also work to command, which is why we see them as service dogs or doing bitework. They will guard, but in a different way. The Livestock Guarding breeds, however, are natural guard dogs (with low prey drive), which makes them harder to train because they don't work alongside human handlers. If you watch YouTube videos of them in a working environment you see this. That is why my expectations have to be realistic and I'm pretty laid back about training. LGD are always free spirits; you can never really be their "master".
So while I say that the females are more independent minded than the males, both sexes are equally aloof and protective, they both work, but girls are just a lot more active and curious. They seem to use their senses slightly differently; my boys were always more focused on listening for unusual noises, the girls seem to focus on looking at what's around them. Yesterday, on the dog field, she prowled the perimeter then watched people passing on the lane. It could be argued that most dogs would do that, but her wariness of the trainer coming into our house took me by surprise; she never barks, but she watched his every move without being aggressive at all. You can't teach them to do that, it's just there. If you came in our house now, you wouldn't immediately think "guard dog", she would welcome you politely, with her tail wagging, but initially she'd watch you like a hawk. If I left the room you'd be perfectly safe with her though... It's hard to define and we were probably on our third dog before we could fully read the body language and predict how they would react.
Ironically, I'm not good around other dogs, I can't read their body language because it's so different from LGD brain/behaviour.
So, I will do a bit of training with Brie, for fun, but honestly, I want to let her be who she is. She might never be glued to my side like two of the boys were, but that's okay. She's an independent spirit, but seems very content with her life and I cannot ask for more than that.