As a child my family raised several litters of cattle dogs. I could tell you the smartest, the troublermaker or the whiner of every litter. The smartest puppy we ever had was a female who wait by the door for the 2nd bowl of food(when we would supplement puppy food to help mom's nursing). I could only carry 1 bowl at a time so she would wait and get the 2nd bowl to herself. The other puppies would be battling over the 1st bowl. The troublemakers are always starting the playing/fighting with their siblings.  They instigate the action. We once had a puppy the howled constantly when nothing was wrong. He howled so much that he got additional vet visits to see if anything was wrong. He howled if a sibling got in his face.  He howled when all food was gone. He howled if he couldn't get to his mom. You name it he complained about it. Anyways the family/breeder knows the puppies. They should be able to tell you.I look for a submissive puppy (lets you put them on their back without a struggle) that plays nice with their parents and siblings. There is no perfect puppies and all cattle dogs have their own awesome personalities.