Shiba inu

I am a dog person. My childhood dog was a purebred Golden Lab. Ginger was a very smart dog, but she still chased cars. She used to follow me downtown and would wait outside the store,  she would ride the ski doo and lived near 20 years. My next dog Farley was a mutt, mostly Golden Retriever and Setter. She was also very smart, and would attempt to talk all the time. She could spell, or understand words spelled out in futile attempts to fool her. A new dog is now under consideration. Conventional wisdom says a border collie is  the smartest dog, maybe to high maintenance for us. The Shib inu look like a very cool dog. However I would prefer a mutt for health reasons.