The Bosun Dog Project

08/13/2024

Hey everyone, the rescue trolls are at it again. Ignore them. If you want to rescue a dog, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it. Before you come to me, check out you local shelters. They might have your best friend waiting right there!

08/11/2024

Hi Friends! The current litter of the Bosun Dog Project is 6 weeks old today. These pups are doing great, are well on their way to being house trained, and are super friendly.

We are still looking for a few wonderful homes for these babies!!

For those who are new to our breeding program, we breed dogs for great health and temperament. You can learn more (and submit an application!) on our website www.bosundogproject.com or message me for more information.

Please share with anyone looking for their next best friend.

08/04/2024

Can you tell what's new today?
P.S. all the dogs in this video are Bosun dogs.

08/02/2024

Our current litter at 4 weeks old.

07/29/2024

02/14/2024

Happy Valentine’s Day!

07/31/2023

Bosuns finding the sunny spot. 😍

07/26/2023

Bosun Dog Project on National Geographic!! SUPER exciting article with numerous quotes from Laura Sharkey that talks about the movement to breed dogs for the *purpose* of companionship. It is so exciting to get this recognition for the work we are doing, and just incredible to see projects like ours reaching mainstream awareness. Just... amazing.

All dogs are good boys—but not all dogs are good for families. That’s why these breeders are focusing on health and temperament.

07/26/2023

“The White House is making some changes after it was revealed that President Biden’s dog has bitten a number of Secret Service agents. reports on the details.”

07/18/2023

My most exciting dog training achievement at the moment: kayaking with Kasia. We’ve been working on this really since last summer. We’ve spent a ton of time jumping in and out of the kayak, doing sits and downs in the kayak, fake paddling the kayak on land, carrying the kayak while she walks near me. I’ve got her used to her life jacket and have done full training sets while she’s wearing it. Did I NEED to do all that? Last season, we went out for 1.5 really short and easy floats to literally test the waters. Don’t know, don’t care, I want her to LOVE the kayak so it’s all worth it.

I just made a really cool dog platform for the front of the kayak, and we took it for a paddle on Sunday. Y’all, she had a BLAST. She didn’t want to get out when we landed, and she didn’t want to leave when we got back to the car. I am still doing happy dances! I can’t wait to go out again very soon.

And then next up: Talia. 😇

07/05/2023

Uh oh. I noticed that Talia is missing her 4 front incisors. The baby teeth are falling out! This is great news since those little alligator teeth will be gone. BUT, this means destructive chewing is starting. And right on cue I found her chewing on the TV remote.

This is the time to double down on chews for your puppy. I don't mean toys, I mean consumable chew items like pig ears, bully sticks, frozen stuffed kong, etc.

Your pup will be looking for stuff to chew on to exercise their jaws and try out their new chompers. Your job is to provide things that taste better than your furniture, so when looking around for options, they choose the legal chews and leave your belongings alone.

Good luck!

06/13/2023

But wait, what about the fifth puppy? Talia [Tagliatelle] is staying with us! We are thrilled with what we've seen so far from the Pretty Little Pastas litter, and Talia may be a future Bosun momma. She is an amazing fit for our family, and loves to play with “Aunt Kasia” and “Grandma Zephyr” . (I think Border Collie Primrose could take or leave having another puppy, but they’re still sweet together 🤣)

Expect more Talia updates in the future!

05/28/2023

Pickle, formerly Rigatoni, is on his way home with his new family. He and little Micah bonded immediately, and we are so excited to see them grow up together. Love you, buddy. You are going to have a blast. 🥰😭😍

Incidentally, the highlight of my month was that Micah asked Pickle to sit, but when Pickle didn’t sit, he said “that’s okay, you don’t have to” and gave him a treat anyway. Darn right, and too many of the grown adults I know don’t understand this! Someone has an absolutely amazing teacher. ❤️❤️❤️

05/27/2023

Y’all. Breeders can do so much house training before you even pick up your pup. Between Jane getting up at 6am and Erica doing last potty at 1am, the Pasta Puppies were doing most of their potties outside by 5 weeks of age, and even asking to go outside to potty by 5 or 6 weeks of age. We bought a couple boxes of potty pads when the pups were born, based on previous history, and we still have most of them left!!! Wowsa.

Now bear in mind that this took a LOT of work. Despite what people may think, this is definitely not a money-making operation! 🤣

05/26/2023

Another sad departure today: Jane and Papillons Frankie (12) and Jo (13-19 weeks). We have not properly introduced them, but Jane has stayed with us as a puppy au pair, or “pup pair”, since the Pasta Pups were 3 weeks old. We knew we'd need some help raising this litter and we asked Jane if she might be interested. We know Jane quite well, as she was a trainer for our training center before she relocated to Florida. Good fortune to us, because Jane was all in!

How to express how amazing Jane has been? It’s hard, but I’ll try. Since baby Jo also woke early, night owl Jane volunteered as tribute to get up with the Pasta Puppies at 6:00am every day. That meant running the pups outside for first potty, feeding, cleaning the pen, running laundry and lots and lots of playtime. She gave individual snuggle time every single day, and as they got older, individual training time too. We worked together on all kinds of puppy ‘firsts’, and she kept up with the weekly Puppy Culture recommendations to make sure we didn’t miss any important milestones. She started their crate training and house training (and helped us appreciate how crazy early puppies can become house trained!) She even started on basic obedience like sits and downs and beginner mat training, and showed off at the vet’s office how 9 week old puppies can sit and stay on the scale for their weights. Plus I don’t even *know* how many boxes of toys and games she brought along for them.

And one more thing: our house is not large. With our dogs, Jane’s dogs, Bakka, the puppies, and four adult humans, our space was FULL. Yet we all lived together for six weeks with no tension or disagreements, we all still like each other, and we are legitimately super sad to see Jane go. If that doesn’t speak to a person’s character, I don’t know what does! 🤣

Jane, we are so grateful for everything you’ve done. You are incredible, and we are really going to miss you. Again. But I hope you can get some proper sleep now!

05/26/2023

Tortellini is now Kix, and he went home last night. And he’s staying local! You be good, little guy, and see you tomorrow! 😍

05/23/2023

Puppy #2 is off! Fettuccine is on his way to Colorado now as well. He is going to live with his Uncle Pirate (Bakka’s brother) AND he will not be far from his brother Ravi Ravioli! We expect some family photos soon, y’all. 🤣

Safe travels, little man, we love you! ❤️🥰😭

05/17/2023

The first Pasta Puppy went home today - Ravioli is off to his amazing new home. We miss him already (I’m not crying, you’re crying), but we are SO excited for him to get settled in with his new family. Safe travels, little man. ❤️❤️❤️

05/13/2023

Aaaand also on the agenda today: learning how to get good and muddy like a proper outdoorsy dog. Followed immediately by the new skill of “getting all toweled off”. Luckily they were champs at both. (Sorry, no Ravioli or Talia because he was already dried off and she was inside sleeping through all the good stuff)

05/04/2023

I can’t even. [Tagliatelle with Zephyr and Kasia]

05/01/2023

Taco Profile Day! Taco is, of course, the Pasta Puppies dad.

Taco is Anadee Cheesy Gordita Crunch, and this is what his human Gabby has to say about him: "Taco is a jock who loves frisbee, agility, dock diving, flyball, nosework, rally obedience, biking, hiking, and kayaking. He’s also a fantastic actor and model and you have probably seen him on TV. He has passed CGC, CGCU, and CGCA testing. He is a Trick and Stunt Dog Champion- he will pick up a new trick in minutes! He thinks that sheep are friends and shouldn’t be bossed around… he’s not a natural herding dog. He has a medium-high toy, food, and tug drive. He’ll chase a lure but doesn’t really care about chasing birds or squirrels. He is quiet while he’s working, and (mostly) calm cool and collected while waiting his turn. As drivey and intense he is while playing, he is super easy to live with and is CRAZY snuggly. You can spoon him like a rag doll and he just snuggles in closer. He adores babies, kids, special needs people, and mature people, and seems to understand to be gentle with them. I run a training and daycare business out of my house, and he helps by distracting and playing with our client dogs. He has many best dog friends and a super silly play style, but is even more of a 'people dog'"

Taco is a Miniature American Shepherd. He's 16” tall and 23 lbs. He has a clear genetic panel, and OFA results are Hips Good and Elbows, Shoulders, Patellas and CAER (2022) Normal.

Embark: http://embk.me/cheesygorditacrunch

OFA: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2089623

04/07/2023

The babies got their first taste of independent food today. Expect some adorable video tomorrow. (Ravioli and Tortellini)

04/07/2023

To add to the previous napping puppies post. I got my hand back, but I am still entirely nap trapped. (Thanks for that phrase, ) 😍😭🥰

04/07/2023

The tiny walruses have fully entered the stage, where they just seek you out, climb on you and fall asleep. I’m drafting this post with one hand and speech-to-text because, obviously.

04/06/2023

Okay, well, guess I live here now… (Tortellini)

04/05/2023

Today Laura bought some brand new toys for the puppies to experience as they toddle around the pen. This happened within the first few minutes (Tortellini).

I know it’s coincidence, but that doesn’t make it any less sweet!

04/04/2023

Fettuccine fell asleep between the wall and my knee…

03/31/2023

Bakka Profile Day!

Bakka, or Bosun’s Rights the Ship, is  a happy friendly girl who loves to jog, hike, play and of course, snuggle. She lives with her family Karin and Travis, her kids Greta and Cameron and Portuguese Water Dog, Zeca. Bakka was born to our girl Zephyr in October 2019 and is part of our very first Bosun Dog Project next-generation breeding.

Bakka’s family gave her the registered name "Rights the Ship" because of the positive impact she had on the whole family, and nothing could make us happier.
Bakka’s human Karen reports: “Bakka might be the best dog I’ve ever had.” She is AMAZING with our two kids (11 and 16) and my son and Bakka have a special relationship. I’ve been running with her since she was around 1; she has proven to be a GREAT running partner. Despite being a great runner, she doesn’t really need a ton of exercise.  A couple of walks a day seem to be enough on days we don’t run. We travel a lot and she is a great travel companion. We can easily leave her – uncrated – in a hotel room/rented house and have no worries about accidents or destructive behavior.”

Embark: http://embk.me/bosunsrighttheship
PennHIP: Right .44, Left .43

03/28/2023

Here’s a photo of the Pasta Puppies current home. No barns or garages here; our little fluffballs are born in our master bathroom. Who needs all that extra space anyway? 🤣

At about three weeks of age, they will outgrow this space. That’s when we roll up the rug, rearrange the furniture, double the pen size, and relocate them to the living room in the central part of the house.

03/28/2023

Bakka’s other small human, Cameron, has been over a lot to help with the puppies and give mama lots of love. Here Cam and Bakka are learning about the joys of snuffle mats. (The babies are in just through that door in the master bathroom.)