Bonza Australian Shepherds

06/11/2025

Great news! Party had her ultrasound and definitely is pregnant!

06/06/2025

05/25/2025

For those who aren't familiar with me - I've bred minis and Aussies for over 30 years, and switched to a more 'natural' approach over 20 years ago. We feed a fresh food diet, and I encourage minimal vaccines. I haven't vaccinated my dogs for over 20 years and, interestingly, haven't lost a puppy to parvo since then! Puppies are born in my bedroom, and when they outgrow that area will move to a pen in our living room. From there they'll go on excursions outside. This is our first litter in this house, so we'll play it by ear. These pups will be raised using the Puppy Culture protocol.

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05/22/2025

Mark your calendars - We estimate the puppies will be due about July 18th!

05/22/2025

So, what will a mini with a tail look like? As you can tell by these pictures, GORGEOUS! Many thanks to Heather Noddle of Kilnhurst minis in Scotland, for sharing these pictures! Back in '07, I was contacted by Heather, wanting more info on our dogs. She was wondering if a mini would be a good fit for someone who was used to doing agility with BCs. Well, instead of getting a dog in a few years, she ended up getting one from the Blitz/Belle litter! Jolly went on to found a dynasty of dogs that have excelled in several dog sports, as well as the most important activity of all, being totally loving, devoted, velcro dogs! (Every dog pictured here is one of her descendants!)

05/20/2025

The importance of tail wagging

How well do you know dog tail language? Your dog’s body language can help you interpret what a wagging dog tail really means.

05/17/2025

Okay, I don't see my post, so I'm going to repeat it. After much thought, I have decided to keep the tails on this litter. Both parents were born with full tails, so all of the puppies will have them as well. There is so much research available now regarding the importance of tails for balance and maneuverability, and also for communication. So, be prepared for some long, feathered plumes!

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05/17/2025

Just a heads up - I'm planning on keeping tails and dewclaws on these puppies! Both parents were born with full tails, so all of the puppies will have tails too. There is so much research available today regarding the importance of tails not just for balance and maneuverability, but also for communication. So, I hope all of you are looking forward to beautiful, plumed tails!

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05/16/2025

So, Party has been bred, just this last week. We'll need to calculate the due date, and she'll stay with Kathy until the pregnancy is confirmed by ultra sound. BTW, this is a repeat litter. One of the reasons I wanted to lease Party and do this cross was because of how nice the last litter was. They all stayed small, and had great temperaments.

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05/02/2025

I would LOVE to hear updates from everyone on how their dogs are doing! Feel free to spam me with pictures! Pictured here are Mabel, on the left, and cousin Spud on the right. Do any of you remember our 2 litters, 5 years ago? We bred Bean to Flower for a litter of minis. That litter included Quest, Spud, Cosmo, and Sprocket, among others. The other litter was Malcolm to Poppy (Bean's half sister). That was the litter where all 4 puppies went blind at about 6 weeks! I contacted UC Davis, and they didn't want to believe it. They wanted me to run a bunch of other DNA tests to verify that they were cataracts. (Hello - a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist confirmed it, I think they'd know what they were talking about!!) It was right then that I had to make an emergency trip back to Wisconsin and spent 5 weeks getting my mother moved into a nursing home. When I finally got home I was so emotionally drained I didn't have the strength to pursue the matter any further. Anyway, one of those pups was Mabel, who went to live with my son and DIL. Sadly (for us) last year they moved out of state, and couldn't find a place where they could have Mabel. So she's come to live with us. We also still have Malcolm and Bean, who are close to 10 years old! They're still going strong!