Library litter
Jon x Bonnie
Born 09/03/26
8 puppies: 4 males and 4 females
Born 09/03/26
8 puppies: 4 males and 4 females
Jon x Bonnie is a pairing I am incredibly excited about, bringing together two different but beautifully complementary Border Collies. Both are capable, driven, clear headed dogs with lovely functional structure, but they bring different strengths and styles to the table in a way that I think has the potential to produce some really special puppies.
Jon is my bred by keeper from the Glen x Calypso Fabrics litter and is, quite simply, one of my favorite dogs I have ever produced. He represents so much of what I strive for in a modern Border Collie: high drive and highly biddable, versatile enough to turn his hand to nearly anything, exceptionally socially stable, environmentally sound, and genuinely wonderful to live with. He has shown natural ability in herding, earning his HT at only nine months old despite our limited access to stock and trainers. He has also shown promise in agility, but obedience has been our primary competitive focus. At nine months old, he qualified all three days of his very first competition obedience weekend and came home with his BN title. He is an enthusiastic, flashy worker who genuinely loves doing things with me and has excellent food and toy drive. He has been excelling on the dock now that we have been going once a month in the summers, making fast progress and already jumping in the high teens. He has a ton of pop and will likely take to air retrieve like a fish to water! We have also been playing toss and fetch at dog sport fun days (not official events, as there aren't any within driving distance) and is a very reliable disc dog.
Jon was also retained as a service dog prospect and has developed into an exceptional public access and service dog. He is neutral and comfortable in busy environments, naturally defaults to his training and handler, and remains emotionally separate enough that my own state does not negatively affect his ability to work but he remains always in tune with me. He is also extremely social and affectionate, loves absolutely everyone, and is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known. He is confident without being hard to handle, about as far from environmentally sensitive as a Border Collie can get, and has no misplaced arousal or reactivity. He is simply a very happy, secure dog who approaches life expecting it to be fun.
Bonnie brings a somewhat different flavor to the pairing. She is a talented young sheepdog from a lovely pedigree of working dogs and is a daughter of Bart, a dog I have admired and known since he was young. Bonnie lives and works on a small farm in Canada with her sire, where she helps manage sheep and lambing chores and trains in USBCHA style herding. She also has a natural affinity for sport, particularly disc, despite her primary focus being stock work.
I have been fortunate enough to have Bonnie living in my own home for several months for this breeding, which has given me the opportunity to know her far beyond what I could learn from a pedigree, videos, or someone else's description of her. She is a serious, loyal, true-blue Border Collie who is deeply devoted to the people she knows and loves. She is more reserved about who enters her inner circle than Jon, but once you're there, an incredibly silly and affectionate little dog emerges. She loves butt scratches and back rubs and does a little dance as she receives, enjoys a burrow around in blankets and pillows, and occasionally becomes so overcome with her bedtime sillies that she simply has to shout about it.
There is something about Bonnie that reminds me tremendously of my Abigail, which makes this litter especially meaningful to me. Abigail has been such an important foundation dog in my program and is now retired and approaching 11 years old. Bonnie isn't related to her, but I see many of the same qualities in her: seriousness, loyalty, confidence, sensible social boundaries, and that unmistakable Border Collie character underneath it all. That is also a large part of why I think she and Jon complement one another so well. Bonnie carries a little more edge and stoicism, while Jon is the eternal happy-go-lucky optimist. Bonnie is selective and deeply loyal; Jon has never met a stranger. Both are confident, biddable, environmentally stable dogs with great work ethic and the ability to think clearly, but they arrive there through somewhat different personalities.
Structurally, I also think they are a lovely match. Bonnie is a petite girl at approximately 32 pounds and 18.75 inches, while Jon is around 40 pounds and 21.75 inches. Both are athletic, functional dogs, and I expect puppies to fall into a nice moderate range.
Another aspect of this litter that makes me particularly excited is how closely it relates, pedigree wise, to my Bart x Calypso Circus litter. Bonnie is Bart's daughter, while Jon is Calypso's son, so this pairing brings together the next generation of those same two families while including Jon's sire Glen's side and Bonnie's dam's. The Circus litter gave me the opportunity to see firsthand how Bart and Calypso's traits blended, and I have been extremely pleased with those puppies as they have developed. They are confident, affectionate, handler focused dogs with plenty of drive and personality, while still showing the stability and ability to settle that I value so highly. Seeing those qualities emerge makes me even more excited to explore a similar genetic combination through Jon and Bonnie, while allowing each of them to contribute the traits inherited from their other respective parent and the qualities that make them individuals in their own right.
From this pairing, I am hoping for versatile Border Collies who retain plenty of genuine working instinct while also possessing the social stability, trainability, and adaptability to succeed well beyond stock work. I expect puppies with plenty of drive and enthusiasm for training, with potential for herding, obedience, agility, disc, possibly service work, and other performance pursuits depending on the individual. I am particularly excited about the possibility of Jon's openness and social fluency combining with Bonnie's seriousness, loyalty, and working character.
As always, there will be variation within the litter, and puppies will be evaluated and placed according to their individual temperament, structure, drive, and suitability for each home. More than anything, I am excited to see how these two dogs blend. I know both of them intimately, I genuinely love who they are, and I believe each brings something valuable that the other does not necessarily possess.
Bonnie is confirmed pregnant, with approximately 6–8 puppies seen on ultrasound. Her puppy count x-ray is scheduled for August 28th, and I will continue updating this page as we get closer to welcoming them!
Jon is my bred by keeper from the Glen x Calypso Fabrics litter and is, quite simply, one of my favorite dogs I have ever produced. He represents so much of what I strive for in a modern Border Collie: high drive and highly biddable, versatile enough to turn his hand to nearly anything, exceptionally socially stable, environmentally sound, and genuinely wonderful to live with. He has shown natural ability in herding, earning his HT at only nine months old despite our limited access to stock and trainers. He has also shown promise in agility, but obedience has been our primary competitive focus. At nine months old, he qualified all three days of his very first competition obedience weekend and came home with his BN title. He is an enthusiastic, flashy worker who genuinely loves doing things with me and has excellent food and toy drive. He has been excelling on the dock now that we have been going once a month in the summers, making fast progress and already jumping in the high teens. He has a ton of pop and will likely take to air retrieve like a fish to water! We have also been playing toss and fetch at dog sport fun days (not official events, as there aren't any within driving distance) and is a very reliable disc dog.
Jon was also retained as a service dog prospect and has developed into an exceptional public access and service dog. He is neutral and comfortable in busy environments, naturally defaults to his training and handler, and remains emotionally separate enough that my own state does not negatively affect his ability to work but he remains always in tune with me. He is also extremely social and affectionate, loves absolutely everyone, and is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known. He is confident without being hard to handle, about as far from environmentally sensitive as a Border Collie can get, and has no misplaced arousal or reactivity. He is simply a very happy, secure dog who approaches life expecting it to be fun.
Bonnie brings a somewhat different flavor to the pairing. She is a talented young sheepdog from a lovely pedigree of working dogs and is a daughter of Bart, a dog I have admired and known since he was young. Bonnie lives and works on a small farm in Canada with her sire, where she helps manage sheep and lambing chores and trains in USBCHA style herding. She also has a natural affinity for sport, particularly disc, despite her primary focus being stock work.
I have been fortunate enough to have Bonnie living in my own home for several months for this breeding, which has given me the opportunity to know her far beyond what I could learn from a pedigree, videos, or someone else's description of her. She is a serious, loyal, true-blue Border Collie who is deeply devoted to the people she knows and loves. She is more reserved about who enters her inner circle than Jon, but once you're there, an incredibly silly and affectionate little dog emerges. She loves butt scratches and back rubs and does a little dance as she receives, enjoys a burrow around in blankets and pillows, and occasionally becomes so overcome with her bedtime sillies that she simply has to shout about it.
There is something about Bonnie that reminds me tremendously of my Abigail, which makes this litter especially meaningful to me. Abigail has been such an important foundation dog in my program and is now retired and approaching 11 years old. Bonnie isn't related to her, but I see many of the same qualities in her: seriousness, loyalty, confidence, sensible social boundaries, and that unmistakable Border Collie character underneath it all. That is also a large part of why I think she and Jon complement one another so well. Bonnie carries a little more edge and stoicism, while Jon is the eternal happy-go-lucky optimist. Bonnie is selective and deeply loyal; Jon has never met a stranger. Both are confident, biddable, environmentally stable dogs with great work ethic and the ability to think clearly, but they arrive there through somewhat different personalities.
Structurally, I also think they are a lovely match. Bonnie is a petite girl at approximately 32 pounds and 18.75 inches, while Jon is around 40 pounds and 21.75 inches. Both are athletic, functional dogs, and I expect puppies to fall into a nice moderate range.
Another aspect of this litter that makes me particularly excited is how closely it relates, pedigree wise, to my Bart x Calypso Circus litter. Bonnie is Bart's daughter, while Jon is Calypso's son, so this pairing brings together the next generation of those same two families while including Jon's sire Glen's side and Bonnie's dam's. The Circus litter gave me the opportunity to see firsthand how Bart and Calypso's traits blended, and I have been extremely pleased with those puppies as they have developed. They are confident, affectionate, handler focused dogs with plenty of drive and personality, while still showing the stability and ability to settle that I value so highly. Seeing those qualities emerge makes me even more excited to explore a similar genetic combination through Jon and Bonnie, while allowing each of them to contribute the traits inherited from their other respective parent and the qualities that make them individuals in their own right.
From this pairing, I am hoping for versatile Border Collies who retain plenty of genuine working instinct while also possessing the social stability, trainability, and adaptability to succeed well beyond stock work. I expect puppies with plenty of drive and enthusiasm for training, with potential for herding, obedience, agility, disc, possibly service work, and other performance pursuits depending on the individual. I am particularly excited about the possibility of Jon's openness and social fluency combining with Bonnie's seriousness, loyalty, and working character.
As always, there will be variation within the litter, and puppies will be evaluated and placed according to their individual temperament, structure, drive, and suitability for each home. More than anything, I am excited to see how these two dogs blend. I know both of them intimately, I genuinely love who they are, and I believe each brings something valuable that the other does not necessarily possess.
Bonnie is confirmed pregnant, with approximately 6–8 puppies seen on ultrasound. Her puppy count x-ray is scheduled for August 28th, and I will continue updating this page as we get closer to welcoming them!