Carnarvon · Great Karoo · South Africa
Sheepdogs with heart, raised on the Karoo veld.
Bonnielass breeds, raises and trains working border collies in the heart of South Africa — started stockdogs, patient hands-on training, and well-socialised puppies from proven working lines.
A border collie runs its whole working life on a handful of whistled commands. We've borrowed them to walk you around the farm — follow the calls down the page.
Come-bye— the dog circles in to gather
Raised underfoot, not in a kennel.
Bonnielass is a small, family-run kennel outside Carnarvon, deep in the Great Karoo. Our dogs aren't a side line — they share the house, the bakkie and the working day, so a Bonnielass collie grows up steady around people, livestock and the everyday clatter of a farm.
Every dog we breed comes from lines chosen for the things that matter on the veld: a level head, a strong natural gather, biddability, and the hardiness to work long days in dust and heat. We breed for temperament and working sense first, and we keep our litters small enough to give each pup the start it deserves.
Walk on— steady, straight to the point
Three ways we can help.
Dogs ready for the job
Young and started collies with a solid foundation on sheep — keen, sound and switched on, ready to finish on your stock.
Patient, fair training
We start pups gently and bring young dogs on the kind way — trust and a clean outrun before pressure ever comes into it.
Well-started puppies
Home-raised, well-socialised pups from working parents — matched to farms, sport homes and active families.
The pack— a few of the dogs, by name
Away to me— out wide, around the flock
Bred for the work that built the breed.
A good border collie reads stock the way the rest of us read a room. Ours are bred to cast wide, lift quietly and bring sheep on with that famous, unhurried "eye" — instinct you can shape, not manufacture.
Whether you farm dorpers in the dust or train for the trial field, a Bonnielass dog gives you a willing partner with the brains to learn and the stamina to last the day.
Natural gather
Strong, instinctive outrun and a steady fetch from the very first sheep.
Karoo-hardy
Raised on the veld — sound feet, sense in the heat, and an honest off-switch.
Lie down— calm, steady beginnings
A gentle start for every pup.
Litters are planned, not constant. Pups are raised in the home, handled daily and introduced to sheep, sounds and travel before they ever leave for their new families.
That'll do— the call to knock off and come home
Come and meet the dogs. The kettle's on.