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Boerboel

Description

The Boerboel is a big, strong and intelligentworking dog. It is well balanced with good muscle development and buoyant inmovement. The dog should be impressive and imposing. Male dogs appear noticeablymasculine and bitches feminine. All parts of the body should be in proportionwith each other. The head is the most important feature of the Boerboel, as itrepresents its total character. It is short, broad, deep, square and muscularwith well filled cheeks. The part between the eyes must be well filled. The topof the head is broad and flat, with prominent muscle development. The faceshould blend symmetrically with the head, and can be with or without a blackmask. The stop should be visible, but not prominent. The muzzle is black withlarge nostrils which are widely spaced. The nasal bone is straight and parallelto the top-line of the head. It is deep, broad and it tapers slightly to thefront. The nasal bone should be 8-10 cm long. The loose, fleshy upper lip shouldcover the lower lip, but should not hang lower than the lower jaw. The jaws(mandibles) are strong, deep and broad, and narrows slightly to the front. Theteeth should be white, well developed, correctly spaced, with a complete set of42 teeth and a scissors bite. The broad, horizontally set eyes are any shade ofbrown, but darker then the pelt, with firm, well-pigmented eye-lids. The earsshould be of medium size, V-shaped and should be in proportion to the head. Theyare set fairly high and wide against the head. When the dog is alert, the earsshould form a straight line with the top of the head. The neck shows anoticeable muscle curve, and is attached high at the shoulder. The strong,muscular neck is of medium length and in proportion to the rest of the dog. Theskin of the neck is loose under the throat and becomes taut between the frontlegs. The body narrows slightly towards the loin. The top line should bestraight. The back is straight, broad and in proportion, with prominent backmuscles and a short loin. The rump is broad and strong, with good muscledevelopment. The chest is muscular, broad and strong. The straight, short tailis attached high to the body. The front legs should be perfectly vertical. Thehind paws are slightly smaller then the front paws. The big, well padded pawsare rounded with dark curved toe-nails. The paws should point straight forward.Dew claws should be removed. The skin is thick, loose, well pigmented withmoderate wrinkles on the forehead when the dog is alert. The short, dense, sleekcoat comes in cream white, pale tawny, reddish brown, brown and all shades ofbrindle.

Temperament

The Boerboel is reliable, obedient and intelligent, with strong watch and guard-dog instincts. It is self-assured and fearless. The Boerboel are very playful and affectionate toward their owners. Their favorite pass time would be to play a game of fetch loving every minute they spend with their master. Their jaws are strong and they will most often pop the ball they are playing with. Not to fret, they will just play with the popped ball! They are very gentle and good with children they know. Allowing them to ride on their backs like a horse, loving every minute of the attention they are getting. Boerboel will do okay with other dogs, cats and other non-canine pets, letting birds come down and snatch from their food bowl! They will guard their family, friends and property with their life. When the owners are not home they will not allow anyone to enter the home, unless they know them very well. When welcomed visitors arrive they will accept them after being properly introduced. This breed requires a dominant owner. The authority the owners project over the dog should be so strong that the dog will not bolt out the front door when it is opened. The objective in training this dog is to achieve a pack leader status. It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in their pack. When we humans live with dogs, we become their pack. The entire pack cooperatesunder a single leader. Lines are clearly defined and rules are set. Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans MUST be higher up in the order than the dog. The humans must be the ones making the decisions, not the dogs. That is the only way your relationship with your dog can be a complete success. If one does not understand this concept 100% and have confidence that they can handle such a large guard type breed then this is not the dog for them. With the right owners the Boerboel can make wonderful pets.

Height, Weight

males 25-28 inches (64-70cm.) female 23-25.5 inches (59-65 cm.)
154-200 pounds (70 and 90 kg.)

Health Problems

Due to artificial selection the Boerboel is a veryhealthy breed.

Living Conditions

The Boerboel is not recommended for apartmentlife. They should, at least, have a large, fenced in yard to run and play.They Boerboel can live outdoors. This breed should not be left to run on theirown for they are very protective and sometimes do not take too well tostrangers.

Exercise

The Boerboel will get a lot exercise if they havea large yard to run and play. However they need to be taken on along daily walk. Boerboel love to play and would love a good gameof ball.

Grooming

The Boerboel is fairly easily to groom. Anoccasional brushing and a monthly bath and dip is all they need. This breed isan average shedder.

Origin

The development of the Boerboel can rightfully bedescribed as a true South African success story and is today a beacon for thosewho have made a contribution to improve the breed. The refining of the breed isstill on the developing stage. Much has already been written on the descent ofthe Boerboel but nobody can state with certainty that it is bred from one, twoor more breeds of dogs. What is confirmed by investigation is that Jan vanRiebeeck brought with him a "bullenbijter" on his arrival to the Cape.This dog was a large strong breed which reminded one of the Mastiff type of dog.Those who followed Van Riebeeck to the Cape, had also brought with them only thelargest and strongest dogs, and over a period of decades only the strongestsurvived in the now and desolated country. With the arrival of the BritishSettlers in 1820 they brought amongst others the Bulldog and Mastiff type ofdog. (In 1938 the real Bull Mastiff was imported to South Africa by De Beers toguard the diamonds mines. It is also known that they imported a championobtained from the Hottentots, played a role in the development of the Boerboel.The "Boerdogs" (as they are known) were scattered by theVoortrekkers during the Great Trek and they continued to breed with them.According to tradition, after the Anglo Boer War in 1902, these dogs werecross-bred with the English long-legged Bulldog and also the with the BullMastiff, in the late and early 1950's. The history is especially known among thefarmers of the North-Eastern Free State, Northern Natal and in parts ofTransvaal.