Boerboel Information and Standards
Papers on a Boerboel = The first thing to know is that you cannot purchase a registered boerboel puppy. No Boerboel puppy receives papers from birth, they receive a birth certificate and in order to receive papers on a Boerboel the Boerboel must be taken to the association for appraisal. All puppies must have a birth certificate as this represents the papers on a Boerboel. This birth certificate must be kept to submit at an appraisal point to register the boerboel. This is to help prevent lesser breed quality Boerboel's being used as breed quality Boerboel's. This serves to protect the buyer and the breeder from a none breed quality boerboel, helps to maintain integrity Boerboel breeding and helps to insure the quality of the breed itself. This is done by the associations in order to maintain a high level of guarantee that the boerboel's registered are pure bred and to maintain an accurate account of the breed itself.
However it is best to go to the breeder and look at the dogs the breeder owns in order to get the best information about the breed dogs in use and the breeder.
How to tell if the boerboel is pure bred or not = Registration papers are the best way to tell as well as taking the boerboel to a association to be looked at. Boerboel experts can tell just by looking at the dog because the body structure is unique to the breed alone. Cross breeds are easy to determine just by looking at the dog. At the bottom of this page are associations and registers of which to use. Here is were it is best to go to the breeder and look at the breed dogs being used.
Height & Weight = The height should be 21-24 inches for females and 23-27 inches for males. Healthy weights: Females should be 90-130 lbs. Males should be 130-180 lbs. However the weight and size of a boerboel can be less or more there are some male boerboels that have weighed over 200 lbs however the true weight is never known untill the boerboel is put on a flat scale and weighed. Never judge a boerboel by the weight because the weight does not make much difference. For example; Boerboels weighing 155 lbs have been known to out pull much bigger boerboels weighing 180 to over 200 lbs.
The size of the boerboel is really unknown at this time due to the fact that the boerboel was almost extinct. Through good sound breeding the boerboel's of to day are starting to become bigger and the full size of the breed is yet to be determined. There are a couple if not a few boerboel's that are reported to weigh 245 lbs in America at this time.
The Guinness Book of World Records for heaviest and tallest dog ever is an English mastiff named Zorba in 1989 with a reported weight of 343 lbs and a hight of 8 feet tall. Kell is an English Mastiff that is the current live record holder of the worlds heaviest dog at 286 lbs. ( my source for this information is http://www.worldslargestdog1.com/Guinness_records_set_by_dogs.html ).
The English Mastiff has a jaw bite strength of 620 lbs compared to a 1 year old female puppy boerboel which is 680 lbs per square inch.. The English Mastiff is the closes dog to a boerboel in terms of jaw bite strength however, A male boerboel's jaw bite strength has yet to be determined although it is believed to be around 800 lbs plus for a well bred male boerboel.
Temperament = Great temperament = Great family dog, great work dog, great guard dog, great pulling dog, great water dog, great hunting dog, very trustworthy, full of love, very protective, very loyal, great desire to serve, playful and very smart.
Loyalty
This breed of dog known as the south African Boerboel has never been known to turn on its owner or the family. Only 2 times in reacent history has this breed turned on its owner and both times the owner was beating the boerboel with a baseball bat. All this power and yet the boerboel seems to be the most loyal large dog in the world. To me this is amaizing!
Guard ability = Family, livestock, business, personal, home, prison, other animals, ANYTHING!
Hunting = Able to hunt in cold weather (freezing or below), wild Boer type of hunting, and tracking.
Health Problems = Due to natural selection the Boerboel is a very healthy breed. The Boerboel is susceptible to hip dysplasia and some other related issues that relate to other mastiffs however, this should be rare with the Boerboel compared to other Mastifs. Breeders should be breeding to help minimize or eliminate this as well as with any other health issue. The Boerboel is a very healthy breed due to its history of having to survive.
Drooling = The Boerboel is a light drooler.
Exercise = Boerboel's need lots of exercise, the Boerboel will get a lot exercise if they have a large yard to run and play. They need to be taken on a long walks. Boerboel's love to play and would love a good game of ball. Think of the Boerboel as a Thoroughbred as compared to a donkey. A Donkey does not need allot of running room but a Thoroughbred does.
Sheding = Lite, average, and heavy is the best way to describe this because while some boerboel's hardly shed at all, some boerboel's shed allot. The parents would be a good indecation as to what the offspring will do as far as sheding is concerned.
Barking = Some boerboel's will bark more than others, this is a area where you will see some change, the young boerboel will bark more than an older boerboel and so will a boerboel that is more secluded than others. As well a boerboel that is very sure of its self will not bark at all or even growl, this would only be to warn of someone or something in the area or outside or for comunication. A mature boerboel that is sure of itself will only give a very low tone deep ruff, not to loud, and this is out of natural instinct to warn of possible intruder. If raised properly this is the natural way a boerboel will develop because they are natural born protectors and it is in their instinct to protect.
A boerboel on the hunt will learn from other boerboel's not to make a sound and the prey will never hear the boerboel coming until the prey heard the footsteps of the boerboel and if the prey turned to look, all the prey would see is boerboel teeth flying though the air for the kill. A boerboel that learns from another boerboel or is taught this type of behavior does not have to wait till the age of 3 before it quits its barking. This is because an alpha male will direct the other dogs and they will obey and learn from him.
An alpha male can be the person from whom the boerboel takes its directions from or the trainer. The person in charge of the boerboel should be the one who trains the boerboel. Once trained the boerboel can take on another alpha male however it is best to keep the one in charge established.
Pure Breed Boerboel's
Before purchasing a Boerboel you should always do a check with a boerboel association or a Boerboel register.
SABBA which is the SABT in english South African Boerboel Breeders Association.
EBBASA (Elite Boerboel Breeders Association of South Africa)
HBSA (Historic Boerboel Association of South Africa)
USBA (United States Boerboel Association) This is a boerboel register.
The first 3 listed are the 3 South African associations and the USBA is the register owned by John Blackwell. All standards can be found on these associations web sites. (John Blackwell is the first person to bring the South African Boerboel to the U.S.A. for the purpose of breeding.)
WARNING = There is an american association known as the (SABA) which is an american association NOT to be confused with the SABBA which is the (SABT) or the United States Boerboel Association (USBA). Notice the simularity between the two in the spelling. The (SABA) is not recognized or accepted by the south african associations and thier dogs are not registered by them. If you have purchased a dog from a breeder in this association I would even suggest having the dog tested by one of the associations listed to make sure if the dog is a pure breed Boerboer.
It is here that I will tell you to be very carefull when purchasing a boerboel, there are at least two associations in america that I would be worried about and the people that started these associations are known for cross breeding as well. I know because I asked the correct questions in the correct way in order to find out who could be trusted and who could not. As well I also checked with the correct associations to check on any concerns that I had.
Treat the dog right and the dog will treat you right
