Boerboel

The Boerboel is a large South African dog of mastiff type, kept as a family guard dog. It is heavily boned and muscular, with a short coat.

History

The name joins two Afrikaans words: boer, a farmer, and boel, short for boelhond, a bulldog.

The breed comes from an old colonial cross of mastiffs and bulldogs known as the Boer Dog or Boer Hunting Dog. These dogs guarded remote farms and estates and were used to hunt big game. A 1909 account calls the cross the best dog for hunting leopards and baboons in packs. The Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa tells of one Boer Mastiff that killed four leopards in single fights over several years before a fifth killed it.

Deliberate breeding of the Boerboel started in the 1950s. A breed association, the South African Boerboel Breeders Association, was set up in 1983. A new body, the South African Boerboel Breeders’ Society (SABBS), followed in 2012 and was registered with the country’s agriculture department in 2014.

Under South African law any animal breed native to or developed in the country counts as a landrace, and the Boerboel is treated as one. SABBS is the only organization authorized by that law to register Boerboels officially and is responsible for the breed’s standards. The Kennel Union of Southern Africa also recognizes the breed; the Fédération Cynologique Internationale does not.

Several countries restrict or ban ownership, among them Bermuda, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, France, Mauritius, Qatar, Tunisia and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Appearance

The Boerboel is big and powerfully built, with a large head and a short muzzle. The standards give an ideal height of 66 cm for males, with a minimum of 60 cm, and 61 cm for females, with a minimum of 55 cm.

The coat is short, sleek and dense. Accepted colors are brindle, fawn and brown, with or without a black mask. The two standards differ on one small point: SABBS accepts black dogs and the Kennel Union does not.

Temperament

Boerboels show courage when they feel threatened. They can be aggressive toward strangers or other dogs.

Care and health

Conditions reported in the breed include hip and elbow dysplasia, vaginal hyperplasia, ectropion and entropion. Juvenile epilepsy has also been seen, with attacks set off by stress or metabolic changes.

Facts on this page were checked against Wikipedia and may have changed since.