Boerboel - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
Boerboel is a dog from South Africa. They were created by crossing native African breeds with some European dogs including the Bullmastiff, Rhodesian Ridgeback and the Bulldog. They were used to guard Dutch settlers and diamond mines in South Africa. There are even a stories about Boerboels protecting the settlers from lions, and those stories say that they were able to kill a lion. But this is most likely not the truth, a Boerboel definitely can not kill a healthy and full grown lion.

2) Protector
They were bred to be guards and they are great at it even today. Boerboel is fearless dog with suspicious behaviour towards strangers. They will definitely alert you when something is going on around your home. They are just great family guards and protectors.

3) Not for novices
This is a bad breed choice for novice or even first time dog owners. They are large and powerful, which means, that if you fail the training, you will have a lot of troubles. It is true that they are intelligent, but because of their independent mind they are not the easiest breed to train.

4) Agile Mastiff
Boerboel is not the typical mastiff, they are more lean, athletic and agile. That is why Boerboels require a moderate amount of activity and like to use their minds as well as their bodies. Daily longer walk is a must if you want to have a happy boerboel.

5) Family companions
While this breed is very alert and not trusting towards strangers, they are very affectionate towards their family. They like good playtime, even with children. The breed gets along with dogs, cats and other animals, but this varies based on each dog’s individual temperament.

6) Training
Boerboel needs consistent, patient and strong leader who will lead him. They are very intelligent and with the right handler, they are capable of learning a lot of stuff. It is no exception to see Boerboels in dog sports like weight pulling, obedience trials or even agility.

7) Size
Boerboels are large, well balanced mastiffs with average height between 23-28 inches which is 59-70 cm and average weight between 150-200 pounds which is 65-90 kg. Naturally, the females are little bit smaller than males.

8) Health
Generally pretty healthy, even boerboels suffer from some health issues. The most common are hip and elbow dysplasia, eye diseases and skin allergies. They are not suffering from some very serious genetic diseases like many other large breeds.

9) Color
There is a lot of color possibilities with Boerboel. You can find them in brindle, red, brown, reddish brown or cream color. A lot of time they have black mask and some of them have white markings. It is not uncommon to find boerboels with Irish pattern – which means any color with white spotting.

10) Grooming
Like many other shorthaired dogs, Boerboel only needs the basic grooming. Brushing once a week is more than enough and you should bath them only when its really necessary. You should also check their teeths, eyes, ears and nails and clean or clip it if needed.