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A Boerboel is not a lapdog (even
though many of them beleive they are) It is a large strong dog of 50 to 70
kilograms.
Before you buy one you should ask
yourself if you have room and time to look after it. It is a dog that leaves
itīs mark in your house, your life and not least your garden. Therefore it
cannot be recommended for people who live in small flats or where it must not
break a branch or dig a bit in the garden. If you can accept that, you will
have a friend for life.
The Boerboel is not an aggressive
guarddog. It will make you aware of strangers and stop them if neccesary, but
it will only bite under extreme provocation and will defend your life with itīs
own if neccesary. A Boerboel is excellent at reading itīs owners attitude, if
you are feeling safe or insecure, your Boerboel will know straight away.
Sometimes one beleives that it can read ones mind, and maybe it can, in itīs
own way.
At the same time the Boerboel is a
perfect family dog that does not throw itīs love onto any single person, it
has enough love for the whole family and it is very good with children.
The Boerboel is also a working
dog, it is intelligent and will be very happy to do the tasks required
of it.
What has made the Boerboel to the
magnificent allround dog it is?
To get the answer one has to know
a bit about itīs history. The word Boerboel means: farmers big
dog. The farmer we are talking about is a farmer from South Africa and he
lives in the savanah far from everything. He had a need for a large, strong,
healthy dependable, allround dog. It had to be able to look after the family,
the farm and the cattle. It had to be a playmate and protector for his
children. It had to follow him when he was hunting both as hunting dog and his
protector against lions and other wild animals. The farmers knew enough to
breed the best dogs for the duties it had to perform, it was essential to have
the best dogs.
That is what it was like until
1983 when SABT was born as the pedigree union of breeders. A breed
standard was formed and in 1990 the first appraisal was held. The minimum
score for a breeding quality Boerboel is 75% today.
Lastly a few wise words from a
South African breeder " A Boerboel has need of 3 things: Food, love
and attention, if you give it all these things it will do everything for you!"
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