Boerboel
Boerboel
A registered Boerboel in profile
Other names South African Boerboel
Country of origin South Africa
Traits
Weight 50 to 100 kg (110 to 220 lbs)
Height 60 to 70 center manager (24 to 28 in)
Coat short, dense, soft, smooth, and shiny
Color with and without a black mask : fawns, reds, browns, brindle, piebald, and Irish markings
Classification / standards
AKC Working
standard
The AKC
Foundation Stock Service (FSS) is an optional recording service for purebred dogs that are not yet eligible for AKC registration.
The AKC
Miscellaneous class is for breeds working towards full AKC recognition.
Dog (
Canis lupus familiaris)
The
Boerboel [ˈbuːrbul], also known as the
South African Mastiff, is a large,
Molosser-type
breed from
South Africa bred for the purpose of
guarding the homestead. These dogs were bred as working farm dogs.
Contents
Breed historyEdit
The word "Boerboel" derives from "
boer," the
Afrikaans/Dutch word for "farmer." The English word "bull" sounds to Dutch ears like "boel," hence the name Boerboel. Boerboel, therefore, translates as either "farmer's (bull) dog" or "Boer's (bull) dog" and should be pronounced somewhat like "burbull." The Boerboel is the only South African dog breed created to
defend the homestead.
Despite the Boerboel's long breeding history, there is great uncertainty as to how many and which breeds were used to create it. It is generally believed that the breed was created from interbreeding
native African
landrace dogs, such as the
Africanis, with breeds brought into South Africa by
Dutch,
French, and
British settlers.
The most likely origins date back to
Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival to the Cape in 1652. Van Riebeeck brought a "Bullenbijter" with him.
[1] Those originals settlers, and later
European settlers, also had large, strong dogs that almost certainly bred with the indigenous, domestic dog breeds of South Africa.
[2][3]
Later, in 1928, the diamond mining company
De Beers imported
Bullmastiffs to South Africa to guard the mines. This breed was also crossbred with Boerboels in the region.
[1]
Boerboels todayEdit
The Boerboel was first introduced to purebred enthusiasts throughout the world, including the United States, by the American anthropologist Dr. Carl Semencic, first in an article in Dog World Magazine and later in his book entitled
Gladiator Dogs which was first published by T.friend.H. Publications in 1998 and later republished by another publisher in 2013. Semencic credits his early familiarity with the breed to his own travels to South Africa, but especially to his frequent correspondence with the head of the first South African Boerboel club, one Mr, Kobus Rust. Later, the Boerboel Breeders Association was established in 1983 in the Senekal district of the Free State with the sole objective of ennobling and promoting the Boerboel as a unique South African dog breed.
Today, Boerboel breeding is both a hobby and an industry in South Africa. These dogs are now exported from South Africa to other parts of the world.
The protective character of the Boerboel is still evident and is much sought after, as is the calm, stable, and confident composure of the breed. The dogs are obedient and intelligent and have strong territorial instincts. The Boerboel remains the guarding breed of choice amongst current day farmers and is very popular for the same reason in urban communities.
[4]
The name boerboel is commonly misspelled as
boerbul,
boerbull, and
borbull.
[5]
There is also a divergence of standards. The Kennel Union of South Africa does not accept the black coat
[6] but the SABT does, so a buyer needs to decide what standard to follow, as if a dog has a black coat or is the descendant of a dog with a black coat they cannot be registered with AKC, KUSA, BI or Ebbasa.
DescriptionEdit
AppearanceEdit
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/friend/f0/Boerboel_head.jpg
The Boerboel's distinctive facial characteristics.
The Boerboel is a large dog, with a strong bone structure and well developed muscles. The head appears blocky, but not overdone, with a short length between the stop and nose. It should look impressive, carrying himself with confidence and powerful movement, which should be buoyant, and unencumbered, despite its size. It should be symmetrical and balanced, following the desired proportions for the breed. Males should be markedly bigger than females, there is a distinct sexual dimorphism between the sexes, with the female less prominently developed.
[6]
