Boerboel
The Boerboel [burbul] is a large, mastiff dog breed from South Africa, bred for the purpose of guarding the homestead. These dogs were often a first line of defense against predators and were valuable in tracking and holding down wounded game. Old farmers tell many tales of the strength, agility, and courage of their Boerboels.
Breed history
The word "Boerboel" derives from "boer", the Afrikaans/Dutch word for "farmer". Boerboel, therefore, translates as either "farmer's dog" or "Boer's dog". 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 canine species with breeds brought into South Africa from Dutch, French, and British settlers.
The most likely origins are claimed to date back to Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival to the Cape in 1652. Van Riebeeck brought a "Bullenbijter" with him.[1] Those with him, 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 today
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]
In 2010, the Boerboel was banned in Denmark due to the mistaken belief that it was bred for dog fighting.[6]
Description
Appearance
Coat
The Boerboel is an average shedder and easy to groom. The occasional brushing and a monthly bath and nail trim is all that is needed. The breed has an outer coat that is normally coarse and straight, and an undercoat that is soft and dense.[7]
Its coat is short, dense, smooth, soft, and shiny. Their coat color can be various shades of red, brown, or fawn. Many dogs have a black mask around their mouth that sometimes extends to their eyes and ears. The Breed Standard colors for the Boerboel is Fawn ,Light Fawn, Red all colors of red and Brindle
 | ||||||||||||||||
| A registered Boerboel in profile | ||||||||||||||||
| Other names | South African Boerboel South African Mastiff | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | South Africa | |||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment