Boerboel Today

[James Brennan]

Let us put to rest once and for all the myth that there are working Boerboels and another kind of Boeboels. Any dog not mentally and physically capable of work is NOT a Boerboel. It is another emerging breed and should be identified as such. ALL Boerboels should be capable, physically and temperamentally of work, even if they are not actually in a home that requires them to do that work. The Boerboel developed by the farmers of South Africa was physically and mentally capable of work or they would not have existed. The founders of the SABT when they selected 72 foundation dogs selected those that were physically and mentally capable of work. They did not select mastodons who were only capable of being garden ornaments or gasping around the show ring. Any organisation from anywhere in the world who believes that there is a distinction between working Boerboels and some other kind of Boerboel is not fit to guide and safeguard the Boerboel into the future. The mastodons of today are an affront, an insult to the South African farmers and the founders of the breed and a huge diminution of what the Boerboel used to be and should be today.

The Boerboel used to be the ideal family dog and home protector, combining substance with soundness and athleticism and the wonderful Boerboel temperament developed over generations on the family farms of South Africa. Any organisation or person who wants to breed to move away from this heritage in another direction should be in another breed and leave this one alone.

I for one refuse to accept a status quo widely accepted today or a future in which people believe that the Boerboel of today includes only a minority of dogs with the above mentioned qualities and that that is alright because the mastodons of today are what the market, and fashion dictates as long as the useless mastodons are capable of standing long enough to gather sufficient ribbons and can carry the weight of a high appraisal score. That future guarantees the final destruction of a formerly wonderful breed and any organisation or person who promotes that future and vision are promoting some other kind of dog and should leave the Boerboel alone. The loss of the historically correct functional Boerboel which is rapidly approaching if nothing is done would not only lead to the loss of a dog breed but to an icon of South African history and its loss would be a national disgrace

 

[James Coppen]

Well said James - totally agree with the points made here.

This has already happened to many other breeds - people not remotely interested in health/temperament testing, breeding for size and exaggeration, with no regard to heritage/history or functionality.  A breed can quickly be ruined in only a few years.

My own breed, the Neapolitan mastiff has been completely destroyed in about 30 years.  Excessive skin everywhere, ridiculous, hippo type dogs, who can barely hobble around a show ring.  A far cry from the cane da presa from rural Naples.

I hope the Boerboel doesn't go the same way!  There are plenty of large, sloppy mastiffs with no drive - why don't they keep them instead.

[James Brennan]

Thank you James for the support