new puppy owner (a letter)

[Aescleah]

hey guys this is by jenny wells with exerpts from a letter she recieved. i thought it was very good and decided to post it here 

 

 

This is from a lady I have known for a little while who took ownership of her first Boerboel puppy last year.  The breeder of the dog is irrelevant as I think her experience might be a useful account for anyone considering this breed.  She tells it like it is and these email extracts are published with her full permission.

 

 

"Well, he's a handful, I won't say he's not. He is very dominate and very high energy. I have been studying and learning. I read all the Boerboel blogs of those sites you gave me and have studied Leerburg extensively. I have just never had a dog like this before. I really believe that he is going to turn into a great dog, but I am having to put lots of work into him. But it is really good for me, it gives me something to wrap my mind around and he definitely is not inclined to let me get lazy. Just the other night I was reading where someone was saying that all can be cured by positive training. I am very inclined to train positively, but I feel like there are times that I have to get tough with this dog. He has growled at me and I won't stand for that. I thought I had that under control and lately we have had some battles with nail grinding. He thinks that he can tell me not to grind his nails. Of course its a long story as all these things are, but I ordered a dominate dog collar and used it because he roared at me. Well after that I proceeded without incident. There are just things that I can't let him get away with. I think that he is a normal Boerboel, I think he is from what I have read, but he certainly is not a gentle giant.

 

 

But he is awesome in so many ways and very clever. Awesome with obedience. I have never had such an awesome obedience dog. I show him off to people, and even when I show him off, he does it right on. He is quite good with working in puppy class with distractions, although he has quite a ways to go with that. But that's to be expected. 

The first big trouble that I had with grinding his nails, was to grab the last back paw. With my Ridgebacks I just grab it. Well when I tried to grab his he growled. I thought I might have hurt him since he has so much weight on it so I gently tried to get it but to no avail. Finally I got him off the couch and put him back up at a different angle. So then we were fine. The next time we did nails, same problem. He was sitting on his paw. So I said to him, "Well I need that last paw." He immediately moved and handed it to me. Now I tell you this, I know it is something that you know about the breed, but those are the kind of things that just blow me away about him. My Ridgebacks would never give me that last paw. They will always make me fight for it. I just love this dog and all the stuff is so worth it because I really think I have something very special. He does things like that all the time. One problem that we have had is cat chasing. I just don't want him chasing my cats. It is hard for him. I used to give him a treat when he would leave the cats alone. Now I know that now he chases the cats and then stops and comes and looks at me to give him a treat. So I have to be very careful what I treat him about. That too is a behavior that I have never run across with any other dog I've had. He is just really something.

 

All puppies that I have ever had have bonded with me basically from the moment I have gotten them, but not him. When I got him from the airport he was more like "I don't know who you are or where you are taking me but I am not really too happy about all this". He had an air that he would take care of himself and he is very protective of himself. I had him for weeks, not days weeks, and one day he came up to me and gave me a very small kiss and you know how you know what they are saying to you, well he said to me then that he was my dog and I was his person and after that things have gotten very much easier with him, but he is still a handful and I just have a feeling about him that I really have to be on guard, at least I am sure until he gets thru his teen years. He loves people and animals and is very friendly so that is not an issue although I am sure he would protect himself if he felt he needed to so really I will never really trust him around strangers. I would never take him to a dog park, even if nothing were happening, I would be a nervous wreck that it might. Of course, I don't go to dog parks anyway, but I think you know what I mean about him.

I can really see him being a hard core farm dog herding the bulls, but at the same time he does not want to leave my side and wants to be in the house when I am in, so he's not really an outside dog either. And he is a big soft lovable teddy bear too.

 

 

So I have myself a Boerboel handful. But like I said I think that with lots of work, fairness, and consistency he has the potential to turn into a very fine dog. Its basically up to me, and I am trying my hardest."

 

I think she'll succeed don't you?