I would wait till she is fully gown at two years of age she is too young at ten months

Sending a boerboel to obedience training is fine. It is not fine to send a boerboel to guard dog training. Boerboels are natural super dogs and, as they mature, will be everything you need them to be. Our femaile, now a year and a half old, had obedience training and no guard dog training. She's a lover and you'd think she's too easy going. She also barked hardly at all growing up. After the first year she'll growl at anything she thinks is danger, she's automatically on alert to any strange noises, she can depict strangers from family at the door before she sees them, and she's fearless when it comes to our safety. It's NATURAL for them. She's also a sweatheart with anyone we welcome, which is their nature. She only goes into defense mode if she senses that we're concerned or we have not welcomed the guest. Spend your time in reinforcing commands and actions. They (or at least the females) tend to be a bit stubborn but very smart. They understand your commands the first time. They "decide" whether they want to follow the command or make their own decision. This is why you don't want to train them to be aggressive. They'd be unstoppable and it wouldn't be right for them or for you.

I would give it a little more time at six months is where I usually begin to see that behavior start and at 9-12 months you will really see a change

There are some things you can do at home. I would start by asking if you have ever heard your dog bark before. It will take a couple of month for your dog to be confident enough in his surroundings to start to bark. I know he seems big but remember he is only three months old don’t let his size deceive you. When your dog start to bark whether it is through discontent, excitement or uneasy curiosity praise him by giving him treats and loving. If you haven’t experienced any of these yet try teasing him with his favorite toy, this will probably coax out a wimpy whinny bark. Once you have some ground work laid out, try some simple drills. 1) Have a friend or family member rattle a door outside from out of view and ask your dog in a uneasy or excited manner WHO’S THAT? Praise him when he barks. The idea is to let him know what types of sounds he should expect and which he should consider a threat. I actually won’t mention any other drills, because you have a large and powerful breed and if you want him to perform up to your standard and without unwanted incident you should have him professionally protection trained.

My experience is that boerboels are unusually quiet unti they need to be loud. They will only bark (or bale) at what they feel is a potential threat or trying to come in when they're not welcome. Socialize the dog heavily. Take it to Pet Smart or wherever else you can take them so they get used to people and animals and don't feel threatened. Unless the dog has been improperly raised it should be fine.

Every boerboel is his own but they should not leap at strangers passing by if he does he needs TRAINING that is not exceptible make sure you know the pup how did he react to you meeting the first time? Scince you dont get to meet the parents ask them to let you walk him and see how he reacts.Ask the rescue this question also because you do not want an out of control boerboel with aggression issues especially if you are a 1st time boerboel owner. Normally boerboels only bark when they feel like their home is being threatened there not barky dogs but I cant speak for every boerboel because just like every person is differnet so are boerboels.

Hi Francious, I have a female boerboel and when I got her, she also had a skin problem, our Vet told us that it is quite normal for the boerboel breed, they have very sensative skins and are prone to scabies. As a pup, when we got her she had scabies which we treated with a dip that we got from the vet. I will go and see if we still have the bottle, and give you the name, because it worked wonders. She is 6 years now, every now and again, I see a that especially between the legs, there is a bit of irretation, then I just use the dip, and it's gone in a few days. Sometimes it is also something they eat, we had to change dogfood, because she was allergic to something in her food, which also caused a rash on her skin. They really have very sensitive skins, also make sure it's not her shampoo. I will check the names of all these products that we are using and maybe it can help you. Kind Regards Ilze

More likely they're playing. They can sound really mean when they're playing without really trying to hurt one another. Eventually one will become dominant, somewhere around maturity. No worries.

My boerbull just gave birth to 5 puppies with no or very stubby tails no docking involed. na she was also born without a tail.

The tails gets docked!

I actually did have him x-rayed. He now also have problems with his back legs, he sometimes mounes of pain and the back legs also sometimes shivers while he is lying down. We have put his bowl shoulder height to ease the tension on the front legs. We had him weighed at the vet and he now weighs 80kg! He is very muscular and a really big dog, but I'm very concerned about his rear, his hips and legs, you can sometimes see he want's to play, but it hurts and he'll moun because it hurts. Does anyone maybe know of exercises we can do to help him and to ease the pain. Maybe any specific diet he should be following, anything, at this stage we will take any advice. Thanks for all the responses so far, we really appreciate it.

our 1 year old also hops, i don't think there is anything wrong. Your dog is just being playful.

Has this dogs' hips been x-rayed? Boerboels will hop as pups and yours is still a puppy. Most north american and european vets are not familiar with the breed enough to know all the quirks of the breed. Feed him a low protein diet, slow his growth down and keep him lean. He will not mature until 2-21/2 years old. Do not put the dog down or have surgury unless you have absolute proof of a hip joint (x-ray/MRI) issue. Mine hopped up til about a year old but stopped once he developed the musclcular build of the breed.

Boerboels are mastiffs, Pits are terriers. It's apples to oranges.

Very different dogs

No, not at all. They outweigh a pitbull, have a noticeably different structure, and they are not aggressive but they are highly defensive of their territory and their family.

hi,i had douge de bordeaux male that was about 104lbs 23in at the withers,his mates where quit large but what dose this mean?it's like in a family 1 son short the other tall etc,it dose not mean your dog is bad its his make up he might of skip a genertion or two large and thick dose not make a dog better or worst some times having to much dog could mean more problems on there joints,back hips ,elbows enjoy your dog ask your dog if he thinks you are to thin, to tall,or anything else and guess what? your dog will love no matter what.

My brindle puppy also has white tips on her paws and one on her chest. From what I have seen, I think it is common.

Your puppy may have a hernia on the tummy. It can happen in any breed. What kind of milk? Cow milk is not good for dogs. I'd just avoid giving it milk all together. At that age it should be solid food.

if you socialize them properly you be alright but they probably wil fight when they grow up. It would be wiser to get a boy and a girl. or just one

If you sociaize them correctly,you wont have a problem with them.

I hope the pup likes you and gets socialized correctly. My pup remembers people she saw when she was 3 months old and came to visit again last week. She is now 1 year old. She does not like strangers and she hates my land lord for some reason. She is very loving towards the family and our new 8 week old Jack Russel puppy. I think it is completely her prerogative, who she will trust and even just tolerate in her space. But this is just my experience. This is probably the best dog we could get as a family.

We rescued our Boerboel girl at 7 months and despite a cruel "puppyhood" she immediately fitted in with our family, my daughter was 5 at that stage and we constantly had other children over. She interacted with them without any problem whatsoever. We already had a Labrador and they absolutely adored oneanother after being left to establish dominance. We live on a farm, so she has ample excercise to get rid of any pentup energy (1) and she stays indoors with us at night, which helped, I think, with giving her the necessary love and teaching her some social skills. It is now four years later and although I wasn't a Boerboel fan previously, I am definitely reformed.

Like all dogs that can be aggressive if they are socialized from puppy to adult there should not be any worries. Just remember to tell your parents to socialize, socialize.

I have a 4 yr old Boerboel and she prefers kids to adults, even strange kids. We socialized her early with other dogs and kids and she does great with both. She has more problems with strange adults. She is protective around me when we see them. They are great family dogs!

If your 6yr old friends come over all the time you couldnt ask for a better social exercise. Nothing is better then your puppy being around childern to help make sure your puppy will always be comfortable around all childern.

no it just means he does not want to move.

It means that he feels dominate, or like he’s the one in control. Thus the “don’t bother me” growl. It doesn’t mean that he will grow up to be aggressive as long as you train it out of him and let him know that kind of behavior is not ok. When you want him to move tell him, don’t ask. It’s very important to think dominance. For the immediate while, you could leave a short leash on him with a light choker. When you want him to come use simple commands, “come” and give a slight jerk on the leash. He will get the idea soon and the growling should stop. He will also end up being more obedient.