Boerboel Question and Answer
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i have a female south african boeboel that is 3 months and two weeks,it loves me and the family and loves to play a lot,but i want it to be more protective and less playful,it rarely barks and i dont like this as i would prefer a dog that is always alert and barks at unwanted situations or visitors,is there a way to train the boerboel to develop this attitude or it just starts automatically like an instinct,because i wont want it playing with unwanted visitors instead of trying to warn them,any advice would be accepted.
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.
I'm interested in adopting an 8 month old Boerboel. I live in the bottom floor of a house that was changed to a duplex. The back yead has ample space for him to be let out and do his busniess but I would start running with him as well for exercise. My question is that if I start running with him would he try to attack any stranger in our way. Also if I were to take him to a park and run would he do the same thing?
My landlord lives upstairs and has 2 older dogs that I never see just hear every so often. My other concern is about him barking when I am at work and not home. Does anybody know about their barking habits?
hi i have a 1 year old female pup. She's really such a great dog! I've had her at 2 vets already with no help.
She has a skin problem. On her right hand side she has a big patch where hair falls out and she looks mangy.
The first vet couldn't give us an answer, so i took her two a second vet, which said she had some kind of mange she would have gotten from her mom. It was called Dedo-something mange, i cant remember the name. He said i must use IVOMEC(1ml/25kg) everyday. i have used it now for more than 2 months, but it doesn't look like it working. What must we do?
It does not look like it bothers her and it doesn't bother me(The looks of it), but other people always seem to ask if she's got mange or what happened to her.
She eats a good quality food and she gets enough exercise. I also bath her every two weeks with a dip-shampoo(doctors orders) he said it would keep her problem under control.
Thank You in advance and we also want to congratulate you on this great site, it is very informative.
Franciois
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
I got a male and female boerboel age 4 months at what age must I separate them they fight alot.
does the Boerboel have a naturally short tail or are they docked as babies? How are they around cattle, horses, and cats?
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 have a male boerboel that weighs 70kg and is 10 months old, but bunny hops at the moment, due to a hip problem. We had him at the vet, who gave us two options: 1) To put him down 2) To take tablets for the rest of his life ( which he gives 3 -4) years to ease the pain. One is not an option, does anyone know of any exercises, therapy that we can give him to ease the pain or heal it?
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.
Are boerboels like pitbulls?
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.
I researched the Boerbel breed for sometime before I purchased my female. I saw the red, brindle, etc. I was contacted by a breeder who had a cream white (not albino) female and I purchased her. Are they more rare than the other colors and do they have more skin issues than the other colors other than dirt?
Hi, I purchased a male boerboel puppy, he is now 16 months old however he does not have a bulky build like our two year old female, he eats well and he is dewormed can anyone help ( he was purchased from a reputable breeder and both his parents are the same build as our female)
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.
is it acceptable for brindle pups to have white tips on their paws?
I have a 9week old boerboel. Is okay to give it milk?
i also found a small lump on its stomach which disappears sometimes is this normal?
im getting two boerboel puppies at the same time from the same litter and both are males. Someone told me this would be a problem and they would end up fighting one another when they got older...is this true?
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.
Hi my parents are planning on getting a boerboel pup, they live in west africa. But right now I am in Canada and will only be able to see them later in the year, if they get a a puppy now it will be 8 months by the time i see it, can you please tell me if that would be of a problem to adjust with a big puppy, I mean are they friendly to family even if they are introduced at a later age? I really need some advise, thanks.
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 plan on purchasing a Boerboel puppy for a family dog, but also for protection at night. I just need to know what kind of training they need to be more sociable. I also have a 6yr old with a lot of little friends that come and go, should I be worried with the children and is it only when we are not home that the dogs are more protective? I need help deciding if this breed is right for our family. I dont want to be sued for our dog bitting a child.
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.
I have a borbel puppy that is 3 months old, and growls when he doesn't want to move. Does this mean that he is going to be an aggressive dog?
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.