What To Look For

 There will be a number of litters coming up in the next 6 months, so take the time to find the right pup for you.

You should ask the breeder all the questions below, ideally in  writing or e-mail and get their response in writing before going to look at the puppies. You can then make an objective decision as to whether the puppy is likely to be the right dog for you BEFORE you fall in love.

1. Registration – a Boerboel must be appraised and receive a passing score from one of the 3 breed organisations in order for its offspring to be registered. If this hasn’t been done, ask why not and only buy if you are happy to have a dog which cannot be registered as a Boerboel.  If the breeder can't be bothered to register his dogs, how much effort has he put into getting everything else right?

2. If you want to register and appraise with the SABT, the largest of the S. African registries, check that both parents are SABT appraised and registered.

3. Temperament – ask specific questions about areas which are important to you. Everybody has their own idea of good temperament. Ask if the parents are friendly with other dogs / children/small animals? Do they have a lot of prey drive/are they dominant or submissive? If a stranger walked into the garden would the dog bark/bite/put them in hospital? If it was someone the dog knew well, what would their reaction be?

4. Health – Ask to see the hip and elbow scores of both parents and check how they compare to the breed average. If the parents hips are worse than average, be aware that there is a higher chance of the offspring having worse than average hips. Ask about the scores of any siblings and previous offspring of the parents. Be aware that most dogs which have been bred before will have produced one or two offspring with bad hips/elbows - an honest breeder will tell you it’s a possibility and be able to explain what their rationale is for a particular pairing.

5. Ask whether there are any other possible health issues which the parents may be carrying – possible problems include predisposition to cruciate injuries, hereditary predisposition to glaucoma, heart problems and Wobblers. Ask if any of the parents’ siblings have had these problems.

6. Health guarantee – no breeder can be sure that a puppy will not develop one of the health problems which are common in the breed but they should be willing to take responsibility if it does and refund the purchase price without insisting you return the dog. You should receive a comprehensive health guarantee when you purchase the dog.

7. Activity levels/working aptitude/ trainability – ask what the parents do on a daily basis and what they were like as pups. Some Boerboels need a job to do and plenty of exercise and training, others are happy with a more sedentary lifestyle.

8. Dog-aggression - some lines are more dog-aggressive than others. If this is a concern, e.g, you already have a dog or go regularly to a park where there are other dogs, ask if any close relatives are dog-aggressive.

Finally, responsible breeders only breed adult dogs. If either of the parents are less than 18 months, the breeders don’t care about the dogs and they don’t care about the people who buy their puppies.  Walk away!

You can contact any member of the UKBC committee to discuss any queries you may have or for further information about forthcoming litters, e-mail us here.