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Boerboel

The breeds · working

AKC Working · UKC Guardian

Boerboel.

AKC standard: 'developed as a general farm dog for the pioneers who settled in South Africa since the seventeenth century... often the first line of defense against predators and... valuable in tracking and holding down wounded game'. UKC: a utilitarian farm dog; 'early mastiff-types' were used for work that required a large animal held in place, or in the hunting of big game; 'valuable in guarding households and accompanying hunters and farmers'; 'the guarding breed of choice amongst current day farmers'; the breed 'must be preserved as a working dog' and the standard includes the full range of sizes needed for working and Performance events; declared an indigenous landrace protected under South Africa's Animal Improvement Act. Wikipedia: descends from the colonial Boer Dog (mastiff and bulldog types) used as a farm and estate guard and for big game hunting; not recognised by FCI; recognised by the Kennel Union of Southern Africa; SABBS is the registrar under the Act..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

26 / 24INHeightdogs 26, bitches 24. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
150–200LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 150 to 200 lb; breed bitches 150 to 200 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 26 in (23 to 27) · bitches 24 in (21 to 25)

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Center is UKC's printed ideal (24 in), matching the 61 cm ideal Wikipedia relays. The UKC minimum (21 in) and Wikipedia minimum (22 in) differ.

Weight

dogs 150 to 200 lb · bitches 150 to 200 lb

Breed clubAKC

Single AKC page range counts for both sexes.

Coat

UKC: sleek, short, smooth, dense; brown (tan, red) or fawn, brindle, piebald, Irish marking; optional black mask; black-and-tan, liver, ticking and blue/dilute are disqualifications. AKC standard: long coat disqualifies. Wikipedia: red, brown, yellow, solid or brindled; KUSA does not accept black but SABBS does.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · UKC: coat sleek, short, smooth and dense; skin thick, loose, darkly pigmented. AKC standard and Wikipedia: short sleek dense coat.

DerivedUnited Kennel Club

Derived from a short dense single coat (4). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC page bands: energy level 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 4 of 5, playfulness 3 of 5, trainability 4 of 5, watchdog/protective nature 5 of 5. AKC standard: 'strength, suppleness, nimbleness and agility' at play or work.

Breed clubAKC

Registry ratings, not minutes; no RKC page for this breed was found.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC page bands: coat grooming frequency 2 of 5, shedding level 3 of 5, drooling level 3 of 5. Short smooth coat per the standards.

Breed clubAKC

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: 'developed as a general farm dog for the pioneers who settled in South Africa since the seventeenth century... often the first line of defense against predators and... valuable in tracking and holding down wounded game'. UKC: a utilitarian farm dog; 'early mastiff-types' were used for work that required a large animal held in place, or in the hunting of big game; 'valuable in guarding households and accompanying hunters and farmers'; 'the guarding breed of choice amongst current day farmers'; the breed 'must be preserved as a working dog' and the standard includes the full range of sizes needed for working and Performance events; declared an indigenous landrace protected under South Africa's Animal Improvement Act. Wikipedia: descends from the colonial Boer Dog (mastiff and bulldog types) used as a farm and estate guard and for big game hunting; not recognised by FCI; recognised by the Kennel Union of Southern Africa; SABBS is the registrar under the Act.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

Hunting is historical in all three. Landrace and registrar facts are UKC's and Wikipedia's.

Primary game

AKC standard: wounded game (tracking and holding down). UKC: big game. Wikipedia: big game; an 1909 account it cites (Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope, not opened) describes the Boer Dog as the best dog for hunting leopards and baboons in packs, and a 1971 encyclopaedia anecdote of one dog killing leopards in four single combats.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

The leopard and baboon lines are Wikipedia's relay of sources not opened.

Also used on

AKC standard: predator defence on the farm. UKC: guarding livestock and families against predators and intruders, accompanying hunters and farmers, performance events, urban family guardian. Wikipedia: family guard dog.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Search pattern

AKC standard: tracking and holding down wounded game. UKC: holding a large animal in place; accompanying hunters. Wikipedia: used in packs on leopards and baboons in the 1909 account it cites. No source describes a voice or cry on the line.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

Single work (tracking and holding) and pack work are both attested historically; present-day hunting practice is not described in any source read.

Field trial standard

No FCI standard. UKC: the standard 'includes the full range of sizes needed for working, including Performance events'. No hunting test or title named in AKC, UKC or Wikipedia text read.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

38.9% · 723 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 38.9% dysplastic (mild 25.6, moderate 11.6, severe 1.7), 59.3% normal. Hips rank 15 of the OFA table, among the highest dysplasia rates.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners who test and submit), so normal results are over-represented and the real population rate is likely higher. Hips rank 15 in the OFA table (rank 1 = highest dysplasia).

Elbow dysplasia

34.1% · 706 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026; 34.1% abnormal (grade 1 18.8, grade 2 10.5, grade 3 4.8), 65.6% normal. Elbows rank 8 of the OFA table, among the highest abnormal rates.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners who test and submit), so normal results are over-represented and the real population rate is likely higher. Elbows rank 8.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: may develop hip or elbow dysplasia, vaginal hyperplasia, ectropion and entropion; juvenile epilepsy observed. UKC: entropion and ectropion are disqualifications. OFA: see the hip and elbow rows; both are among the highest dysplasia rates in the table.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial; Wikipedia's health lines cite South African and UK club pages not opened.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 4; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 2; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
South African Boerboel, South African Mastiff

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