Guide To Buying a Boerboel Puppy

Guide to Buying A Boerboel

Before purchasing a Boerboel puppy, potential owners must consider several crucial decisions, including evaluating their living space and lifestyle, understanding the breed's specific needs and characteristics, and ensuring they can commit to long-term training and care for this powerful and protective breed.

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Guide to Buying A Boerboel

Do Your Research

Owning a Boerboel (like any other dog) is a responsibility and that responsibility includes making sure your puppy or dog comes from sound parents and responsible breeders. They are not throw away items!!! Know that you should be prepared to make a minimum of a 10 year commitment.

Make sure you are ready to own a large and dominant breed. This should be a whole family decision.
Be prepared to invest in the costs of your dog such as training, food, collars, leashes, travel expenses and veterinary care.
Research the breed carefully and remember that many breeders will romanticize their breed. Please review the page About The Boerboel. Here you will learn about Boerboel temperament, socialization and training requirements, and how to select an appropriate breeder.

ABOUT BOERBOELS PAGE

Only Buy From Ethical, Responsible Breeders

An Ethical breeder is one who breeds physically sound, healthy, mature dogs of stable temperament. Responsible breeders:

Value their reputation for seeking to preserve and improve the breed.
Are a member of the AKC affiliated Breed parent Club and have agreed to uphold the clubs Code of Ethics and adhere to the Breed Standard.
Have years of experience with the breed. Demonstrating extensive knowledge of the breed’s history, traits, temperament, and conformation is essential, but experience is what allows you to “connect the dots”. If involvement has been brief and puppies are already being produced approach with caution.
Evaluate the health of their dogs using standardized genetic and other testing recommended for their breed (Minimally; hip and elbow x-ray certification) prior to breeding a litter. Additionally cardiac testing, CERF eye testing, knees, and thyroid are all useful to gain a full picture of breeding stock. Thorough genetic screening enables responsible breeders to minimize their chances of producing a health-compromised puppy. Ask to see written proof of any testing results.
Personally screen and selects homes for their puppies, placing pups only with people who demonstrate they can provide safe, responsible homes. Provides advice and guidance to purchasers.
Provides a written guarantee covering genetic disease. Remember, even the best intentions do not always produce 100 percent guaranteed results. Defects sometimes occur, even with healthy parents and proper care. All these things should be take into consideration before the purchase, with an amicable written contract. Additionally, a 3 generation pedigree, record or inoculations and/or worming as well as registration papers should be provided with the puppy at the time of sell.
Takes back the dog at any point in his or her life for whatever reason the purchaser no longer wants or can care for the animal.
Places all pet quality animals (those that do not conform to the breed standard, including color) with a contract requiring the purchaser to spay/neuter the pup and registers them “restricted breeding”.
Are involved in some form of third party evaluation (obedience trials, conformation showing, herding, therapy work, dock diving, etc.) that enable responsible breeders to ensure that their dogs display the desired physical and behavioral traits desired for the particular breed. Not just spend their lives sitting in a kennel.

Additionally, the American Boerboel Club keeps an updated list of approved breeders. Check it out.

APPROVED BREEDER LIST

You Must Also Be Responsible

If you are a first-time buyer you should study the breed standard and have a picture in your head of what a good specimen of the breed looks like, what the allowable colors are and the breed’s historic function.
If you are a first-time buyer you should study the breed standard and have a picture in your head of what a good specimen of the breed looks like, what the allowable colors are and the breed’s historic function.
When you make your first contact with a breeder, remember that most breeders are hobbyists whose kennel is part of their home. So, please call ahead at a reasonable hour and make an appointment. If you do not feel comfortable with the answers you get from the breeder, politely thank them for their time and move on to the next breeder. Most breeders genuinely love dogs and will do their best to help you select the right puppy.
Do not base your judgment wholly on appraisal scores. They are one small part of a big picture and are extremely subjective.
Do not believe everything you hear from breeders or see on fancy websites. Check and double check the facts.
Do not believe that the Boerboel “loves everyone and every dog”. More often than not this is not the case.
Do not buy from a “producer”. Find a breeder that knows ALL their dogs inside out and wants a long term relationship with their puppy buyers.
Do not buy from a person who cannot demonstrate to you that they have invested time and effort in their own dogs and breeding program. Anyone can buy two dogs and put them together. Do they have any dogs who have obtained titles with known, reputable organizations? Do they participate in any activities with their dogs, such as Obedience, Rally, Herding, Schutzhund, conformation? If they do not, then how can they make any claims that their Boerboels will be as advertised?
Do not buy from breeders who advertise in places such as craigslist, puppy finder, Hoobly and other classified type advertisements. People who generally advertise in these areas generally have little to no investment in their breeding stock, do not screen buyers and will sell to anyone who can provide the money they are seeking. With a breed like the Boerboel, a strong, dominant dog, this is a recipe for disaster and where a great many of the “rescue” dogs are found to be from.

APPROVED BREEDER LIST

Organizations / Registrations

Ask of your breeder what organization they belong to and how their dogs are registered. Know that if your breeder in America registers his dogs with the AKC that a Code of Ethics and regulations will govern his ability to continue to breed under that registry’s name.

The American Kennel Club, founded in 1884, is the most recognized and premier registry in the United States. The integrity of their registry is unmatched. They are dedicated to promoting the sport of purebred dogs and breeding for type and function.

They AKC and its affiliated organizations advocate for the purebred dog as a family companion, advance canine health and well-being, work to protect the rights of all dog owners and promote responsible dog ownership.

If the registry your pup belongs to does not invest in your country and needs, as well in scientific advances, wellness programs and breeder support you may want to reconsider.

For a limited time the AKC will accept the registries of other organizations for AKC registration, the ABC (American Boerboel Club) and KUSA (Kennel Union of Southern Africa), with whom the AKC has a reciprocal agreement. Once this window of opportunity has closed, you will no longer be able to register Boerboels with the AKC. If your Boerboel is registered with any other registry, you will need to contact the ABC for information on possible registration with AKC.

BREED STANDARD