About
This blog is dedicated to the Boerboel, in particular our young male Boerboel pup and his journey from 25kg, 16 wk old, see thing chew thing, furry alligator to assistance dog for my severely disabled partner. We will give a warts-n-all picture of our experiences, our problems and the solutions we find to deal with them. Hopefully it will be of some use to new Boerboel owners, those who are thinking of buying a Boerboel, owners of Mastiffs, Mastiff pups or large energetic dogs of any breed.
My Little Boerboel 
Hello
I have a five month old BB . We love him and he loves alot . When will he start showing the protective instict. He is very friendly to everyone . I have read that it might take longer in some BB to show it . Is this common? What is the best dog food to feed my big boy as a pup and when he turns into a adult.thank you
Darryl
May 4, 2013 at 4:44 am
Hi Darryl
Boerboels are incredibly friendly dogs, they love everyone and everyone loves them. Our new pup started to exhibit some protective instincts at about 6 months. The protective behaviour is quite subtle, he places himself between us and anything he isn’t sure about, we tell him it’s OK and he relaxes and goes about his business. Now he is of the age where he generally looks to us if he is unsure about anything, if we dont give off a worried vibe then he is cool.
As far as food is concerned we always try to feed our dogs a BARF diet, I have info on this blog about feeding raw food and bones. If you cant do that then you should give him a good kibble like EVO or ACANA.
Best wishes to you and your puppy.
Christina
Christina
May 5, 2013 at 11:55 pm
HI,
I have a 20 week Boerboel who is showing protective signs all ready. She barks aggressively at people and other dogs whenever we are waling in the wooded area near our home. She occasionally acts that way towards our neighbors when she is outside and they are as well. Any suggestions of how to get her to relax in unfamilar situations?
joe
November 12, 2016 at 1:18 am
Hi Joe, Thank you for your post.
To start with I would engage with a positive re-enforcement trainer as with such a young pup that is all you need.
without seeing her what she does, but considering her age, I would suggest that it is more to do being unsure of her surroundings and about these strange people. Cure for that is to take her out and about, being around people and strange noises, standard socialicing. When it comes to your neighbourg there might well be protection kicking in, she needs to learn that they are OK and nothing to be worried about.
Keep engaging her, rewarding good behaviour, one of the mistakes people do is that they expect their dog to interact and be happy to be patted by strangers. Its fine if you have a dog that likes to do that but it should always be a choice done by the dog herself.
Christina
November 12, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Hi, I’ve just discovered your blog and I am happy I have!! What drew me to your Riley was the UNCANNY resemblance to our young puppy, female, Star. She is just 13 weeks old but if you saw the pics, I am sure you would agree!! Please contact me, I would love to keep in touch and share stories. Take care, Danielle
pastelattic
November 22, 2014 at 9:12 am