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Date Posted: 11:32:41 12/24/10 Fri
Author: Justin
Subject: Question

Hi everyone, first a little background so you know where I'm coming from. I've been interested in adding a Boerboel to my family for a while now and I'm probably still about a year or so away from seriously acting on it. Before I do anything I like to research it completely. So I've been researching them online and wow there is a lot of conflicting information about them so I thought I'd ask you guys as breeders or just owners about your experiences. I'm looking for #1 a family companion. I do lots of hiking, camping, and love the outdoors. I want a large, loyal dog who is stable, safe around children (even though I don't have any yet), and is safe or even indifferent to strangers. A dog who is friendly to non threatening strangers is fine but indifference is OK too. I would like a dog with protective instinct but honestly I wouldn't never rely on any dog as a major means of protection- I think that 99% of the time just having a dog is good enough and the other 1% of the time the person will probably have a gun/weapon and would be pretty determined so it won't matter. We are our "pack's" protectors, not the other way around. That said I would be interested in doing protection type sports (maybe Schutzhund)- to help produce a stable and well balanced dog and mainly for fun for me and the dog . I will also mention that I'm am not- nor would I ever be interested in breeding- so "looks" / confirmation to a standard- isn't that important me at all. Health and temperament would be most important. Oh and my experience with dogs- currently have an American bulldog- I have had a bull terrier growing up and a Dogue Du Bordeaux rescue a few years ago. Also I didn't do any of what I'm asking in my previous dogs and Leroy- my American Bulldog- has been a great dog that I bought right after college from a bad neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago that looking back on it was obviously in it to just make some quick money- but I feel I got "lucky" with him- health and temperament wise. However I never did anything outside of obedience and some agility with him.

I would eventually like to narrow my search down to a few breeders and then wait for the right opportunity.

So here are my questions- again any feedback is very much appreciated.

1. How are breeders measuring temperament in the parents? Don't most breeding dogs live in a kennel? Do any breeders measure temperament off their yard (no home field advantage then)with a third party? My opinion is that the temperament of the parents have a lot to do with the temperament of the pups. Socialization and early training is very important but so is the genetic makeup. Every website I read says they have "working Boerboel", "natural protectors", "fearless- self assured" and on and on. How does one test this? Or do you just believe it and roll the dice and see what you get? As a potential buyer one day how do I know if this is true without traveling all over the country- for those that are just owners did you worry about this? I haven't seen to many breeder website with titled dogs in anything (agility, obedience, protection sports, etc.). How does one know if you are being sold "snake oil"- seems like every breeder is selling on "history" of the breed and not their dogs. Don't get me wrong- I will obviously go to the breeders house when I purchase- if in the USA- but even then I hate to drive 500 miles or farther without some sort of way to research it first. Any advice or experiences?

2. Hips- wow talk about confusing! FCI, Penn Hip, SV, Kusa, BVA- all different types of scoring. Most breeders seem to guarantee 2-2 and D hips by 18 months or 2 years. Isn't that moderate hip dysplasia? Grant it my American bulldog Leroy is 12 years old now and as I do research on this I see that he has hip dysplasia- his back legs are pretty close together. I don't remember it like it 5 years ago and I'm sure it gets worse with age. He has never had any problems moving around- but at 2-2 or D- with that being considered "moderate" does that cause pain and movement problems at 2 years or age? Is hip dysplasia at some level a "given" in Boerboels? What has been your experiences with this? It seems like something I should be worried about.

3. Puppy testing- how many breeders test the temperaments of the puppies before placing them? And what methods do they or did they use? I would think the majority of responsible breeders would want to place the puppies in the right homes (or at least attempt to). For just the owners on here was this your experience and for the breeders do you do this and how?

Thanks a lot! And Merry Christmas!

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