BOERBOEL
The Boerboel (pronounced [ˈbuːrbul]) is a South African breed of large dog of mastiff type, used as a family guard dog. It is large, with a short coat, strong bone structure and well-developed muscles.
It is recognised by the Kennel Union of Southern Africa, but not by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
HISTORY
The name Boerboel derives from the Afrikaans words boer, meaning farmer, and boel, a shortening of boelhond, meaning bulldog.
The Boerboel descends from an old colonial cross-breed of mastiffs and bulldogs used both as a guard dog on remote farms and estates and for big game hunting, and known as the Boer Dog 618 or Boer Hunting Dog. An account from 1909 describes this cross-breed as the best dog for hunting leopards and baboons in packs; a leopard with a leg caught in a trap can be killed by a pack of them.186 The Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa describes the Boer Mastiff as an excellent fighter; one killed leopards in four single combats over a number of years, but was killed by a fifth.
Breeding of the Boerboel began in the 1950s. A breed association, the Suid-Afrikaanse Boerboel Telersvereniging or South African Boerboel Breeders Association, was established in 1983. A new association, the South African Boerboel Breeders' Society, was formed in 2012 and registered with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2014.