PITFALLS IN BOERBOEL IMPROVEMENT By Dr. Coen Bezuidenhout and Dr. Peter Milstein The year 1983 was a milestone in the development of South African’s own molossoid, the Boerboel. The concerned people who came together to form the SABT showed vision to preserve and improve the dog that had played a significant role (from 1652) as a working dog with the migration of the settler farmers into the interior. How successful was this venture to revive a breed, which was fast disappearing because of three major wars and a dramatic change of the face of South Africa? During the first tour by officials, to determine where suitable offspring of these pioneer dogs were still to be found, Messrs. Lucas van der Merwe and Jannie Bouwer covered 5500 km. 72 Dogs out of 250 were accepted as Boerboel types. The proliferation of Boerboel and breeders since 1990 is well known. Were the goals set for this new breed, achieved? 1. Type and uniformity: It is difficult to ascertain what the standards were that the early appraisers set for themselves. Even today, apart from a few specific characteristics of the head, the standard for the Boerboel allows for greater variation than in similar mollossoid breeds. Typical Boerboel characteristics allow for considerable divergence in size, type, weight, musculature, bone structure, proportions, profile, coat and colour. Even the term masculine and feminine is open to personal preference. It can be confirmed that a female that scored 72% in 1990 would with the present appraisal in the same association achieve close to 85%. It is also disturbing that outsiders often see a number of Boerboels together as representing different breeds. One would have expected the pioneer Boerboel to vary to a great extent. Uniformity in appearance did not progress sufficiently because of the “open” breed standard and lack of a single vision amongst breeders and appraisers. 2. Conformation: Variation in this respect manifest in bodies and limbs that are out of proportion and limbs that are often malformed. Undulating toplines, east-west forelegs and “cow” hocks, weak pasterns, and hind legs resembling stilts are today characteristic of certain studs or bloodlines. Such deformities were not accepted on the 1990 appraisal tour. How did these weaknesses come to be so abundant in the present Boerboel? It makes little sense to keep excellent specimens of the breed out in the cold because of “politics” but at the same time protect poor examples within a system for breeding purposes. 3. Movement and agility: The pioneer dogs were noted for their movement and agility. South Africa was not for the lame, the slow and the clumsy. Functionality formed the basis of survival of the Boerboel. Again dogs passed in 1990 were noted for easy movement. Many of today’s Boerboels are genetic disasters with oversized bodies and weak joints. Size and weight for age regrettable became key criteria in the past ten years. The general public eagerly accepted these criteria and pushed hundreds of new breeders in a direction that was never part of the pioneer dog. Commercialization limited the breed. 4. Temperament: The evidence from the past of the Boerboel tells of well-socialized family dogs that were especially fond of children. This is in contrast to what we often hear and read about the Boerboel attaching children, family members or innocent passersby when a gate is accidentally left open. What sounds almost unbelievable was the experience of a Boerboel owner from Durban. His two, six week old Boerboel puppies, which he has just received, growl at him when he feeds them. Many Boerboel owners from the eighties claim that they had seldom if ever, behavioral problems with their dogs then, but that dogs recently acquired were more unpredictable. Lack of decisive action to eliminate such dogs from breeding and their owners as breeders is a very serious drawback. Functional and structural weaknesses may in the long term discourage owners to keep a Boerboel as a pet. A large dog with temperamental problems has much wider implications than merely a concern for the immediate owner. The entire community will in the end have the final say, as is already happening in certain European countries. To summarize: The four categories evaluated in relation to the historical Boerboel viz. type, conformation, functionality and temperament show that progress were not what one would expect it to be. Perhaps the objectives as well as the breed standard were not well and clearly defined, and other forces were allowed to divert the main issue of breed improvement onto an obscure sideline. A high premium was put on appraisals to guide the improvement of the Boerboel. However, we are compelled to retain the basics of the breed in a scientifically and organized way. The breed can be improved, indeed, but should never be changed according to the current whims of commercial breeders. boerboelenthusiast.ning/forum/topics/pitfalls-in-boerboel-improvement
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 15:12:13 +0000
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