The Boerboel is very special and unique dog. For it's size the Boerboel is a very agile and active dog. To make sure that this magnificent breed live a long happy and healthy life there are a few tips we would like to share with you.

A specialized diet must be considered from an early age. It's important to not feed puppies puppy food because it is too enriched with nutrients and protein. This causes the young pups bodies to grow at an accelerated rate that the bones cannot keep up with. This potentially can cause future health problems. We recommend adult dog food. We feed our young Boerboels a raw meat diet along with their dry food and we always saturate the dry food with water so that once the dry food swells in their stomachs they will have had enough water in the food. This is in case someone or something accidentally spills a water bowl. Accidents happen!

At about 3 months of age along with regular exercise (not too much exercise) we give the pups one Glucosamine Sulfate with Chondroitin tablet/capsule once a day with their food to help them later in life with their joints. This is very important because for the Boerboel size it acts like a small dog. With lots of jumping, twists and turns their joints take allot of stress. The Glucosamine Sulfate with Chondroitin helps to replemish the warn joints. The pups are given a raw soup bone to chew, which in turn helps to clean their teeth, and it also keeps a naughty puppy quiet for a while. Boerboels tend to drink allot of water while they are growing, so always have lots of water around.

We have found that Boerboels get Hotspots (allergic reaction) from additives in some dog food. Food containing wheat and corn meal for example tend to bring the hotspots on. Boerboels are also prone to ear infections. Regular ear cleaning will solve the problem that can become very uncomfortable for your pet. Talk to your vetenarian for recommended dog food and cleaning routines.

It is highly recommended that your Boerboel should be socialized with people and other dogs at a young age. The Boerboel tends to be a dominant dog so you want to make sure you don't let any bad habits go on for too long. Any aggressive behavior should be immediately addressed. Once a Boerboel is matured it will be very hard to reverse any troubling behavior, so please make sure that you know what you are getting into before you bring a Boerboel into the family. Remember, the Boerboel is not the dog for everyone.