Dopper Brutus, 86.3%, HD 0/0, owned by Saaymaster Boerboels.
Picture by Sascha Ernst, Akira Boerboels - South Africa.

BREED STANDARD BY SABT
Suid Afrikaanse Boerboel Telersvereniging

1. GENERAL APPEARANCE
The Boerboel is a large, strong dog. He is well balanced with well-developed muscles, has resilient movement; is an impressive and imposing figure of strenght. Male dogs appear more masculine and female dogs more feminine.

2. IMPORTANT BODY PROPORTIONS
The Boerboel is a perfectly balanced dog with all body parts in proportion.

3. TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER QUALITIES
The Boerboel is reliable, obedient and intelligent with good watchdog instincts. He is also self-confident without fear.

4. HEAD
The head is one of the most important characteristics of the Boerboel as it represents the whole character of the Boerboel. The head is short, wide, large and strong with well filled cheeks and the section between the eyes must also be full.

5. OCCIPUT
The cranial roof is wide and flat with prominent musculature.

6. FACE
The face must symmetrically melt together with the head. With or without a black mask.

6.1 STOP
The stop is visible but not prominent.

6.2 NOSE
The nose is black only with large, widely spaced nostrils.

6.3 MUZZLE
The muzzle is straight and in line with the occiput.
The muzzle is deep, wide and slightly narrows at the sides towards the front.
The muzzle bone is between 8 and 10 cm long.

6.4 LIPS
The top lip is loose and fleshy and does not hang past the bottom jaw.
The top lip (underneath the nose) must cover the bottom lip.
The bottom lip is not too loose and fleshy - in other words: it should not have excessive lip.

6.5 JAWS
The jaws are strong, deep and wide and slightly narrow at the sides towards the front.

6.6 TEETH
The teeth are white, well developed, correctly spaced and complete with a prominent scissor bite.

6.7 EYES
The colour of the eyes can be any shade of brown, but darker than the coat. The eyes must be set on the same horizontal level. They are widely spaced, with firm, well-pigmented eyelids.

6.8 EARS
The ears are medium sized, V-shaped and in proportion to the head. They are set quite high and wide. When attentive, the top of the ears must form a straight line with the occiput.

7. NECK

7.1 PROFILE
The neck forms a noticeable muscle arch with a high attachment at the shoulders.

7.2 LENGHT
The neck is of average lenght and in proportion to the rest of the body.

7.3 SHAPE
The neck is strong and muscular and firmly attached to the head.
This attachment gradually broadens towards the shoulders.
The neck forms a unit with the head and the shoulders.

7.4 SCRUFF OF THE NECK
The scruff of the neck is loose from under the chin and thightens up between the front legs.

8. BODY
The body of the Boerboel slightly narrows at the loins.

8.1 TOPLINE
The topline is straight.

8.2 BACK
The back is straight, wide and in proportion, with prominent back muscles and a short loin.

8.3 CROUP
The croup is wide, strong with well-defined musculature.

8.4 CHEST
The chest is strong and muscular.
The chest is wide and placed deep between the front legs, with an well attached and rounded ribcage.
The width of the ribcage is in promportion to the chest.

8.5 TAIL
The tail is set high. It is straight and preferably short (three segments). Long tails are permissible.

9. FOREQUARTER
The forequarter is strong and muscular and in proportion to the rest of the dog.

9.1 SHOULDERS
The shoulders are well attached, with well-defined musculature and with the correct angle.

9.2 UPPER ARMS
The upper arms have well-defined musculature.

9.3 ELBOWS
The elbows are parallel with the body.

9.4 FRONT LEGS
The front legs are thick, strong and straight with well-defined musculature.

9.5 FRONT PASTERNS
The front pasterns are thick, strong, of medium lenght and a vertical extension of the front legs and pasterns joints.

9.6 FRONT PAWS
The front paws are large, well padded and ball shaped with strong, curved dark toe-nails.
The front paws must point forward.

10. HINDQUARTER
The hindquarter is strong, firm and muscular in proportion to the rest of the body and with the ability to move effectively.

10.1 UPPER THIGHS
The upper thighs are wide, deep, well formed and muscular.

10.2 SECONDARY THIGHS (GASKINS)
The secondary thighs are well-developed with prominent musculature.

10.3 KNEES
The knees are strong and firm with the correct angle.

10.4 HOCK JOINTS
The hock joints are strong and firm with the correct angle.

10.5 HOCKS (BACK)
The hocks are relatively short, strong and thick. The back hocks are parallel with one another.
Any dewclaws must be removed.

10.6 BACK PAWS
The back paws are slightly smaller than the front paws. They are well padded and well formed and point straight to the front.
The toe nails are strong, curved and dark in colour.

11. MOVEMENT
The movement of the Boerboel is comfortable, smooth, strong and purposeful with good drive by the hindquarter and parallel movement of the legs. During movement the straight topline is fixed.

12. SKIN
The skin is thick, loose and well pigmented with slight wrinkles on the brow when the dog is attentive.

13. COAT

13.1 The coat is short and smooth with dense pelt.

13.2 The recognized colours are yellow, tawny, reddish-brown, brown and all shades of brindle.

14. SIZE

14.1 MALE DOGS
The ideal size of the male dog is 66 cm. The hight can vary between 64 cm and 70 cm, although there is no longer a limit on the hight of the male Boerboel, as long as the dogs stays in balance.

14.2 BITCHES
The ideal height of the bitch is 61 cm. The height can vary between 59 cm and 65 cm.

15. GENERAL HEALTH
As a result of natural selection the general health of the Boerboel meets high standards.

16. PIGMENTATION
The Boerboel is well pigmented, especially the lips, eyes, foot pads, toe-nails and genitals.

HISTORY
The Boerboel is a large, strong and intelligent working dog that has been bred in Africa since approximately the 17th century. Various mastiff-type dogs from Europe as well as large dogs from Africa contributed to the development of the breed. Typical breed qualities of the Boerboel show a remarkable resemblance with the Syrian dogs of the period up to 700 BC.


17. DISQUALIFICATIONS

17.1 A dog that is too small.
17.2 A dog that is too big.
17.3 An overly aggressive dog.
17.4 A too small and nondescript head.
17.5 A liver-coloured nose.
17.6 A mouth that bites more than 1 cm short.
17.7 A noticeable overbite.
17.8 A narrow mouth.
17.9 A long mouth.
17.10 A sharp mouth.
17.11 Blue eyes.
17.12 Vertical ears.
17.13 A too narrow chest.
17.14 Bandy legs.
17.15 A hollow back.
17.16 Serious cow hocks.
17.17 Sickle hocks.
17.18 Straight hocks.
17.19 Clumsy and unbalanced movement.
17.20 Any sign of another dog breed.
17.21 A piebald dog without sufficient pigmentation.
17.22 A piebald dog without any of the five acceptable colours around both eyes and on both ears.