There is enough blame to go around and yet still no accurate temperament test for this breed. How often have we heard I can control my Boerboel just with my voice so I don't see the need to train him while he is in drive because he is loves everybody. Maybe the owner of that dog said the same thing. Please go to this link
www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9186532&nav=HMO6HMaY for the latest incident, or maybe this article from South Africa. Regards Norman
Is there a crisis with Boerboel aggression?
Crisis of aggression = Crisis of denial
The Boerboel associations, breeders and many owners deny any problem with aggression at all. Their assertion is that the occasional published attacks by Boerboel dogs are due to cross-breeding the Boerboel with 'aggressive dog breeds', backyard breeders, unregistered dogs and maybe external behavioural factors.
The statics point out a different reality. Not only are there a number of attacks upon especially children and the elderly, but there are an incidence of fatal attacks by Boerboel dogs, not upon strangers, but upon their owners. And a common thread in many fatal attacks are how the Boerboel dogs were always faithful, loving family friends before the attacks.
Can the above viewpoints be reconciled? What is going on? And has the Boerboel turned from family friend into a killer breed?
I have been involved with the Boerboel long enough to know that at this point, I have made many enemies by writing the above paragraphs. And what is more, I will step on a few more 'sacred toes' before long! For the record, my personal view is that the Boerboel is not a killer, aggressive dog breed. But, I want to sound the alarm siren, loud and clear!
There is a crisis, not looming, but here and now, and owners are being killed by their loving pets. Unless everybody with a stake in the Boerboel, from the owners that share a decade of their lives with their dearest animal friends, to the breeders and associations that have a financial interest in the breed, take responsibility for this breed, the alternative will have disastrous consequences for the Boerboel. Let me be clear on this: The Boerboel did not deserve this fate - it is a human problem, as I will illustrate in this article, not a dog problem.
Allow me to illustrate what will happen unless everybody involved with the Boerboel dog breed takes responsibility for the crisis of aggression. At the very least the Boerboel will become known as an aggressive, dangerous dog breed. That is already happening, there are authortitative, and highly respected, veterinarians that host radio talk shows on animal behaviour that publicly state that people must be suicidal to keep Boerboels as pets. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of families that are taking their loving family pets, their Boerboel dogs, to be euthenised. A single SPCA in Bloemfontein has reported euthenising hundreds of Boerboels. On the other side of the coin, private security companies are scrambling to get hold of Boerboel dogs due to its percieved aggressive qualities. People looking for family pets are very hesitant to choose the Boerboel and I can fully sympathise with their concerns. As several reports on this website illustrate, large amounts are being claimed from Boerboel owners as compensation for dog attacks and there is a developing trend of such claims becoming more frequent. As a result, it is a risk simply to keep a Boerboel unless you have excellent personal liability cover! Because of the aggressive reputation of the Boerboel, criminal liability may also become a factor in Boerboel attacks - you know the dog is dangerous and can kill, thus you may be criminally liable for the attack and the charge could very well become attempted manslaughter or worse. The state will definitely become involved in due course. Already a prominent parliamentarian has publicly called for stricter control of dangerous animals after a report of a five-year-old boy being killed on his bicycle by his neighbours Boerboel. Once the reputation as a killer dog breed has been 'earned' or 'assigned', it is not going to disappear within a single human generation! Already people with negative interests in dogs, specifically dog fighting and aggressive attack training are taking an active look at the Boerboel. Anecdotal reports are that Boerboel 'puppy farms' in Kroonstad have a glut of two-to-six-month-old Boerboel puppies that they simply cannot sell! On the other side of the 'breeding coin', the smart money will leave the Boerboel breed in search of a more marketable and acceptable dog breed. While this sounds like a nightmare scenario for the Boerboel, the reality is that every single factor, with the exception (perhaps) of criminal liability, is or has already happened!
The customary response to dog aggression has been to point fingers. If a Boerboel attack is investigated, fingers are pointed to cross breeding, backyard breeders, mishandling, instigation or whatever. Just don't ever acknowledge any responsibility. The time has come to point fingers at ourselves. Boerboel 'insiders' have known about this problem for a long, long time! Many Boerboel 'insiders' have seen the video clip of a senior appraiser making his escape from a dog about to bite him by running backwards on his hands and feet with his back to the ground. I have yet to learn whether that dog was disqualified, or whether it was appraised? Hint: I would not be asking this question if it was known that the dog was disqualified, and if the dog had been disqualified, it would have been widely known! Most 'Boerboel insiders' have heard anecdotal reports of the well-known breeder that was attacked by his own champion dog and ended up being hospitalised. Another breeder has been injured by trying to stop a fight between two Boerboels. Many breeders know of a certain dog called 'X Oubaas' that appear in the bloodline of many aggressive dogs. I will certainly be sued if I reveal the 'X' portion of name (the aggressive behaviour of that breeder surpasses that of his dogs), but I invite anyone reading this article to phone any breeder who has been around for a while and ask them about that specific dog.
Yes, I would acknowledge that aggression has been a problem that has been around for a while and is not unknown to the Boerboel community. But, the time of taking responsibility for the problem is due. Aggression can no longer be denied. This problem is not unique to the Boerboel. There are many other dog breeds that have had similar problems, and they have taken a number of active measures to curtail and even erradicate the problem of aggression. But, the key phrase here is 'active measures'. The Boerboel community can no longer be passive about dog aggression!
There are many factors involved in aggression such as:
A genetic component
• The genetic component causing aggression should be viewed as a genetic disease - the single most import genetic condition! There are aggressive dogs and if both parents are aggressive, aggression will be carried over to the offspring.
• The way to counter the genetic component is through information. We cannot fight what we don't know about! We need to identify the aggressive ancestors and take measures to prevent aggression in future bloodlines. Information regarding all Boerboel geneaology has to be compiled, not just for breeding dogs belonging to a few associations. The breed is at stake!
• South Africans are increasingly demanding aggressive guard dogs due to a horrific crime wave. And there were Boerboel breeders who supplied the product demanded by the market with predictable results. In South Africa, the Boerboel breed at large is becoming more aggressive due to market demands. Sadly, in my experience this is not entirely limited to backyard breeders.
Environmental factors
• Any dog can be turned into a scared biting dog. I have seen a puppy that has been returned to a breeder because the children in that particular home has terrorised the poor animal. That specific eight-month-old animal was the most aggressive, unpredictable, biting fiend that I have ever seen. It was his only defense to bite and it took a considerable amount of training and effort to turn that dog around.
• The best bloodlines without aggressive genetic components could be placed in a situation where passersby tease the dog, where owners beat the dog, where other dogs dominate and terrorise, where human behaviour conflict with canine social behaviour. This is why over due course, every single bloodline will produce an aggressive animal, irrespective of genetics!
• The biggest single environmental factor is neglect. People have busy social and professional lives and do not have the time to attend to their dog. The dog is confined to a back yard which has the same effect upon the psyche of the dog as being chained up! For the life of me, I cannot imagine that the dog you take for a daily walk, and being socialise well, will ever bite it's owner. But, I can fully visualise some dogs being confined to small backyards, with minimum human interaction and mostly negative interaction at that, eventually biting someone, irrespective of the dog breed. Let's face it - Boerboel aggression is not a problem outside of South Africa and South Africans are renowned for neglecting their animals. And there will be people contradicting this statement - when last did anyone see any dog being taken for a walk in the average South African suburb?
• A dog that is being beaten will most probably submit to the canine response of striking back - it is not a coincidence that a sjambok (a stiff type of whip used in South Africa) factors in many of the reported Boerboel attacks - especially the serious attacks.
Lack of knowledge as a contributary factor
• There are situations that will trigger canine responses. The owners have to be made aware of those situations. Certainly distress and human emotion is carried over and picked up by their canine companions. And in a serious panic, the canine will not ask questions but will react, unless conditioned by it's owner to behave otherwise - that is why dog training and socialisation is a necessity!
• Many attacks are upon children, the elderly, black people and specifically black women. There are reasons why these groups are vulnerable to canine attacks. It is not coincidental that these groups are vulnerable groups of humans that are unlikely to be viewed by dogs as pack leaders. Furthermore, they are likely to project a fear response to canine aggression and they are prone to a high-pitched vocal response.
• At the point of people returning home a highly charged situation arises whereby dogs are extremely exited to see their human 'pack' return. There is a lot of confusion, people exiting vehicles, noises, foreign and alarming smells and from the canine point of view the situation is out of control. The humans either ignore and shoo away the dog or over-enthusiastically praise and welcome the dogs. The proper response would be to remain passive for a minute, calming the canine down, regaining control over the dog and to defuse the situation. In the situation of people returning home, I have personally witnessed dogs turning on other dogs, dogs rushing out into the street in attack mode and dogs threatening children. This is a canine situation, not limited to the Boerboel! People should be made aware of the risk situation.
• Owners have to educate themselves! It is clear that a significant number of the 'seemingly inexplicable' or 'freak attacks' and some of the most serious canine attacks result from lack of knowledge.
• Dogs will be dogs. And dogs are dangerous, they have a sharp end and predictable behaviour and responses. And the larger the dog, the more serious the consequences of predictable canine behaviour. Dogs are not toys, playthings, and fashionable accessories! People forget that dogs bite, they don't realise the risk and they don't acquaint themselves with knowledge concerning their canine companions.
Every single attack could have been prevented and every single future attack is preventable
• But, only if everyone involved with the Boerboel takes responsibility and actively works towards controling and preventing Boerboel aggression.
As a conclusion, aggression in Boerboels have to be acknowledged and concrete steps have to be taken to deal with the situation. The actual situation is not out of control, contrary to what media reports may indicate. Lets asume for a moment (without any actual statical basis to back this assumption) that 10 people get bitten out of a canine population of 1,000 dogs. And that one of the ten canine attacks are serious and require hospitalisation. If a specific population of a dog breed has 1,000 members, one attack will feature in the press. If the dog breed becomes massively popular, and the same statistical incidence remains, there will be 10 serious reported attacks for a population of 100,000 dogs. It is my conviction that this is exactly what has happened to the Boerboel. More dogs equal more canine attacks. However, this does not negate the Boerboel community, the breeders, the associatons, and most importantly the Boerboel owners, from being responsible for Boerboel aggression. A single attack is one attack too many! A predictable sequence of conditions will have a predictable canine response. Education, training and the disemmination of information has to be seen as a priority.
Please keep searching for more, never give up.