

| In this section I will put actual experiences I've had with my Boerboels. I tell these stories to help others understand what type of dog these Boerboels are and to help those considering this breed to better understand the power, intelligence and selfless determination inherent in the breed. My dogs are my heroes. They often save me from dangerous situations here on the farm. They are loyal, loving, intuitive, and fierce when needed. They are not a dog for everyone. Heroes are great to tell stories about, but the reality of what it takes to be a hero is sometimes more than the average person is willing to acknowledge. Just as we rely on our armed forces, our police and our firefighters to protect us from harm, the Boerboel was developed to protect and help farmers in South Africa. This rugged country required an equally rugged dog to protect against a wide assortment of dangers. They were required to help with the livestock and to protect their human family as they went about a working farm. They were bred to have a love for children, to protect with their life if necessary and with no thought to their own safety. A Boerboel is a very intelligent animal as a result of this breeding. They require an "alpha" owner and early obedience training. These stories are here for your entertainment...Enjoy! Denise Geranen |
| Rocky Comes Home Rocky was our first Boerboel. We adopted him from a vet clinic where he'd been abandoned by his owner a few months earlier. When I found out they were using him for blood transfusions and anything else their patients needed at the clinic, I couldn't let him stay there another day. Besides, his eyes spoke to me. I had never seen such intelligence reflected in a dog's eyes When I brought him home to the family he seem to know just how to greet each child. (We have 5) Rough enough for the boys, yet gentle with my daughter. He would quickly pick up on any game they wanted to play, no matter how stupid or inane. Rocky was excellent with guests and would play with all. We had someone doing some remodeling on our home. The man had been at our house daily for the last 2 weeks. Every day the man would play games with Rocky on his breaks and the two seem to be fast buddies. Until the day our deck in the back was to be torn down. With the first board knocked loose, Rocky stopped him with a growl. We had to put him up until the deck was done as, clearly, Rocky felt that man had no business tearing up our things! On another occasion, we had a salesman open up our storm door to pet Rocky. This man was also a play pal of Rocky's. He'd been coming to the house once a week for over a year and made it a point to play with Rocky for 30 minutes or more. This time, however, I didn't want to deal with the man so I didn't answer the door. Rocky barked to let me know someone was at the door. It was a bark that told me it was a familiar person. Suddenly that barking turned to a toe curling growl. I knew the man had opened the door. To Rocky, this was stepping over the line. I had not greeted the man, so he obviously was not welcome! Later that night, the saleman returned and told me if he didn't know Rocky so well, he would of thought the dog was going to bite him when he tried to open the door. I assured him that Rocky would have bitten him because he was not invited! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
| Kimber The Chicken Wrangler When we first moved to the farm, Kimber was about 8 months old. We had moved from town and it was a move she obviously approved of. The grass was high, the squirrels were thick and the pond was spring fed. What a life! There was a problem though...Ticks. Lots and lots of ticks. We had to do something and quick. Not wanting to use spray that might harm the dogs and cat, we opted for the natural choice...Chickens. With no adult chickens to be found, we ended up with a dozen little chicks. If you've never been around baby chicks, let me tell you about them. They cheep, they run (fast), they hop, they flutter their wings, they're always on the go. Every night I had to corral the little devils and put them in a coop for the night so the coyotes, raccoons, owls and any other varmint wouldn't serve them up for dinner. Kimber was always being a good girl and stayed back and watched me each evening, try to catch those chicks. A storm was moving in one afternoon and I was exasperated trying to hurry up and get those chicks put up. They weren't cooperating. I had just about decided to just let those little boogers ride out the storm on their own when I looked at Kimber who sat patiently watching everything. I thought what the hell and told her to get them. She did. Keep in mind she had watched me catch these chicks for a few weeks and she'd never missed a day. She didn't go after those chicks and try to eat them, which frankly, I expected she might do. She did push them toward the coop and around it's edges into my waiting hands! We made a team and got all but 1 into the coop. That last one though, was too fast for me. After 4 or 5 attempts and the rain starting to come down hard, I was ready to give up. I think Kimber sensed this and went after the chick, catching it under her paw. She held it for me until I got there! We spent the next 20 minutes in the barn waiting out the storm and telling her what a good girl she was! Since that day she has often help me put up the chickens and still catches them with her paw to hold them for me. Even when we later got another 20 chickens, she handled them like a pro. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
Shirley And The Bull Living in the country has its perks. Peace, quiet, nature, running streams, gentle winds, etc. But when you have a problem in the country, it's YOUR problem to deal with. There's little or no help unless you have good neighbors. But if your neighbors ARE the problem it can get really interesting. Our neighbors have cows...Correction...cows AND bulls. Bulls, not bull...as in more than one. (Try 4-5 bulls) There is not enough pasture for these cattle and as a result they often jump or plow over our adjoining fences. One day my daughter was visiting and heard the dogs going nuts outside. She went outside and waddled around the corner of the house (she was 9 months pregnant at the time). What she found was a VERY large Limousine bull running toward her with the dogs hot on it's heels. The bull saw an easy target in my daughter and went for her. Out of nowhere, Shirley cut him off and, attacking his head, she stopped him dead. He was less than 6 feet from my daughter. Shirley turned the bull and put him back over the fence. It wasn't until then that we noticed how badly she had been hurt. Now Shirley was no novice to handling these cows and would of never have gotten hurt moving them anywhere. But in this situation there was no time to do anything other than what she did in order to save my daughter. Shirley only stands about 24' at the shoulder and weighed at that time about 115 pounds. The bull's weight has been guessed at 1800-2000 pounds. What she did was, to me, nothing short of amazing, but the story doesn't stop there. We use an old dairy barn as a whelping barn. It sits high up off the ground. A couple of hours after the bull incident my daughter got on the ride on mower and started out into the field. We had put Shirley in the whelping barn to restrict her movements and to aid in her healing. She saw my daughter and crawled into a feed trough, part way up the wall and, reaching a window and pushed her body through shattering glass everywhere. Dropping about a story and a half, bleeding profusely from wounds caused by the glass, Shirley went after my daughter. Shirley clearly felt she needed to stay close and protect. After another visit to the vet, we finally conceded and hooked up the trailer to the lawn mower so that Shirley could go wherever my daughter went. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
SEE STORIES 2 FOR MORE |
| An Afternoon Nature Hike I often take dogs to a wildlife reserve where there are trails for horseback riding and hiking. One day I met a couple of riders with their border collie. The collie came running towards me and Shirley stepped in between. I'm sure the dog was not being aggressive but Shirley didn't like his approach. She warned him back with a low growl and when he didn't pay attention, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and pinned the dog to the ground. She did a slow squeeze on the dog's neck until he yelped submission. She then let him up and, still keeping her body between me and the dog, she let him go. I had never seen anything like this before although I had heard reports that some South Africans trained their Boerboels to catch goats this way. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |