Boerboel Grooming

About the Boerboel

A South African farm guardian, and one of the heaviest dogs you will meet: a mature male runs to two hundred pounds of solid muscle.

The coat is genuinely easy. Short, dense, smooth and close lying, needing a rubber curry mitt once a week, a bath every couple of months, and nothing cut, stripped or clipped.

Everything difficult about grooming a Boerboel is the size and the temperament, and neither is fixable at the appointment.

A dog that outweighs the groomer cannot be made to accept nails, ears or a bath. It either learned to accept them as a puppy or it did not, and there is no technique that substitutes.

The other practical fact, as with the Dogo Argentino, is that some jurisdictions restrict the breed and some businesses decline it on insurance grounds. Check locally before you need to.

Handling is taught at twenty pounds, not two hundred

This is the whole page and it belongs first.

A Boerboel puppy weighs twenty pounds and is easy to hold. An adult weighs up to two hundred and is not, and no amount of restraint, muzzling or patience makes an unhandled adult accept something it has decided against.

So from the week the puppy arrives: handle the feet daily, touch the nails with clippers without cutting, look in the ears, open the mouth, run a brush over the body, and stand the dog still.

Do it every day until it is boring, and keep doing it once a week for life.

The payoff is a dog a veterinarian can examine and a groomer can work on, which for a breed this size is the difference between routine care and sedation.

Most Boerboels are groomed at home or on the floor rather than on a table, since lifting one is not realistic.

A hydraulic table that lowers to the ground is what a salon needs, and it is worth asking whether they have one before booking.

The five minute coat, and the skin under it

Rubber curry mitt weekly, over the whole dog. It lifts loose hair, spreads the oils and takes five minutes even at this size.

Shedding is moderate and constant with a heavier seasonal change.

Bathe every couple of months with a plain shampoo, and rinse thoroughly. Bathing a two hundred pound dog is a two person job and it is much easier outdoors in warm weather.

Do not clip.

The loose skin at the neck and the modest folds around the muzzle need checking and drying, though the Boerboel is far less wrinkled than a Neapolitan Mastiff or a Dogue de Bordeaux and does not need daily fold cleaning.

Drool is moderate rather than extreme. Wipe the jowls after drinking.

Nails are thick and grow fast on a heavy dog that is not on hard ground much, so a grinder is usually easier than clippers, and every three to four weeks.

Ears are drop, so check weekly and dry after bathing.

Weight, joints and heat

A giant breed carries its problems in the joints and the heart, and weight makes all of them worse.

Keep the dog genuinely lean. Feel for ribs monthly and weigh rather than eyeballing, since heavy bone and muscle hide gain completely.

Hip and elbow dysplasia are common enough in the breed that a breeder should be screening for both, and a young Boerboel should not be jumping in and out of vehicles or doing forced roadwork while the joints are still growing.

Heat is a real hazard. A very heavy dark coated dog cools poorly, and a warm salon plus a dryer plus the stress of handling adds up.

Ask for a cool room, breaks and water, and book early in the day in summer. The breed is not brachycephalic, so the risk is lower than for a Dogue, but the mass is greater.

Life span is short at nine to eleven years, which is normal for the size and worth knowing before buying.

Bloat is a genuine emergency in a deep chested dog and worth reading about in advance.

Restrictions, and calling ahead

The Boerboel is restricted or banned in a number of places, including Denmark and parts of Europe, and it faces local ordinances in some US municipalities as well as refusals from some insurers, landlords and airlines.

As with the Dogo Argentino, the practical consequence is that some salons, boarding kennels and daycare businesses decline the breed on insurance grounds regardless of the individual dog.

Check your own jurisdiction rather than this page. Breed specific legislation is statute, it varies by country, state and city, and it changes.

Call a salon before turning up. It saves an awkward conversation and it is not a judgment on your dog.

Homeowner and renter insurance is worth checking before buying rather than after.

The temperament, properly raised and socialized, is confident and calm rather than reactive, and Boerboels are typically very attached to their families. But they are guardians by function and naturally wary of strangers on their own ground, which matters for a mobile groomer coming to the house.

Meet a mobile groomer outside and go in together.

What to tell your groomer

Say the weight honestly, since one hundred and fifty pounds changes what equipment is needed.

Ask whether they have a hydraulic table that lowers to the ground.

Say the dog is a guardian and wary of strangers on its own property, especially for a mobile groom.

Ask for a cool room, breaks and water, since a heavy dark dog cools poorly.

Ask for a mitt, nails with a grinder, ears and jowls. Nothing gets cut.

Call before booking, since some salons decline the breed on insurance grounds.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Boerboel