Boerboel — breed standard (AKC: size, coat, temperament, type)

Boerboel — breed standard (AKC: size, coat, temperament, type)

Claims

• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* A large South African mastiff developed from farm dogs of the seventeenth-century settlers; protective, calm, stable and confident, it is strong and muscular with powerful free-flowing movement.
• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Preferred height is 24–27 inches for dogs and 22–25 inches for bitches; the body is slightly longer than tall in roughly a 10-to-9 ratio, and balance matters more than absolute size.
• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The short dense coat is shiny and smooth; colours include red, brown, reddish brown, fawn and cream, plus brindle (in any accepted colour) and Irish marking, with a black mask preferred and only limited clear white on the legs and forechest.
• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The head is blocky, broad, deep and square, with fully black nostrils; the eyes are medium and preferably dark brown.
• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Temperament is dominant and clever, with a strong guarding instinct and an eagerness to please; calm and confident, sometimes aloof, yet affectionate with family.
• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Faults include being severely out of proportion, reversal of sex characteristics, and yellow (bird-of-prey) eyes.
• *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Disqualifications: blue eye(s), entropion or ectropion, undershot beyond ¼ inch or overshot bite, wry mouth, prick ears, a blue (powder) coat, a base colour not listed, a long coat, a nose leather not black, and white exceeding 33 percent of the dog (or ticking within the white).