The History of the Boerboel (Source: SABT) The Boerboel is South Africa's very own breed. Justifiably he takes his place with pride and is well known both in Southern Africa as well as overseas. This breed is as South African as Braaivleis and Biltong! Many texts have been written about the origin of the Boerboel. However, there are no assurances that the Boerboel is bred from one, or indeed from a few breeds of dogs. Somewhere between ten and twenty thousand years ago, humans domesticated dogs from wolves. Every dog - from the tiniest miniature Dachshund to the gentle giant Newfoundland and St. Bernard - are descended from a wolf-like ancestor. There are more than 400 breeds of dogs in the world today and all belong to one species, named Canis familiaris by Linnaeus in 1758. The dog is closely related to the wolf, the coyote, Canis latrans, and the jackal, Canus aureus, especially the Golden Jackal. Other members of the canid family, such as the fox, Vulpes Vulpes, the African Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus, and the Indian red dog, Cuon alpinus, are more distantly related In the seventh century before Christ, two kings reigned over Asia on separate occasions. Both kings used large dogs to hunt wild horses and lions. The existence of these kings, Asarhaddon and Ashurbani-pal, as well as their involvement with dogs can be seen in the Asian rooms at the well known British Museum. These large dogs of Asia were of great importance to their owners as well as being the symbol of the god Gula. These Asian dogs were, according to stone carvings, also a great deal larger and heavier than the breeds known today. Darvin, in one of his writings about this period, mentioned a large dog figure on the grave of King Asarhaddon's son. This statue dates back to the year 640B.C. From the works of Philemon Holland which he translated from Pliny's Natural History, 1601, there are various references to prominent persons who made use of large dogs for various reasons. In the same writings reference is made to Alexander the Great. The king of Albania gave a dog to Alexander the Great as a gift. Alexander was very impressed with this gigantic dog until he wanted to use him to hunt bears, thereafter wild boars and later reindeer. The dog was not interested in the least and stayed lying down. Alexander the Great, the mighty king, the well known conqueror, was livid with the laziness shown by this dog and immediately had him killed. News of this tragedy quickly reached the king of Albania. Without delay he sent a replacement to Alexander the Great with a message: "Do not waste the dog's time with small things. Give him a lion or elephant to fight with. Alexander followed these instructions and had the dog fight a lion. The lion's back was broken within seconds. An elephant followed and fell over a cliff after constant attacks from the dog from all sides. The elephant became panic-stricken and needed to escape. Other writings, which tell of dogs killing lions, are found in the works of Megasthenes, Aelien, Diodorus, Siculus, Strabo and Plutarch. A monarch who was in the service of king Louis IX of France, described in his "Travels of William de Rubruquis", how enormous the dogs of Albania were. Large enough to fight with dogs and bulls - even large enough to be hitched in front of wagons like oxen. These dogs of Asia and Albania were eventually spread over what we know today as Europe, the Far and Middle East and even into the British Islands. Various writings explain the existence of today's well-known breeds originating from these dogs in the time before and even after Christ. The Canis Molossus in the time of the Romans play an important role in the existence of the large dog breeds of today. The activities of the Romans led to these dogs landing up in, for example, the British Isles. Controversies exist over what happened after this. Some writers claim that the Romans took all their Canis Mollosus to the British Islands whilst others claim that the Romans took some of the British dogs back to Europe with them. Both may of course be totally correct. Different writings mention trade which took place between the East and the West, including the British Isles. The sea route around the Cape of Good Hope was also used for this trade. Jan van Riebeeck was sent by the East Indian Company to establish a trading post on the Southern point of Africa. He arrived in the Cape on 1652, bringing with him the well-known "Bullenbijter" dog. Others followed bringing with them large dogs, for example the Dog de Bordeux from France and the Spanish Mastiff from Spain. Through the years only the strongest and those who were naturally healthy survived this untamed land. As we know the history of the Boerboel, this is where most people would prefer to stop, as parts of the history is for example where these large dogs from abroad crossed with the dogs of the existing inhabitants of Africa. From here the Boerboel came into existence, living on so many farms and later moved northwards with the Great Trek. There is plenty of interesting information which leads to alternative thoughts. A well known writer, E.C. Ash suggests that there is evidence of massive dogs with mastiff-type appearances which existed during the times of Ancient Egypt. Ash claims that one illustration dates as far back as 2000B.C. We also know the history of Noah's son Gam. He is the ancestor of various African nations, amongst others the Ethiopians. These titbits of history may seem irrelevant until we make the following deductions: The king of Persia, Artaxwerxes Memnon, had a personal doctor who was very wise and travelled extensively. This man reported the following: A barbaric tribe in southern Ethiopia, known as the "Cynomones", has dogs which were described as Indian Dogs". Pliny's Natural history also refer to these dogs but mix them up with the Cynocephali. These Cynomones had dogs which originated from the Babylonian dogs. They are described as big, strong dogs; as big as Hyrcanians and ideal for fighting lions. The Cynomones bred large numbers of these dogs for the following reasons: During the late summer large herds of migrating wildebeest moved past the Cynomones. The Cynomones were very vulnerable to these wildebeest who destroyed their humble homes or shelters. These dogs were specifically used to keep these beasts away from their homes as well as to catch them. During the rest of the year they were used to hunt other game. These people also milked the bitches, as other tribes would milk cows and sheep, hence their name, Cynomolgi, the 'dog milkers'. Diodorus Siculus, Aelian and Polydeuktes confirm this information. Aristotle writes many interesting things about the "Indian Dog". He claims that the Indian Dog is a cross between dog and tiger. Only the third generation can be used as the first two are too aggressive. The bitches were tied up in an isolated spot when on heat, many were eaten by the tigers. It is interesting to see that Pliny repeats this story. Nowadays it is naturally impossible for a dog and a tiger to cross; at least not today. Needless the say the Indian Dogs are brindle dogs. Brindles in the Boerboel breed today tend to be more shy and more aggressive than the other Boerboels. Makes one think!! These Cynomones moved around extensively and also traded with their dogs. Other references to the Indian Dog are also made in the time of Darius Hystaspes, king of Persia. He set two towns under his rule aside to do no other work other than look after his dogs. The European bond of Jan van Riebeeck with his "Bullenbijter" is clearly not the only, or biggest possibility of being the source of the existence of the Boerboel. In Africa various black tribes moved south and often met settlers moving north - naturally so did their dogs. The question remains whether the "Africa Dog", with it's notable V-shape on the tail descends from the dogs of Ethiopia or not. If indeed they are, the value of this finding is more valuable than what we realise today. The Boerboel's past can thus be looked at as follows. The Boerboel is bred mainly from two original sources of genetic material:- i. The Bullenbijter from Europe and earlier from Albania and Asia; ii. The 'Africa Dog' from tribes migrating south. Possibly coming from Babylon during the Persian domination and even before that from India back to Albania and Asia. These statements declare why the Boerboel is structurally much better than all other Mastiff-type dogs. The genetic material which came together again in Africa have more pure original genetics of the Asian dogs' blood lines than any other breed. When the Great Trek started in 1838 dogs which were taken along were the stronger, healthier animals. Because of the great distances between each trek - each group of wagons - dogs became isolated. Dogs who moved to the west had shorter hair and those who moved east had 'longer' more dense hair, they adapted to the different climates. This is why there is still such a variety in the Boerboel today. It is very interesting to take existing bloodlines today and follow them back to the turn of the century, some even further. In this way we know for example where certain bloodlines originated. For example one can, with a certain amount of certainty, follow old bloodlines back to certain trek groups who moved north from the Cape. The 1920 British Settlers brought the English Bulldog and a Mastiff-type dog into South Africa. The true Bull Mastiff was only brought into South Africa in about 1928 by the diamond giants, the De Beers, to protect the diamond mines. It is recorded that the De Beers brought in a champion Bull Mastiff in 1938. In 1903, after the Anglo Boer War the dogs were interbred with the Long-legged English Bulldog and again in the late 1940's and early 1950's with the Bull Mastiff. This is a known fact with farmers in the North Eastern Free State, Northern Kwa Zulu Natal and some parts of the Transvaal. Descendants of some of these dogs were located in 1995 with a Mr. Dirk van Niekerk in Kwa Zulu Natal. These dogs were known as Boerboele and were bred by the late Mr. Kotie Truter of Witkoppe in the Vrede district and also by the late Mr. Jaap van Niekerk of Dwarsspruit near Harrismith in the Free State Province. Unfortunately, the Boerboel also fell into the hands of those who thought they could use a shortcut to creating the perfect Boerboel. A variety of different breeds were used to give the Boerboel a certain 'look', little did they know that these qualities were already running in the genetic make up of the Boerboel. Breeds used were, for example, St. Bernard, Pyranese Mountain Dog, Great Dane, etc. Great damage was done to the Boerboel as a breed with all this additional genetic material. These foreign, unwanted genes will have to be bred out of the Boerboel today by use of very strict selection by breeders today. Today, the Boerboel is not only bred in South Africa but is also bred in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia en Zimbabwe, as well as Europe and America strictly following standards set by the South African Boerboel Association, the S.A.B.T. in 1983. The Boerboels found in these countries all originate from South Africa. Breeders who breed purely for the love of breed - not the love of money, follow the same main breeding criteria, being General Health,Temperament,Conformation, Bloodline and Colour.