Pictures My femi

[MiniMacaw]

so my 9 month old pup Femi (Swahili for “Love me”) was injured today and even tho she’ll be fine after meds and rest I still want to show her off because I’m pretty sure she’s the best dog..:ever lol.

She’s a Boerbol...also known as a South African Mastiff.

They seem to have some kind of fierce reputation but this girl is so sweet and lovely spirited I couldn’t imagine her being mean. She is such a gentle soul.

Please excuse my sleepless stressed face lol. I was pretty upset she got hurt.

 

[SandraK]

I'm asking out of curiosity but doesn't Boer mean Dutch or Afrikaans?

 

[MiniMacaw]

Yes. she is a South African mastiff and her breed originated In Africa as a protection dog for farms in the bush against lions and leopards.

 

[finchly]

She is beautiful! So is your daughter, and so are you.

 

[EagleClem]

Awwww so glad she is okay!

 

[MiniMacaw]

She is beautiful! So is your daughter, and so are you.

Thank you! ​

 

[CallieCadmoor]

I'm asking out of curiosity but doesn't Boer mean Dutch or Afrikaans?

In Afrikaans, a Boer is a farmer

 

[CallieCadmoor]

I've always been confused by their name as a direct translation is farmer Ball. Which doesn't make much sense...

I think Boerbols are so beautiful and just want to hug them. Unfortunately, two of the few I knew did follow their fierce reputation. The ripped the skin off his owners skulp and the other nearly tore the arm off a woman. But then I've met others that love a good cuddle. Either way, they are majestic. And I'm sure you have to be fierce if you're going up against lions! Same as the Rhodesian Ridge Back which was bred for the similar reasons.

 

[MiniMacaw]

I've always been confused by their name as a direct translation is farmer Ball. Which doesn't make much sense...

I think Boerbols are so beautiful and just want to hug them. Unfortunately, two of the few I knew did follow their fierce reputation. The ripped the skin off his owners skulp and the other nearly tore the arm off a woman. But then I've met others that love a good cuddle. Either way, they are majestic. And I'm sure you have to be fierce if you're going up against lions! Same as the Rhodesian Ridge Back which was bred for the similar reasons.

When I first brought femi to her vet appt the vet was visibly worried and asked right off the bat, “is she friendly?” And explained that they had a couple Boerbol patients that were quite the terrors and took three techs to restrain. And then once the petting started and femi started giving her slobbery kisses lol it was good from there. Even with her eye extremely swollen and clearly painful, when I gave the command to sit for the vet to poke and prod it she stayed sitting until I said good girl femi and then she kissed the vet when she was done lol. I wouldn’t have been able to sit still if I had such a sore spot being poked.

She will protect if we’re out on a walk tho...once some javelina were getting pretty close to us and theyre known for being mean where I live so I was a tad worried..:until I heard the giant roar/bark of femi lol which scared the javelina away faster than I could blink.

Really I think with this breed you just can’t let them NOT be a part of the family. If they’re kept outdoors only or chained etc they get upset. If always around kids and cats (she loves and is so gentle with cats, even strays on walks) and people then they’re content. I also invest a ton of time training her because I realize her size demands respect even if her slobbery smile only requires love. I’m taking her to ikea next week lol so we’ll see how that goes but my moms chihuahua pulls more on the leash than femi does. Unfortunately a lot of people want the big dogs and think they’re a status symbol but aren’t willing to put in the major time to train and keep them happy...very similar to parrots.

 

[finchly]

Aah that’s why she’s so gentle and kind. You spend time on training.

 

[SandraK]

What happened to the poor baby?

 

[Lwalker]

She is beautiful! Hope she heals fast and feels better soon.

 

[aooratrix]

They're a rustic farm dog that originated in South Africa. I'd bet that the anecdotes of "mean" ones involve lack of training or living with people that shouldn't have bought one. I have heard that some lines are "harder" than others, too. I admire boerboels; she's beautiful. I wouldn't bet on someone's chances if acting a fool around the little girl! May I ask where you got her?

 

[MiniMacaw]

They're a rustic farm dog that originated in South Africa. I'd bet that the anecdotes of "mean" ones involve lack of training or living with people that shouldn't have bought one. I have heard that some lines are "harder" than others, too. I admire boerboels; she's beautiful. I wouldn't bet on someone's chances if acting a fool around the little girl! May I ask where you got her?

Thank you!

My husband had been looking into boerbols because he has a guy he works with that said they always wanted one. A quick search on the AKC website showed a breeder that had a litter of puppies available in our city...there were a total of three breeders we could find and the other two were on the opposite coast so we took it as a sign. So we called the breeder and went to meet the one female puppy left. I went in and saw femi, a small wriggling blob of a puppy lol and noticed she had a pretty huge umbilical hernia. She was filthy and sweet and I talked the breeder down on price and got her.

We went home and set her up and her first bowel movement was a bowl of spaghetti...hello round worms. Straight to the vet lol and we got her meds and shots, etc. She needed surgery to fix her hernia when we spayed her and we couldn’t start a normal training class because of her infections/worms so I started training her as best I could.

She just somehow has always been kind to people, even the vet with the scary needles and meds. I’ve worked really hard to keep her socialized. You’re right in not betting against her lol. She hates aggression from people and I know if threatened she would be protective but as a family dog she’s pretty content I think. I spoke to a trainer of police dogs and he said that with mastiffs and boerbols in particular they just can’t be “yard dogs.” They have to be every day family members to be well balanced. I think a lot of the people with mean ones keep them as guard dogs or just outdoors only. They may be big but they are so sensitive to tone and affection or lack of.

 

[SquawksNibbles]

So sorry to hear she got injured, yet so glad to hear she's okay! I know it must have been terrible what you were going through. I'd feel the same way if any of my fur babies (or feather babies, of course!) got hurt!

She's such a beautiful dog! I love the big, gentle giants! I have one of my own, but by the looks of it, mine isn't quite as big as yours! I have a blue Merle Australian Shepherd, a large dog bred for herding animals (but here, he's a sweet, lazy companion). I also have a short little Dachshund dog, which makes for an odd mix!

Lol, don't worry about that selfie with your precious pup! You are a beautiful woman!

Just curious, what birds do you currently have in your care?

 

[aooratrix]

That's true with a lot of dogs, IME. Dogs that aren't socialized well aren't confident and are often ticking time bombs. Scared dogs make decisions that usually are bad by human standards but may make sense to canines. Like with parrots and other companions animals, I find that people often make poor choices based on their wants not their lifestyle and ability, not the animal's tendencies or potentials.

I like boerboels a lot but not the super-sized American ones. However, if I had the yard size, I'd get Central Asian shepherds. And maybe a Neapolitan mastiff.

 

[SandraK]

She's a gorgeous dog and obviously very comfortable around people from the photo with you and those with (I'm assuming) your little girl.

 

[MiniMacaw]

She's a gorgeous dog and obviously very comfortable around people from the photo with you and those with (I'm assuming) your little girl.

Yes that’s my daughter. they’re couch buddies for movie time at night. Both of them just flop onto the couch...after throwing all the pillows to the floor of course...and watch tv.

 

[MiniMacaw]

So sorry to hear she got injured, yet so glad to hear she's okay! I know it must have been terrible what you were going through. I'd feel the same way if any of my fur babies (or feather babies, of course!) got hurt!

She's such a beautiful dog! I love the big, gentle giants! I have one of my own, but by the looks of it, mine isn't quite as big as yours! I have a blue Merle Australian Shepherd, a large dog bred for herding animals (but here, he's a sweet, lazy companion). I also have a short little Dachshund dog, which makes for an odd mix!

Lol, don't worry about that selfie with your precious pup! You are a beautiful woman!

Just curious, what birds do you currently have in your care?

Thank you

I have Bowser, my blue and gold scarlet macaw hybrid, Fred my 11 year old male rescue severe macaw, Ethel my 2 year old female rescue severe macaw, and three budgies.

 

[MiniMacaw]

That's true with a lot of dogs, IME. Dogs that aren't socialized well aren't confident and are often ticking time bombs. Scared dogs make decisions that usually are bad by human standards but may make sense to canines. Like with parrots and other companions animals, I find that people often make poor choices based on their wants not their lifestyle and ability, not the animal's tendencies or potentials.

I like boerboels a lot but not the super-sized American ones. However, if I had the yard size, I'd get Central Asian shepherds. And maybe a Neapolitan mastiff.

A Neapolitan mastiffs face demands smushing for kisses lol. I actually don’t see many of those either but they’re beautiful dogs.
We have a small “urban farm” set up so a tad over an acre of yard with a couple little goats and pot belly pigs. Femi flourishes when she gets to run in the sun and grass every day. (She does have a doggy door so she comes in as she pleases)