- How I started breeding.
- The
standard that I strive for.
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I reside in Bellville – a northern suburb of Cape Town in the Western Cape, South Africa – about 20 kilometres from the beautiful Table Mountain and the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Since I can remember I have had dogs – all breeds and lots of them. I have never been fond of small dogs or dogs that fall into the toy category. When I got married, my husband bought me my first Bull Terrier. Being a breeder by nature, I started breeding with them. I had numerous successes, being able to produce a number of champions. I bred Bull Terriers for 17 years. Dicky, my husband, not used to dogs being indoors, banned them from the house. I presume I always knew that a Bull Terrier would not protect me from unwelcome strangers. People were just scared of their looks – but what could I do? One day I saw a tiny picture of a dog's head in a magazine. I realized then that this is the dog I wanted, but here in the Western Cape nobody was able to tell me what kind of dog it was. After a number of phone calls and extensive research I found out that it was a BOERBOEL. At last! I made contact with Lucas van der Merwe (Mizpah) in Kroonstad and soon after that I received my first Boerboel – Lukas. That was in 1992. I immediately joined SABBA (South African Boerboel Breeders' Association). The Association is colloquially referred to as the SABT although this is the Afrikaans abbreviation for the Suid-Afrikaanse Boerboel Telersvereniging. As you will know or soon find out – after acquiring your first Boerboel you will get totally hooked on them. They have such wonderful temperaments that even Dicky allows them in the house – some of them sleep with us in the bedroom! Dicky even talks to them – and that from a man who believed a dog's place is outside. Just goes to show the wonderful nature of this amazing breed! In order to learn as much as possible about the breed, I attended the first Boerboel Breeder's Course, followed by an appraiser's course in 1997. Currently I am senior appraiser and also present the Boerboel breeders' course worldwide. I am the Board member of SABBA for the Western Cape region and also on the Executive Committee. I have written 2 Boerboel books, i.e. Die Boerboel – eie aan Suid-Afrika (2005) and The Boerboel – South Africa’s own (2007). Critics believe both are very informative and illustrative books and both are being used as basis during the Breeder’s Courses nowadays. They can be obtained from SABBA’s office (+27(0)5621 29000). |
The standard that I
strive for.
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I have several dogs that I use in my breeding programme. Dogs that I have bred that have achieved well during the past few years are Bellbusk Dusty (Belgium), Bellbusk Abu (the Netherlands), Bellbusk Mufassa (USA) and Bellbusk Willem and Bellbusk Dahnijel here in South Africa. Willem was awarded the highest points worldwide in 1999 and Dahnijel (93,1%) during 2006-2007. My highest priority in my breeding programme is to achieve sound temperament. The looks of the dog I see as a bonus. |