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The South African Boerboel Makes a Debut at Westminster

Yes, the boerboel, aka the South African mastiff, is making its first appearance at Westminster, the Westminster Dog Show, that is, the premier dog show in the United States. The Boerboel named Oblio comes from Chesapeake, Virginia, and is apparently about 15 months old. According to a news report late last year, he is the first Bred […]

Yes, the boerboel, aka the South African mastiff, is making its first appearance at Westminster, the Westminster Dog Show, that is, the premier dog show in the United States.

The Boerboel named Oblio comes from Chesapeake, Virginia, and is apparently about 15 months old. According to a news report late last year, he is the first Bred by Exhibitor Owner Handled Champion Boerboel in the United States.

Oblio is one of seven breeds appearing at the massive famous dog show for the first time. The others are the Bergamesco from the Alps, the Berger Picard, a French herding dog, the Cirneco dell’Etna from Sicily, the truffle-hunting Lagotto Romagnolo, the Miniature American Shepherd and the Spanish Water Dog. (See the dogs strut their stuff in a video at the end.)

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Oblio the Boerboel. Source: WKC Facebook page.

The Boerboel, also known as the South African Mastiff, is a large, Molosser-type breed from South Africa bred for the purpose of guarding the homestead, according to Wikipedia. Some interesting other facts from Wikipedia: 1) They were first introduced to the purebred world in 1998. 2) The dogs are exported from South Africa. 3) The word is often misspelt ‘boerbul’ (really?),  and 4) they were bred as working farm dogs.

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The seven new breeds at Westminster, with the Boerboel in the middle. Source: Madison Square Gardens Facebook page.

A total of 199 breeds and varieties of dog are eligible for the 140th Westminster Kennel Club Group and Best in Show, which takes place at Madison Square Gardens in New York City on 15 February. This year nearly 3,000 dogs from all 50 states tried to get into the competition, according to news reports last week.

And talking of large breed dogs, for anyone who missed it this week, a bloodhound named Ludivine in Nashville, Tennessee, ran a half-marathon – totally uninvited and without a leash – on 16 January and got a medal at the end for coming seventh! Apparently she got out of her owner’s house and saw the people running and then joined in.

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Ludivine running the race. Source: Twitter @mr_mudassar_h
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Ludivine with her medal. Source: Twitter @emme1155.

Some of the dogs at Westminster go through their moves in this video