What Sort of Person is best suited for a Boerboel?

When families come to our kennel, contacting us looking for a puppy... there is an interview process that happens.
We are not about to give one of our South African Boerboel puppies to just anyone who has money for one.. oh no no no !!!
We want to get to know who you are as a person,now don't get me wrong... I am not wanting to become your best friend by any means. However I want to know that you are capable of handling such a dog. I don't necessarily expect you to have years and years of dog handling experience, because frankly it is those people who do not want to listen to or take advice from either myself or my kennel partner! Yes the Boerboel is a dog and nothing more, nothing less.... but.... it is a dominant breed farm dog. They are bred to work alongside their master(s), keeping them safe, be a utilitarian farm dog capable of protecting the property/people/livestock (to some degree)and a family dog at the end of the day. As an owner though, please do not expect to be ALL cuddles, ALL positive reinforcement (in your training), or extremely friendly to EVERYONE that you meet on the street! These dogs are a handful and the dogs that we chose to breed from are also very intelligent, they are quick to pick up on what you are wanting from them. I do not want to spend 30 hours a week in training my dogs, nor do I have the time. Therefore, a stupid dog does not last here at my house (nor my partner's house) for any length of time. Intelligence in a dog means that you as an owner need to be on top of the training and the consistency in which you run your household. My boerboels and what they produce are dogs that are easily handled for someone who has gumption within themselves, who is a natural alpha (someone who runs things well without being aggressive), and someone who is up for wanting to learn more!
With all of this being said, we have bred from some fairly dominant dogs in the past and what we have been able to incorporate into the breedings is some soft handled characteristics. Again what does this mean to you; the dog can be corrected when appropriately timed without worrying about the dog falling apart or the other end of the spectrum ... the dog climbing the leash to correct you back!
What we look for within each person who applies is an educated owner (ask tons of questions), someone who is not so high on themselves to ask for advice, a person who is looking for a serious family guard dog and all that it entails, and intelligent enough to know not to put the dog into a situation in which could lead to unwarranted aggression.
You do not have to have a large property for him/her to run on, however, your lifestyle should be such that you can devote time to getting rid of any excess energy to avoid frustration issues.
We do not recomend that if you have young young children/toddlers and are a very busy household, that the boerboel is the dog for you. Yes every website out there will tell you such mythical facts as EVERY SINGLE BOERBOEL is great with children. This is false advertising... not every dog is appropriately temperamented for young children, same as not every dog is suited for working with the Police department!

What owning a boerboel boils down to is diligence on your part... plain and simple!

Why A Proudfoot or Firstfoot Puppy?

Let's face it, there are numerous Boerboel Breeders out there, just google the word Boerboel and see how many pages come up.... then again... that's probably how you found us!
What makes us different... what sets us apart from other individuals... where do I begin.. perhaps the beginning?
My husband and I were making the move from a city lifestyle to a country ( very remote ) retreat for a change of life, job, and family atmosphere. Knowing that we were moving into bear country and that our Rotti's at that time were getting on in years it was time that we started entertaining the idea of another dog to keep our girls safe. We litterally fell into the Boerboel while visiting with a friend who had been working/living/importing them for about a year at that time. By the end of the afternoon, I was so curious to know more that I spent quite a long time talking to people/breeders/owners trying to find out information on everything surrounding the South African Boerboel. Needless to say, I was led down paths with mystical half truths, out and out lies, as well as no information at all at times. I found myself very discouraged... getting information on this breed was going to be difficult to say the least. Typical Irish decent though, I found myself to stubborn to be letting go of this and plowed on.
My first boerboel was a direct import on a co-ownership from a broker. If she turned out physically/mentally/health wise she was to be bred and the litter was to be sold under that broker's kennel name. Sounds easy enough right? Let's just say that lessons were learned by both parties.
Anyhow, it was with this first bitch puppy that I made some decisions as to what I wanted to do in order to provide other people like myself with proper information...
I wanted to learn all I could about bloodlines, health issues, temperament issues, and so on... All so that I could in turn help to further ( not hinder ) the breed itself.
To make a very long story short, I have spent the last 7+ years with this breed. Have experienced far too much heart ache for one person to have to endure ( again with my stubborn side ) have had my bank account go WELL BELOW the zero mark and have been bashed/bantered/beaten/bruised/slandered/and spit out... all because I have stuck to my guns about what good temperament is, good health is, and sound ethical practices should be!
What you will get when dealing with Proudfoot or Firstfoot kennels is a level of understanding the genetics behind our dogs, the health history behind our dogs, the knowledge of the bloodlines that we have been working with extensively for 7 plus years now, and the comfort of knowing that we will only work with dogs that are suitable for family life! Our dogs live in the house with us, go everywhere with us, experience life as a family member and NOT as a kennel dog! They are part of our family... so that they can be a part of your family!