I love Boerboels (South African mastiffs) and have been around them for much of my life. They are not a breed for beginners, and were working farm dogs from the beginning (Boerboel means farmer’s dog in Afrikaans). I used to write a lot more about them, but increasing interest in the breed has led to the wrong kind of people wanting them and greedy ‘breeders’ taking advantage of the trend and selling subpar dogs for huge sums. It has been so sad to see the Boerboel go the way of the German Shepherd. Politics and the love of money have a habit of destroying everything they touch.
For these reasons, I no longer write about Boerboels much on my blog, though I am friends with and follow a few great breeders who I feel are the hope for the future the breed. My cousin Mandy is one of these people. Such guardians of the breed don’t speak much, or very loudly, but they know what they are doing and will keep the Boerboel a working dog, and not sell dogs to the wrong people.
A friend of mine, Jeff K, is one of these people. He is an absolute inspiration to me, because he has survived the unsurvivable and remains humble, funny and a great friend. He gives very wise advice to would-be owners of both breeds, and I will be posting some of that advice here now and then, so that it does not get lost in fast-flowing comments. The post below was written by tongue.
Most of my friends are fellow Cane Corso lovers, and I’ve had several ask me about the differences between Corso and Boerboels. I’ve owned and bred both side by side for many years. I’m not claiming to be an authority on either breed. However I can give my honest opinion and my observations over the years.
I started my adult dog life with Chesapeake Bay Retrievers..I loved them! I hunted with them, competed in hunt tests with them, and even participated in my first AKC show with them. I had them for 10 years. Then I had my accident..and lost my arms and ability to walk. When I had arms (they were big arms) I never worried about home security. If there were multiple intruders, I didn’t worry about that either because I had the other kind of arms, and lots of them. When I lost my arms, and the ability to effectively fire a gun. I wanted to notch it up another couple of levels. So I did all kinds of research and imported a Cane Corso.
Great dog – loyal, trainable, formidable looking -but not formidable. So I bought another – same thing. After my third Corso also lacking that protective ‘edge’, I decided to selectively breed my own. I had some level of success. However, one day I met a Boerboel. Just a typical Boerboel. He wasn’t bred to be extra protective, he was just well-bred and even more physically intimidating than any of my Corso. Your dog’s appearance is your first line of home defense, so I was very impressed. I’m a dog guy through and through and dogs can sense this. This big boy liked me, but I could also sense that if his owner was not comfortable with me that Dexter and I would not be friends. That is when my passion for Boerboels started.
I love the Cane Corso breed, always will, and still have a few. I will compare the two because one is not better than the other, but one may be better suited for you and your family.
Both are physically intimidating. The cropped ears on Corso make them look like they should be guarding the gates of hell. In addition they have this stream-lined body – not as much as a Doberman – but when you see one you think ‘he could definitely beat me to the fence..and even if I get lucky..he will jump the fence and still tear me a new one.’ A Boerboel has a bigger head, bigger body, and typically a more daunting physical appearance. In public with my Corsos I typically heard a lot of ‘Wow’s! With my Boerboels it was more ‘Oh my God’s!’
In my experience, Corso are a bit easier to train. However, once a Boerboel is trained it sticks. There is only a slight difference in trainability. Both breeds need continuous training throughout their lives.
Boerboels are bigger, obviously they eat more, and it’s simply a fact of life in all breeds..the bigger the dog, the shorter the life span. It’s ‘typically 8-10 and hope for 12 with a Boerboel and 10-12 for a well bred Cane Corso.
I considered Corsos to be ‘velcro dogs’ until I met a Boerboel. They are definitely more velcro. They always want to be right by your side no matter what you are doing. To give a comparison when i am mowing my 60 acres and have my Corso Balboa with me, he will roam as much as 50-100 yards while still staying within eyesight and will recall immediately when I call his name. Rigby, my Boerboel will never go more than 10 yards away from me and is constantly head checking me. That is desirable to some and irritating to others…just a personal preference.
Health-wise, they are similar. Hips, elbows, and eyes all need to be health-tested. Cardiac is the biggest issue with Boerboels and can be ruled out by a vet tech and stethoscope. Epilepsy is much more prevalent in the Corso. From a physics standpoint the Corso is more likely to finish the marathon with you or take that gruelling 17 mile mountain hike. My Boerboels can easily do a four or five mile hike..but that is all that is realistic for most. Of course I have exceptions. The Corso has more need of a big yard, daily exercise and mental stimulation. Boerboels just want to be glued to you – in the truck, in the yard, on a walk, in the bathroom🤣. They exercise when you exercise.
The Corso is an older breed and has been cursed with popularity for many more years..so it’s tougher to get a ‘typical’ Corso. Backyard breeders have ravaged the breed.
The Boerboel is gaining in popularity and will follow suit in short order. Fortunately it’s more common to encounter a ‘typical’ Boerboel in appearance and temperament. A typical Boerboel is quite protective. Neither breed is a good fit for the average family. I talk about 70% of the people that contact me out of both breeds. Without training, socialization, and consistency both can easily be a liability.
If you are interested in doing bite work with your dog or looking for a pure property guardian I recommend the Corso.
In my experience some Corso will take off and go on adventures. I have not had that happen with a Boerboel. The bond is different. They also seem to have more of a sense of what is a true threat, and act accordingly. Both dogs develop a connection with their families that you won’t find in many other breeds. Boerboels have something just a little bit extra in this department…an added intuition.. I can’t explain it any better than that.
I have 22+ years breeding Corsi and 10 years with Boerboels.
2025 ….Cane corso, Bullmastiff,
Boerboel, I owned the 3 plus Rotweiller, so trying to help you with my experience to choose one of them for personal protection professional bodyguard dog. So wich one! Here i am concentrating on personal protection and not Gurarding . Protection dogs their presence can provide a sense of safety and comfort. People appreciate their ability to protect while also being affectionat, loyal with love for the owner. A protection dog need to be a (A FAMILY DOG) Family dogs are dogs that owners keep at home or nearby and who also integrate them into the family unit, so that they learn appropriate behavior by regularly interacting with humans in a positive and nice respected polite way. (Ps. The standard caracter Rotweiller is good for familly but cause they choose agressive Rotweillers for breeding so it is said that those are not recommended for family).
My ex Boerboel and my ex bullmastiff both were very friendly with stranger but bullmastiff suspicious of strangers gently by smeling them watching them. My bullmastiff was a very Good body Guard . My Boerboel was (very) suspicious of strangers in the street by looking at them then watching my eyes to have my opinion if something goes wrong or not with the stranger, my corso was
different character as a body Guard, Corso is not keen at strangers , reserved and wary of strangers making then an excellent Protecting and guard dogs. Bullmastiff is carrying very much the known with inteligence not just for his owner but other person outside the familly but undercondition that this person is peaceful with his owner. Boerboel, it’s first professional job is (Guarding, farming, homestead, for trapping and to ward off big animals).
cane corso, it’s first professional job (personal protection Body Guard for familly and Guarding
plus police work )
Bullmastiff first professional job is a Body Guard personal protection for familly more than Guarding a place, plus he is a Police dog too.
Their 2nd and other professional job needs some work education for motivation and it is good to do a remind for it from time to time.
But concerning their first professional role job it’s (Much more) stronger in their DNA.
I am interested in Dogue de bordeaux too (French mastiff). My ex Rotweiller was starting very good guarding at 4 months old, and I did after university follow
2 years courses for dog education in Switzerland one year theoretical by swiss doctors from university & another year practical by swiss & french professionals educators. You do not train a dog you educate him. There is a difference between Guard and protection dog & as i said i will focus more about protection here. Boerboel is the best for farm. About (protection)cane corso is a(ultra) protection dog. Bullmastiff and boerboel are(very good)for protection. But Bullmastiff is (fantastic) protector but I did not use the world(ultra) protection dog for him cause he neither growls nor barks only he do it if he is closed from the aggressive target and cannot reach it like if he is in the car and someone agrees him and he cannot reatch the person cause of the window of the car then he barks . So he always do his job in scilence but very good. And bullmstiff is the better dog for his relation with his owner, his patient, very hight affection, much hight level of respect for his owner than corso (2nd) and then boerboel (3rd). also i did not use the word (ultra) protection for the fantastic borboel cause boerboel is (sometimes)a lazy dog for(Gurad) exemple if the door rings he may go to see who is there or he will relax and just watch you(very well) from far opening the door. So if something happend he may be next to your feet for (protection) or still watching from far so he needs more time to jump from his place to protect you in case he is relaxing and he did this case (not rare) but if you are in the street so he is by your side for (protection) specially cause he is on leash next to you. Boerboel analysis longer the situation than Bullmastiff and corso wich is a good point in “many” situations.
Bullmastiff & cane corso are both famous for the word (body Gurad dog)& the word(corso) ” the breed’s name roughly translates from the Latin as ‘bodyguard dog”.
A protector. About (Guard) dog as I said borboel is more lazy like to relax (sometimes)and I heared this opinion from a famous professional breeder of boerboel too which breeds boerboel and corso even he prefers the boerboel.And my boerboel did the same.But bullmastif for exemple he (Guards)the car if you are inside to (protect)you but if he is alone in the car he may not Guard it at all even someone go inside the car . he more focus for protecting you than to Gurad. He is more professional as a body guard dog than guarding a place but he did Guard the home when the owner is not inside it .One more point bullmastif and boerboel they like to analyse the cituation well before reacting for(protection)but cane corso do not take the risk if there is any potential dangerous so he reacts (more fast). Some aggressors escape from size,face of bullmastiff others get scarey but cause bullmastiff does not bark,analysis,the aggressor can stay in front of you hesitating to agress you or not for a while and when this agressor do it bullmastiff react fast without hesitating to protect his ownrr, cane corso does not wait he does not take the risk plus he barks immediately. It is proved scientifically that dogs smell if the person is aggressive or not. Bullmastiff is much more sticky to his owner wich is a positive point in protection. About level of barking cane corso barks 3/5 Borboel 2/5 Bullmastiff from zero to1/5.So bullmastif is the best for Neighbour. For me till 3/5 is ok it is not really big noisy and not very often and i can handel with it easier than 4/5 or 5/5 if the home of the person is close to other homes. Cane corso said to have the strongest bite force among them 700 psi.Boerboel is more stockier, more muscles than the others, in general males are between 70&90kg & few are 105 and 120kg but sure too much kilos is not fine for dog. Bullmastiff male is between 50&59 kilos. European cane corso male between 45 to 50 kg in the standard of FCI and can be till 60 kg but Americain cane corso are heavier from 55 to 68 kg.
I saw one 93.8 kg & a breeder tolds his male was 100 kg and i know someone got a puupy male from him at adult age was 106/107 kg , too much and thus dog has problem with bones ! But the famous international corso is the italian fci corso and is better if you want a pure cane corso caracter in general. Dogue de bordeaux male is between 50 to 60/65 kg and I saw one 86 kg a very heavy dog than the standard can be not healthy. I never owned a bordeaux but I did a research about him a calm dog with people but attacks your attacker, a protector dog with(low energy level)&some people prefer that. Boerboel Ioves cats. Bullmastiff male does not like dogs from the same sex .
Just one more point about guarding and cane corso . Corso is only interested in his familly memebers, he is garding the car even
a suspect person is
far away from his car and guarding his home even suspect person
is in the other way of a road of his home. Corso love a more security distance . On the list of the top (protection) dogs very much often i find the cane corso & the bullmastiff among them . Boerlboel is in the list of one of the best (gurad) dog in akc. With my case Bullmastiff & Cane corso got (More) temperamental stability , reliability and assimilate into home setting
with owner’s actions. But other owners may have diiferent opignion about this point especialy that i got my puppies corso & Bullmastiff 1 month earlier than my boerboel. Conclusion: I can say Cane corso is a (ultra) professional bodyguard. Bullmastiff is a (profesional silent ) body Guard dog. Boerboel is a (Good body Guard) dog as his (2nd job) But some good trainng is a key.
Dogue de bordeaux i never owned one but i find his caracter more close to bullmastiff and i guess i can put him as a ( Body Guard dog as his 1’rst job
but without using the word Ulta protection for him) and he is a calm dog.
Question nr1- what is the Difference between a dog with 1rst job as protection and dog with 2nd job that (A) the 1rst dog job he requires no education to do it. It is much more strong in his dna . (B) He will still be more professional than the other dog even the other dog will be educated for protection .
Question nr 2 : So why people still educate the first dog then!
The answer is:
In order to have more hight level and cause dogs enjoy and need this education for their satisfaction and stimulation.
If you are looking for more hight protection dog ( much more easy to train, even corso is one of the most easy to train of mastiffs) then Belgium malino, German shepherd, Doberman, Dutch shepherd and (Rottweiler only because of his more high intelligent level cause rotwriller is on the list of the top 10 intelligent dogs breeds). you need to check differnt things like the energy level of the dog breed and your style of life etc… In General mastiff dogs types are more suitable for familly cause of their energy levels but with exceptions like the dogo argentino with his active energy level.
12 Most Protective Dog Breeds:
1- German shepherd
2- Belgium Malinois
3- Doberman
4- Rotweiller
5. Giant Schnauzer
6-Cane corso
7-Bullmastiff
8- Dutch shepherd
9- Boxer
10- American Akita
11- Américain staff
12-Rhodesian
Ridgeback.
🍒 Sweet dogs .🍒🍉 🍓God protects you 🍓 from the association[with Him].Amin….🍓 وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَاۤبَّةࣲ….Allah has created every [living]creature from water.And of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills. Indeed,Allah is over allthings competent. (Quran) وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٖ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رِزۡقُهَا…And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision,and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage.All is in a clear register.(Quran) PS:Allah is the name of God in arabic.The arabic jewish & christians arabs they say Allah too. In the arabic bible it is written Allah.Only 18% of Muslims are Arabs but 82% they are Muslims but not Arabs so the majority of Muslims are not Arabs.& the arabic word islam,it means submission(Submit to one God)which is the religion of all prophets since Adam including the messengers Moses, Jesus and Muhamad peace and blessing of Allah be upon Them all.They have One God,one Religion &one straight path (the pure Monotheism)إِنَّ هَـٰذِهِۦۤ أُمَّتُكُمۡ أُمَّةࣰ وَ ٰحِدَةࣰ وَأَنَا۠ رَبُّكُمۡ فَٱعۡبُدُونIndeed this community of yours (your religion)is one single community(is one religion),and I am your Lord,so worship Me.(Quran)مَا كَانَ إِبۡرَٰهِيمُ يَهُودِيّٗا وَلَا نَصۡرَانِیࣰّا… Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth,a Muslim[submitting to Allah ].And he was not of the polytheists.(Quran) إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ ءَادَمَۖ…Indeed,the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam.He created him from dust;then He said to him,”Be,” and he was.(Quran) وَإِلَـٰهُكُمۡ إِلَـٰهࣱ وَ ٰحِدࣱۖ لَّاۤ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ ٱلرَّحِیمُAnd your God is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him,the Entirely Merciful,the Especially Merciful (Quran)… مَّا یَفۡعَلُ ٱللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمۡ إِن شَكَرۡتُمۡ What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe?And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.(Quran) Thanks 🍒🤍 ❤️
wich you the best from heart🍓🍉🍏
For dear christians,
….
1/bibel distort:he who believes in me will also do the works that I do He will make even greater ones than these cause I go to the Father. John14/12-13
….
2/Jesus heal the blind-born and raise the dead by the permission of Allah. do it then because the Bible says that you will do greater than Jesus! ( Even other things Jesus did in his life )!
….
3/Even any thing! How you worship someone wich you do anything just anything Greater than him !!!
….
4/The Messiah, son of Mary,was not but a messenger;[other] messengers have passed on before him.And his mother was a supporter of truth.(Quran)
……
5/They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded.(Quran)
……
6/Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian,but he was one inclining toward truth,a”Muslim”[means in English submitting to One God]And he was not of the polytheists(Quran) wich you the best from heart🍓.
….
For atheist:
{ أَمۡ خُلِقُواْ مِنۡ غَيۡرِ شَيۡءٍ أَمۡ هُمُ ٱلۡخَٰلِقُونَ }
Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? (The Quran)
{ أَلَمۡ نَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ عَيۡنَيۡنِ }
Have We not made for him two eyes?
And a tongue and two lips?And have shown him the two ways?(Quran)
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ ٱلۡكَرِيمِ..
O mankind, what has deceived you concerning your Lord, the Generous,
ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّىٰكَ فَعَدَلَكَ
Who created you, proportioned you, and balanced you?
فِيٓ أَيِّ صُورَةٖ مَّا شَآءَ رَكَّبَكَ
In whatever form He willed has He assembled you.
(The Quran)
{ أَفَحَسِبۡتُمۡ أَنَّمَا خَلَقۡنَٰكُمۡ عَبَثٗا وَأَنَّكُمۡ إِلَيۡنَا لَا تُرۡجَعُونَ }
Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?”(Quran)
{ فَتَعَٰلَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱلۡحَقُّۖ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱلۡكَرِيمِ }
So exalted is Allāh, the Sovereign, the Truth; there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne.
(Quran)
{ أَفَلَا يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَيَسۡتَغۡفِرُونَهُۥۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ }
So will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (The Quran )……🍓🍒
More than 1000 scientific discovery in the Quran till now, Quran and modern science: http://kaheel7.com/eng/
That’s really interesting. Thank you
I have to say that I am not at all a dog person and I would be terrified to come across one of these big doggies in the street… I did enjoy Jeff’s story. Please invite him more often!