Today was a much over due doggie grooming day for my Boerboel "Brock" who is part of the Mastiff family of dog breeds. He is a proper handful coming in at 76 Kilograms of solid muscle and if when holding him moves you tend to move with him. I do enjoy having big dogs and only recommend getting one if you are confident and capable of controlling them. If you don't know how then they will dominate you and this will lead to disaster.
This was the 3rd time he has been groomed in the time we have had him as Brock was a stray from Durban. No one wanted him and he would have been put to sleep if I had never volunteered to adopt him. I do understand people who would be concerned due to his size and not knowing what kind of temperament he has. Many of these breeds are inbred and when I saw him knew immediately he was a proper pedigree.
Things were not that easy in the beginning due to his size and not knowing what manners he had. He is actually very obedient now and at least listens to commands. He is an escape artist so you can understand whoever once had him as a family pet how they might have lost him. He has escaped a couple of times and after lengthy chases was tracked down. The problem is he just keeps on running so if he ran from his previous owners he could have travelled a good 50-100 miles in a few days.
We were fist concerned how he would be around the grand kids and what his reactions would be, but he has been amazing. The only time we worry is if he is running to bark at someone by the gate he could accidentally knock the kids over. Not just the kids he will knock an adult clean off their feet due to the immense power he has.
We try not to rough house with him when playing as he draws blood unintentionally. Your hands become chew toys and he then moves on to your ankles. When he stands up on his hind legs his front legs are on my shoulders and I am 1m 95cm. He loves his food and being a stray you have to be aware he is self sufficient and we have found him head first in the dog biscuit bin. He is on a constant diet and is walked 4 times a week as I do worry with him as the hips never last.
He is what I would call a proper guard dog and definitely not one to mess with on his territory. The delivery drivers know him and will not walk towards the gate. I had a similar sixed Boerboel in the past who ran at full speed into a metal gate and buckled the entire structure so much so it needed cutting and welding work done. That same dog fended off two armed robbers who were lucky not to be killed. As a protective guard dog very few other breeds come close to what a Boerboel offers. Farmers used to have packs of Boerboels to fend off wild animals like Lions so they are built for protection.
I had left the groomers to finish off and make a cup of coffee only to be called back to help them. They needed to cut his claws and he started biting them on the arm every time the clippers came close. He will not bite me and had to gold him whilst they completed the task. This meant no more photographs as I had my hands full keeping him in check.
I do like the fact the mobile grooming service comes to your home and is done without having to cart him to the grooming parlor. I can see he is being looked after not that he would let anyone ill treat him. The cost of the service is a bargain deal of $16 which takes roughly an hour. He was never blow dried today as he is anti that type of noise and was already hyped up enough having his claws clipped. I think Brock must be done every 3 months from now on so he is more accustomed to the entire process.
