Nigerian Bred?

"Nigerian Bred?" That was the response from the caller on the other end who had just called to enquire about the price of our boerboel puppies... The encounter with this person who happens be a Veterinary practioner has again set my mind thinking about some of the real issues plaguing the Nigerian dog community.

Imported Vs Nigerian Bred?

There is an extension of the larger society's perception that only that which is imported can be good and nothing that is Nigerian made or bred as it will apply in this case can be good enough. It also underscores the kind value that we place as a people on foreign ideas, concepts, products ...name it. And this has pushed many enterpreneurs who otherwise should have been proud of their efforts as Nigerians to now label their products that was produced in our country as products of foreign countries because of the perception that our people place on the 'foreign' brands.

And for an art that is dog breeding, where knowledge is a key factor, this caller who otherwise should have enquired about the quality of what is being offered rather had assumed that the price indicated was too high for a Nigerian bred boerboel but good enough for 'imported' ones. Wheras I have seen all sorts of BBs imported into Nigeria that are not fit to be called boerboels largely also due to th fact that those who have imported these animals do not have a clue as to what they are doing. As long as it is a big brown dog, then it is boerboel.

For us at Asiwaju Boerboels and some of our friends that we know, the art of breeding boerboels in Nigeria can now be compared favourably with the practice anywhere in the world. We have chosen our breeding stock very carefully from the top bloodlines and kennels in SA and have subjected our dogs to health checks before they are included in our breeding programme. Our BB boys are screened for both the Hips and Elbow dyslapsia that the breed is predisposed to and the females screened for Vagina Hyprplasia (VH) before they are passed as fit for breeding in our programme.

Furthermore, we also breed only from registered dogs with documented pedigree. And certainly you will agre with me that this is a remarkable clear departure form recent past where anything was going as far as dog breeding is concerned in Nigeria.

To cap this, we ensure that all pups that we place from our kennel are done with a Puppy Sales Agreement with full Guarantees against the genetic diseases that affect the breed. So if efforts are being made locally to breed the boerboel to the international quality and standard, why should it then arise that some people will continue to play the discrimination card between Nigerian bred BBs and the Imported ones.

Our BBs are indeed Nigerian bred and we are proud of that. We do hope that someday in the nearest future, our breeding dogs will all be Nigerian bred dogs and yet the better specimen and representative of the breed will continue to come from them...