The Boerboel is a large, powerful and intelligent working dog. Known for being good with children it is still incredibly important to engage in heavy socialization and training from a young age.
Being such a powerful dog this breed is prone to being dominant and imposing. Unless the owner becomes a leader from the beginning this breed will take over and rule the roost. As such, this may not be a dog for the first time dog owner. Rather, this dog excels in a home where the owner is committed to appropriate training and control.
Origin of the Boerboel
The Boerboel is a large working molossoid breed from South Africa. The name came from the Afrikaans/Dutch word meaning “farmer’s dog”. The dog was also bred to guard homesteads.
The true origin of the breed is uncertain but it is believed that the dog derived from interbreeding of indigenous African species with breeds brought from the European settlers.
The refining of the breed is still on the developing stage.
Boerboel Appearance and Abilities
The Boerboel is a heavy mastiff breed with a height of about 25 to 28 inches for males, and 23 to 26 inches for females and I can weigh from 100 to 200 pounds. It is robust with a solid build. Well balanced, substantial and powerful in appearance, the Boerboel is well-muscled and intimidating.
It has a powerful neck and moves with purpose and ample agility. The head is large but proportional to the body. It gives an overall impression of substance, strength, power, and physical ability.
Commonly, they have sand-colored coats with black masks. However, shades may vary its coat colors may come in brindle, brown, red-brown, red, fawn, yellow-cream, white-cream, dilute, and black. These are all accepted colors. A deep mask is preferred for all.
Temperament and Tendencies of the Boerboel
They are very obedient and very smart and they are confident and very dominant. However, it requires human leadership and companionship. If left alone for regular extended periods, they can become destructive, reckless and dangerous.
Boerboels are highly protective but not aggressive. They also possess strong territorial instincts making them perfect for guard work, particularly in domestic situations. They are fearless and display self-assurance and they are responsive to the needs of their families.
They are very playful and they enjoy a good game of fetch.
Boerboel Training and Care
Boerboels are not recommended for apartment life. A large fenced yard is necessary to keep your Boerboel happy. It should be stressed that Boerboels should not be left alone too often and too long. They are very protective and sometimes do not take too well to strangers.
Socialization is crucial for Boerboels. This will limit their aggressiveness brought about by their strong watchdog instincts. Owners should always supervise them if strangers are present.
The main goal in training this dog is to achieve a pack leader position. It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in their pack. When humans live with dogs, they become their part of their pack. The entire pack cooperates under a single leader. Lines are clearly defined and rules are set. Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans must be higher up in the order than the dog.
Owners should give time for play and exercise. To the very least, Boerboels needs to be taken on long daily walks. These dogs thrive on love and attention and need companionship from their owners.
Boerboels are easy to groom. An occasional brushing and a monthly bath is all that is needed. This breed is an average shedder.
what will i do for them to know me
I don’t understand your question?
Hi! I want to train my dog to do whatever I want,e.g sitdown, dont bite this person while we are walking together and I want this dog to be my best friend.
How old would my boerboel become aggressive towards strangers?She’s only 5 months old
You want her to be aggressive???
I have a bourbel rescue that came to me as a 1&1/2year old. He spent the first 6 months of his life living in a cage.
He is now 3 years old and in the past 3 weeks has been showing some significant aggression toward myself and my
Boyfriend who is and has been the alpha male since we got him! I absolutely love this dog and don’t want to give him
Up, but my boyfriend feels he might be too dangerous for us to keep and waTnts to have him euthanized! He is probably
The most beautiful dog I have ever seen and I can not even think of putting him down! He is not our first dog but he is
The biggest dog we have ever owned. My last dog was also a rescue and died st the age of 18! He was also a rescue!
My question is should we or I give this beautiful dog another chance!!!
A Dog is like a child ,if you play with him and love him and do what he whants to sometime not only what you whants to do he will respeck you in every way,But you must remember that you show him hows the boss. Dont hit your dog talk to him hard ,and play hard with him, so if a child fall on him he is used to play hard and he will not bite. Love and respec is all you neet.
Thanks for the comment. I’ve got to disagree, though. Whether it’s a dog or a child and your strategy is to play with, love, and do what he wants to do that will not create a dog or child that respects you That is a recipe for having a complete lack of disrespect from your dog or child. Love and attention is important but it must be stabilized with rules, boundaries, correction, etc.
We got a Boerboel 5years ago and he was age 3 that time! When we got him he bit me and my dad and brother! We took the dog and beat him properly after biting us and then whenever we wanted to spend time with him we use to take the sambok and carry it with us! The dog went from his aggression into knowing who has authority! Now 5years later we couldn’t ask for a better dog! My family is proud of the dog and when we play with him we play Hard! But to a point ! We play a game where we let him win at first and then we will let him loose and then stop playing! He will want to play on but we will tell him to sit and stop ! He won’t move and he will know the game is over! His gf passed with blood poisoning and since then he only bark and growl when he sence danger ! Don’t get rid of ur dog! Show him authosity!
I’ve got to say that your post made me pretty angry. There is no such thing as ‘beating a dog properly’. There is a massive difference between showing authority and beating a dog.
Understand one thing. He does not respect you he fears you.
One of two situation will play out one day.
His fear will escalate to aggression. Sorry for you, you will loose
He will realize he need not fear you because he is stronger than you and a challenge will ensue. Sorry for you, you will loose.
Hi. People every dog is different and needs to be loved some times
Hitting your dog makes them mad and they will remember that forever.
I have a pit bull and no one can touch me or even talk to me I trained him to be over protective
But one thing he does is listen I never hit him from the 1st day I got him. Train your dog yourself boerboels
Maybe different but one thing I know is beating your dog whole time will get you no where..
my family live on farm land.. we have taken in rescue dogs and other animals and my hole 21 yrs of dealing with them, we always have hit them (never over violent just a slight smack) when they misbehaved.. eventually they learnt and had long happy lives with us and the other owners that took them after us. I will never change the way I deal with them no mater what your opinion is, the authority tactic that me and my family have used for years has turned allsorts of animals including dogs horses etc.. into good family pets and we have never had a bad complaint about the behaviour of any of our animals… and of course they will never forget being hit, that’s the point they will eventually not do that wrong thing again to not be punished. I am not saying belt your dog, I am a vegetarian and I am a big donator and supporter of the rspca in Australia, I DO NOT believe in animal cruelty, a slight smack will not harm your dog.
What does being a vegetarian or an RSPCA donator have to do with the fact that hitting your dog is a ridiculous idea?
I recently acquired two female boerboels, they are 8 weeks old, i would like to know how to take care of them and train them not to be aggressive, please advise
Can boerboles stay peacefully with any other breed of dog? Mine had a fight with my German Shpeard and killed him in the process. I discovered it could be because of the female boerbole the came on heat. Please advise me. Thanks
Boerboels can be and live with a lot of things. Much of it depends on a well bred dog, proper socialization, and proper training.
hi all
I am from South Africa, my first encounter with a boerboel was when i was 2, my parents couldnt have asked for a better nanny, wagter (meaning guard in Afrikaans) stayed by my side wherever i went ourside on our farm, he protected me from any strangers that might have come past etc. since then we have had may ever crossings with labradours or ridgebacks thay are both great crossings. i have had a border collie and foxterrior crossing female for about 18mths (she was 9wks when i got her) and recently moved into my own house with a nice big yard. my fiance and i decided to get a boerboel pup and boy did they enjoy each other, sadly we had to put him down because of a virus called Distemper, but we are getting another boerboel pup tomorrow. i would not think of any other big dog to have around when i have kids one day. it is true that they need a rough playmate (my fiance), love and lots of attention.
I bought a three years old male Boerboel, it does not bark even when there strange noise at night. Pls can anything be done? Can anybody tell what’s up
Not every dog is territorial.
Hi,
Boerboel are respected for the ability to react when it is needed. Many are very docile and the perception I have seen on this page are frightening. 1st thing, to all the people here that want aggressive dogs, got buy a cat and give your dogs to people who know what they are doing. People like this single handed destroy a breeds reputation.
They are guards and protectors not fighting dogs. If and only if your dog is correctly trained and raised with plenty of time and love and training will it react correctly. They will respond directly to any threat made to you and will definatley respond to your frame of mind eg, if you fear some one they will not be nice to that person but should only escalate in aggression parallel to the offenders aggression. It is disturbing that a strong dog like this is owned by people that have not researched and done serious amounts of home work.
And one day bites or even kills someone and the dog is to blame?
I have a Boerboel which is 8 months ! I want her to be aggressive a protective what should I do and some people say’s that hitting dogs or these dogs will make them aggressive is that true to??????? Please Reply
The only advice that I’m going to give you is that you shouldn’t own a dog at all. You should place your dog with someone who is responsible and kind to their dog.
Good Lord! Are you deranged???
First thing Shiven You do not hit a dog to make it to protect you. You give your dog lots of love and attension at the right time.
You can teach any dog this way to protect you by doing the following.
First if your dog looks Alert and is looking in one direction you whisper softly (just so the dog can hear you) the word protect or any other word that you want. if the dog stil looks in that direction walk a few steps past the in that direction while still saying sotfly the word. The dog will follow you. After you and your dog a few steps praise our dog.
You must do it ever time you see your dog is in alert mode.
Now the dog will protect you and your family when you tell her too and will not be afearfull dog with aggressive problems
We just adopted a 9 week old male Beorbeol. He’s the sweetest little boy. Can you recommend a trainer in the Olympia, WA area.
I’m in South Africa and i’ve owned boerboels since 2008, make sure you play rough with your puppy till 8months then teach them obedience after then no more puppy cuddling. make sure that your puppy is walked @ night or early before sunrise.
i tell you no one will enter your yard or no one will yell @ you. this is for guard Dogs and family dogs.
This is awful advice. Don’t follow it.
I’m also a South African and have also grown up with Boerboels. I think the following article summarises how to treat a boerboel the best – I’ve had many over the years and have taken one through training as described in the article: http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm
The most important thing with Boerboels are that they really can be dangerous if not handled propperly – having said that, I was happy to let my toddler play with my propperly socialised Boerboel. I’m not sure I’d have done that if I’d relied on beating her (the dog not the toddler) so the above article really makes sense.
I hope that the original poster has come right and got some good advice on handling the dog. Perhaps the part about seeking vetinary assistance would be the starting point as to ensuring that it’s not something medical causing it to act out.
Russel a grateful greeting to you.
Thank you for the article, it is a great read packed with great advice. I have not owned a dog in about 6 years and Cocoa is the first boerboel I have owned. She is just under 4 months old and very intelligent as is shown by her understanding of four commands which I have taught her myself.
Since getting her one month ago I have tried to be a strong figure which I now understand is called ‘ALPHA’. It really works but I think I will have to manage my affection towards her because I can be very affectionate but I’m also not afraid to discipline her by way of a strong word.
My question to everyone would be this, “Cocoa loves playing and gently nibbling like most puppies BUT when does that stop or when should I teach her to stop?” My thoughts are that if I allow it for too long when she gets older she will assume the leadership role or rather the ALPHA role. I know that that is how young pups behave even animals in the wild but when does maturity kick in?
While puppy biting is a natural behavior it’s not an acceptable behavior. I tend to correct it from the get-go. Many people believe that their dog will ‘grow out of it’ but that rarely occurs.
Puppy biting is natural. It must be discouraged though. Allow the pup to ingauge in play with and when they bite one should react with a sharp ouch and remove the hand and suspend play. Wait a few minutes and repeat the process. Puppy will quickly learn that biting down is not favorable and stops play. It takes a little time but the biting will eventually become mouthing.
This is the natural pack way of dealing with puppy biting. The older dogs will react with a high pitched bark and a nose bump and walk away
Hi I got a boerboel when he was 10 months old. actually its a she. she is now a year old but whenever somebody comes to visit she is scared and just goes and sit in one place away from everyone and is scared of everyone and everything even me but I don’t understand why because I play with her everytime and everyday. She also dig holes everywhere we closed the holes and just say to her its wrong to do that but se keeps on doing it. + I have to jackrassels and the boerboel likes to play but everytime one of my jackrassels that don’t like playing just make her teeth for the boerboel just to say she is not interrested in playing with her but the the boerboel get all hiper and jumps and irritates the to jackrassels
And I do not know what to do please reply
My husband and I have a 5 year old, neutered male Boerboel who has been our buddy since he was 6.5 weeks old (too young, I know). We wanted a huggable family dog and, although we did obedience training (and he did great), we did not work on it real hard after that. He has always shown fearful dog aggression and he was attacked three times by other dogs. Since he has gotten older and he now has epilepsy (treated with medication that may or may not be an issue) and a neurological problem with his hind legs, he is leery of certain strangers and he has growled and given warning lunges. This is a problem, but we keep him in a spare room when we have strangers or lots of visitors at the house. My main concern is with my 1 year old daughter. Our Boerboel has been good with her until she became a walker. He tolerated her climbing on him (with our careful supervision) and playing with his tail, but last month she was sitting with the dog, right next to me, and the baby bit the dog’s ear. He reacted and bit her in the face and arm in one quick bite. He was not being aggressive – he was reacting to pain. The dog does not want the baby near him unless he goes to her. He has also knocked her down backwards countless times and I fear for her safety and her life. I do not think he would attack her to be mean, but as much as I try to supervise, we have a large house and I can’t be looking at every single moment. We have decided to rehome our Boerboel and we have resorted to separating the dog and the baby at all times. It makes us feel horrible to keep the dog away from the family, but it is impossible to teach a 12 month old to stay away from the dog and to always be gentle. I have received some flack from dog loving people for not wanting to keep our dog, but I expected to receive more flack for not doing something to protect my CHILD sooner. We hired the most well-respected trainer in our area who told us that many dogs are uncomfortable with children and this is one of them. I will NEVER feel like my daughter is safe around this dog, and we have another baby on the way. Am I wrong? Do you have any suggestions?
No, I don’t think you’re wrong. I do think there are always options to explore and go down but, as a father of four young girls, I understand the need to protect my kids.
Believe it or not, I’ve got a Rottweiler that isn’t a fan of kids. As you mentioned, some dogs just don’t like them. He’s never bit or done anything inappropriate in his 8 years but kids make him uncomfortable. We’ve had a happy family dynamic by supervising dogs and kids well and by teaching the dog strategies for what he should do when he feels uncomfortable. In so doing we’ve been in great shape.
HI I WORK FOR ANIMAL CONTROL IN LOS ANGELES CITY WE HAVE A FEMALE BOERBOEL HERE IVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND A RESCUE TO TAKE HER ANY IDEAS???
Are these guys near you- http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com/index.htm
Yes they are…they r one of our adoption partners …. i didnt know if they were experienced with the breed so i havent called them….thank you
I don’t know if they have experience or not and can’t personally vouch for them. I just knew they claim to deal with larger dogs.
Pls specify the sex.will also want you to reach me perssonally on lahrivet@yahoo.co.UK pls in your reply.tell me the age and colour.if possible the picture can be sent to me thank you
We have 2 boerboels, always listen to what I am saying, know most of common stuff like sit, stay kts kts ( lol, like chase something and then he starts barking) I just love them, my lol sis even rid on them, see no problem, they are definitely not aggressive throughwards us…. But that’s because we learned them… Only problem I got is when in walking with my male dog, he loves walking but are aggressive to other dogs, how can I control him, that’s the only time I can’t control him… And suggestions? Thanx
You mention that he always listens to what you say…why not have him just sit and stay or heel past other dogs when he’s on the walk instead of allowing him to become aggressive?
hi i have two boerboels a male and female. so one morning the female just woke up with a swollen head but the swelling went down as the day went by. now the swelling is gone so i just wanted to find out if it is part of the growing process of the female because she has a narrow head. they are 8 months old by the way.
I’m not a vet but I don’t think a swollen head is part of the growing process. Best consult your vet.
More than likely the lump on the head was caused by the dogs playing and messing arounc(Hi Jinx) and that one took a bump on the head somehow. It happens, just like kids fall and banh their heads and get a lump on the head. Normally the swelling will go down in a day, or two days at the most.
Hi, i ve a female boerboel dog, I love her so much but she’s very stubborn, I’ve tried so many times 2 be talking with her calmly but she wldnt listen, if allow her 2 play around the compound for a while d first tin she does is dat, she will run out of d gate den she will start running on d street den if I try to stop her by sayin stop den she will start running away from me so dat alone gets me so mad about her dat sometimes I Will b force to beat her den she will turn my beatings 2 play again, on like my other dog she listen to what I usually says and I’m so proud of her but dis boerboel of mine i so much love her, I wish she can alws listen to me, my frnds are saying is bcos i use to spoil her dat’s y she’s misbehaving,and she’s lookin so scary dats why I usually dnt like her running anyhow around d house, people now knows me on d street onlike before wit d other dog,pls I need your advice.
Wow. You shouldn’t own a dog. You never trained your dog to come when you called and then when she doesn’t come you beat her. Can you imagine a world where people spoke to you in a language you don’t understand and then beat you for not understanding it?
Hie. I am from zimbabwe and have a male pure bred boerboel from south africa. He has been a wonderful and loving dog and very protective. A dog which has sensed when I fear or in trouble or a tense situation. At one time, a thief was attacking me on my home gate and from no where, he opened the gate with much strength, bumping it with his head and attacked the aggressor like a wounded beast and jealously defended me with zeal. He is only just a year old. The only issue with the dog is that he has refused a leash and his temperament towards me is becoming unpredictable and after that incident, the moment I open my gate and he manages to escape, he gets hostile to the public and is uncontrolable. He is now trying to impose himself as the dominant one and stubborness. Should I get him castrated? Is it the testosterone? Help guys. He is a year old but he is well built and well defined muscles and strong. He is fearless and guards the home with zeal. He is amazing but the traits he has recently developed are getting undesireable. Help please. My family members are now conniving ways to get rid of him but I love him and still want to give him another chance and save him.
Ty,
Please define what is meant by socialization. Is that with dogs, humans or is it a generalization?
Good question. There are three components to proper socialization. Check them out here- http://www.dogbehavioronline.com/how-to-socialize-a-dog/
The majority of people posting comments on this page should in no way be responsible for a large powerful breed like a Boerboel. It’s funny how horrible spelling, grammar, and ignorance of dog behavior seem to go hand in hand.
I am schocked that those on this page who clearly mistreat their dogs, do not have basic spelling abilities! Heaven help those poor animals!!
Are u ‘schocked’?
Hi. Me and my boyfriend got a boerboel male, he is almost one year old today, georgeos. I love him but he is trouble.
My boyfriend has no problem making him listen. Before we got him we both knew he would grow up and be very big so i was strikt with him from the beginning. I am the first one that goes out the door for example, he follows. My problem is that when we go outside in our yard or for a walk, after some time he gets all hyper and out off controll he starts jumping and “play” biting me. I try to get him down and almost sits on him. This is the only way for me that stopes him from biting me and by “siting” on him i hope that im making a point to him that i am stronger then him and that im in charge. Nowadays i dont dare to walk him myself because he is so much stronger then me and i cant make him stop when he gets out off controll. He does’nt bite aggresivly but its much stronger then when we play with him… my arms sometimes have marks everywhere from when he gets all hyper and it really hurts. It feels really bad to be beaten up by your own dog, especially when im used to deal well with troubling dogs. His weight today is 65 kg, 5kg more then me.
Before this boerboel we had a rottweiler that demanded owners that claimed respect. I never had any respect problems with him, i had to show him several times who’s in charge but i always won. This boerboel wont understand… its like he picked his leader and couldnt care less about everyone else. What do i do? How can i make him understand that i am the leader?
You’re looking at leadership from the wrong perspective. Many people see leadership as a ‘win-lose’ type thing where you’ve got to ‘show the dog who is boss’ and ‘win’. That isn’t leadership, that is trying to scare the dog into having some sort of respect.
True leadership is achieved through solid obedience training, through structure around the house and structure on the walk, it’s earned through being very clear with what you want from a dog and backing that up.
Hi. I am thinking of getting two male Boerboel puppies and i was wondering if they is any reading material for a first time owner. After reading the comments on this page, i intend to be properly prepared.
Goodday,i’ve been offered a boerbull dog of one year old. My children is 10 and 5, do i have any reason to be afraid of any biting, ect……………We had a boerbull since puppy (10years)which died 1month ago and the children loved her.
Pls advise how to go about making a right decision
Kurt
I would say the right decision isn’t regarding the breed of dog or the age of the children but rather the temperament of the individual dog and the respectfulness of the children in question towards dogs. There have been many Boerboels that have bitten people. There have been numerous more who haven’t so your question really boils down to the individuals in this case.
I have a man and female boerboel, Both are very obedient they r friendly and nice to the family but very aggressive to visitors. Do you think that is normal…Pls advice.
I am at my wits end. My male boerboe of 3 continuosly gets out my yard. The minute we leave he goes to the neIghbour. When they aren’t there he roams the streets looking for us. I’m afraid he’s going to get knocked over by a car. We had him castrated in the hope that he would be calmer, but he’s getting worse.he gets lots of attention and is a beautiful dog. How can we stop him getting out and why is he doing it
Are there training things that can be done to help this? Yes. But more than anything this is a containment issue and not a training issue.
Hi Ty,
I am fostering a 6 year old, nuetered male Boerboel. We haven’t had him long but he has definitely raised many questions. He is aggressive with dogs, tries to eat my cat, has absolutely no basic obedience past being housetrained, is crate aggressive and aggressive with strangers. I’ve read a lot of training advice and everything I’ve read says we need to build standard obedience skill. However even though he is kind and gentle with me and my family he has no care in the world for being trained and completely ignores all attempts to follow directions. He has bad joints and I fear I may be expecting too much with sit and down to the way it hurts him to come out of or hold the commands. Though really right now our biggest issue seems to be teaching them. He lovesattention and we’ve tried the sweet calm praise. He just seems not to care that his action would please us. Any advice on how we can help this sweet boy?
What do you mean he doesn’t care about commands? Are you treat-training?
We had tried treats, physical and verbal praise prior to today and he’d walk away or attempt to pull away if leashed. It was like he didn’t care I was even giving a command. Today he was misbehaving and very firmly told him to sit. Surprisingly he did. I went right for the treats and have tried to build from there we are working on a 60% reaction to commands given, if given in a firm tone. So something tells e he knew them prior to being in the shelter. He’s just fighting me on dominance. We’ve started short brisk walks on top of playing fetch. I don’t want to over stress his joints but I want him more physically and mentally calm before we enter the house. Hopig this may be a building block for the behavior we want opposed to his aggression.
My issue with the treat training is that I’m looking to create a relationship between the dog and me; not a relationship between the dog and a treat. For that reason I rarely use any treats in training and look to establish balance through proper correction and proper praise. Doing that you’ll find you increase the bond you have and see the dog wanting to work for you and please you.
I will try that, thank you!
Hi I have a two months boerboel I take a walk with her everyday when I came from work I give her more time she need what I love about her she loves to sleep at my couch the funny thing is when I tell her am back she jump off and sleep at the couch that I bot her ,but the problem she don’t want to sleep outside and she don’t want me to close the door at night ,am worried coz she growing. So I don’t know should I lock her outside or let her inside
my boerboel is always sick every after 6 / 3 months , what might be the problem because i feed it in a correct way and when its sick it does eat. olease anyone help
Your vet can help.
Would just like to say again that this Ty Brown thinks he knows a lot…every dog is different and he is wrong anyways like 1/2 of the time.. if you would like to put down and criticise other people and their opinions make sure you are not a wanna be no it all and do more research before you try an give people advise.
I do think I know a lot and I’ve been testing and proving my methods for years and years and years now. I’m happy to be criticized or debate a point. Next time be specific, though, about why I’m so wrong.
Hi,I have a six months old female boerbull puppy and would like to know at which age would it be ready for mating? Also it is afraid to drink from the dam, i take it for a walk everyday but on weekends i take it to the bush for long walks now the problem is if she sees you locking the house she waits at the car and jumps in immeditely you open the door,she is very obediant but everytime we go out we have to put her on a leach,how do i teach her to stay at home alone not tired up.
Hi I have a boerboel about a year now and I am trying to find out what to do everytime someone comes visiting or one of my friends come to my house she afraid of them she just barks alot and then go sit in a coner I don’t know why she does that please help
Hey my male boerboel puppy is 7weeks, he’s still a baby but very obiedient he listens to basic commands and is very affectionat(I guess he’s just being a puppy) I just have two concerns, one he hasn’t barked at all yet, I know its silly to be concerned about that because he’s still small but my previous boerboel was a very loud pup. My second concern is that his tail was removed before we got him and it look as if it bothers him, he tries to reach it but he can’t because its too short, I was just wondaring why breeders do that?
My 3 months boerboel run like hell when he sees a stranger.is this behaviour normal?
No, it’s quite abnormal.
You need to get started with training right away. A large breed dog that shows fear from such a young age can be a big liability.