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Boerboel Health & Lifespan

What the evidence actually shows about how Boerboels age, what they’re prone to, and what you can do about it — with every figure tied to a source you can read, and the viral numbers that don’t hold up called out as such.

The honest version, up front

Two things make Boerboel health writing unusually messy. First, the breed is uncommon enough that almost nothing about it has been measured directly — so most of what circulates online is either borrowed from giant breeds in general or simply invented. Second, a few viral statistics — “65% have hip dysplasia,” a tidy life-expectancy number — get repeated everywhere despite tracing back to tiny samples or no source at all.[16, 19, 60]

So here is the honest shape of it. There is no measured Boerboel life-expectancy figure; the breed is a giant guardian dog, and giant dogs live short lives.[1, 4] The conditions that matter most — hips, elbows, heart, bloat — are screened by X-ray and ultrasound, not DNA.[10, 52] The one genuinely Boerboel-specific disease gene was found only in 2026 (ALPS/FAS), and the one striking breed signal in the data is an unusually high cruciate-ligament risk.[22, 32]

Below is what the record genuinely supports, what is only giant-breed-general, and what is pure tradition — kept clearly apart. Every claim links to a numbered source. This page pairs with our genetics article, which covers the inbreeding and founder-bottleneck side of breed health.

On this page

  1. What we can prove (and what we can’t)
  2. The evidence record
  3. How long does a Boerboel live?
  4. Hips & elbows: the giant-breed core
  5. ALPS: the one Boerboel-specific disease gene
  6. What you can actually DNA-test
  7. The wider picture, condition by condition
  8. Bloat (GDV) — and the prevention that works
  9. Living longer: what actually helps
  10. What “health-tested” should mean
  11. Myths vs. facts, at a glance
  12. Where the record runs out
  13. Frequently asked questions
  14. Sources & further reading

What we can prove (and what we can’t)

The single most useful habit when reading about Boerboel health is to sort every claim into one of three buckets, because they get blended together constantly:

  • Boerboel-documented — something actually studied in the breed. This is a short list: a wobbler case series, a focal-epilepsy report, the first CMR1 case, a cruciate-risk signal, and the 2026 ALPS discovery.[22, 26, 32, 37, 38]
  • Giant-breed-general — well-established for large and giant dogs, which the Boerboel inherits by virtue of its size and build (bloat, developmental orthopedic disease, osteosarcoma risk, short lifespan). Real, but not a measured Boerboel rate.[4, 41, 43]
  • Tradition — repeated on breed pages without a traceable source, and sometimes flatly wrong (the “metabolic-trigger” epilepsy story, the viral dysplasia percentages, a fixed lifespan number).[16, 37, 60]

The reason this matters is that prevalence numbers are where honesty breaks down. A breed this uncommon has very little screening data, so a confident “X% of Boerboels have Y” almost always comes from a sample of a few dozen dogs brought to a clinic because something was wrong — the textbook recipe for selection bias. Where a genuinely large, authoritative dataset exists (OFA, the UK VetCompass studies), we cite it. Where it doesn’t, the right answer is “no reliable breed-wide rate,” and we say so rather than borrow a number that looks precise.[15, 21]

None of this means the Boerboel is mysteriously fragile, or magically robust. It means the breed sits mostly in the “giant guardian dog” risk profile, with a couple of genuine breed-specific findings layered on top — and that an honest page should tell you which is which.

The evidence record

Not a history of the breed — this is the timeline of what has actually been studied about Boerboel health, which is a surprisingly short and recent list.

  1. 2003

    Gray, Kirberger & Spotswood publish a Boerboel-specific case series of cervical spondylomyelopathy (“wobbler” syndrome) — 10 young dogs seen at Onderstepoort. One of the breed's few genuine clinical studies.

  2. 2007–2008

    The molecular basis of two testable conditions is pinned down: BEST1 for canine multifocal retinopathy (CMR1, 2007) and SLC2A9 for hyperuricosuria (HUU, 2008) — the two single-gene eye and urinary tests later offered for the breed.

  3. 2013

    Kraus and colleagues quantify the size–lifespan trade-off across 74 breeds: bigger dogs age faster, losing roughly a month of life per 2 kg of adult body mass.

  4. 2014

    Gornik et al. report the first CMR1 case in a Boerboel. The same year, the 222-breed survey that validates the degenerative-myelopathy (SOD1) test is published — and the Boerboel is not in it.

  5. 2019

    Stassen et al. describe a novel Boerboel-specific focal epilepsy presenting as sudden fear or “panic,” in five littermates — and rule out the popular “metabolic trigger” story.

  6. 2021

    An insured Swedish population of 600,000+ dogs (Engdahl et al.) finds the Boerboel has the highest relative risk of cruciate-ligament rupture of all 181 breeds with a case — the breed's single clearest health signal.

  7. 2024

    The largest UK breed life-table study to date (584,734 dogs) is published. The Boerboel is too uncommon to appear — so the breed still has no measured life-expectancy figure.

  8. 2026

    Tong et al. document autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) in a family of Boerboels — caused by a recessive FAS gene variant, and the first ALPS ever recorded in any dog.

How long does a Boerboel live?

Start with the uncomfortable truth: there is no measured Boerboel life-expectancy figure. The breed is too uncommon to appear in the large veterinary life-table studies — it’s absent from the UK VetCompass life tables and from the 584,734-dog 2024 study that is the current gold standard — and the official breed standard gives no longevity statement at all.[1, 3, 6] The familiar “9–11 years” (and the variant “10–12”) is an editorial estimate on breed pages, repeated circularly: vet-reviewed sites cite the AKC page, other sites disagree (one says 12–14), and none rests on a dataset.[7, 8, 9]

The defensible thing to do is triangulate from closely related Molossers that were measured in that 2024 study. Read these as the neighbourhood the Boerboel lives in — not as its address:

Related breedMedian life expectancy(dogs in study)
Cane Corso8.1 yr202
Mastiff (English)9.0 yr1,840
Neapolitan Mastiff9.3 yr367
St Bernard9.3 yr1,129
Bullmastiff10.2 yr2,188
Great Dane10.6 yr1,986
Rottweiler10.6 yr6,275
Dogue de Bordeaux11.1 yr3,427

Median life expectancy at age 0, from McMillan et al. 2024. These are proxy breeds, not Boerboel figures.[1, 2]

The cluster is clear: a giant Molosser guardian belongs in the high-single-digit to low-double-digit range, not the 13–15 years a medium-sized dog might reach. And there’s a mechanism behind it. Across more than 50,000 dogs of 74 breeds, larger dogs were found to age faster — losing roughly a month of life for every ~2 kg of adult body mass — so size doesn’t merely delay the finish line, it speeds up the clock. For a 70–90 kg dog, that adds up.[4]

What tends to end a giant dog’s life. In an owner survey of mastiff-type breeds, cancer was the most-cited cause of death (with bone cancer prominent), followed at a distance by old age, heart disease and bloat, at a median age around eight.[5] It’s an owner-recall survey of mastiff breeds, not a Boerboel study — but it points the same way as the biology: in giant dogs, cancer and the conditions of large size, not infectious disease, are what shorten life.

Hips & elbows: the giant-breed core

Hip and elbow dysplasia are the conditions most worth a buyer’s attention in any giant breed — and the place where Boerboel misinformation is thickest. Two facts anchor everything else. They are polygenic and multifactorial (many genes plus growth, weight and environment), and they are screened by X-ray, because no validated DNA test exists for either, in the Boerboel or any breed.[10]

On prevalence, the honest answer is the unsatisfying one: there is no reliable breed-wide hip or elbow dysplasia rate for the Boerboel. The numbers you’ll see quoted don’t survive a look at their source:

  • The viral “65% hip / 25% elbow” figures come from a single 20-dog Nigerian sample of dogs presented for screening — and a larger study from the same research group reports different numbers again (57.8% hips; 43.7% elbows). Samples that contradict each other this much are telling you there is no stable rate to quote.[16, 17, 18]
  • The tidy “48.2% dysplastic, ~5th-worst breed, OFA Dec 2016” claim traces to a commercial retailer’s republished table — not to OFA, and not to the Institute of Canine Biology article it’s usually credited to, which never mentions the Boerboel at all.[19, 20]
  • The breed was even excluded from a major 60-breed dysplasia study because it lacked the required ~1,000 hip records — a direct sign of how thin the OFA data is. The live OFA breed page exists, but it is JavaScript-gated and could not be retrieved for this article, so we will not publish a figure from it that we can’t verify.[15, 21]

What is solid is how responsible breeders screen. Several national schemes grade the same X-rays in different dialects:

SchemeWhat it doesGrades
OFA (US) hipsThree-radiologist consensus readExcellent / Good / Fair, Borderline, then Mild / Moderate / Severe
OFA elbowsGraded for dysplasiaNormal, then Grade I / II / III
PennHIPMeasures joint laxity; from 16 weeks of ageDistraction Index (lower = tighter)
BVA/KC (UK)Nine features scored per hip0–53 per hip (lower is better); breed median guidance
FCI (Europe)Single overall gradeA (normal) through E (severe)

Sources for the schemes above.[11, 12, 13, 14]

Long-term radiographic screening with selective breeding is the only tool shown to reduce dysplasia across breeds — modestly, but genuinely.[15] For a buyer, that turns into one concrete question: can the breeder show you hip and elbow scores for both parents? A breeder who screens isn’t promising a dysplasia-free puppy — no one can — but they are stacking the odds the only way the evidence supports.

ALPS: the one Boerboel-specific disease gene

In February 2026, two companion papers reported something genuinely new: autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) in a family of Boerboels — the first time the disorder has ever been documented in any dog. Until then it was known in humans and, in one report, in cats.[22, 24]

The cause is a recessive variant in the FAS gene — a small (14-base-pair) duplication that breaks the receptor cells use to switch off surplus immune cells. With both copies broken, those cells accumulate. Affected pups, homozygous for the variant, showed up at 8–11 weeks old with strikingly swollen but non-painful lymph nodes, an enlarged spleen, anaemia and low platelets; the dam and sire were unaffected carriers, exactly as a recessive trait predicts.[22] Encouragingly, the immune-suppressant sirolimus produced improvement within a couple of weeks, and one treated pup was later off all medication and well.[23]

Read this carefully, because it’s easy to over-read. Only a single affected family has been genotyped. That means there is no breed-wide carrier rate — we have no idea whether the variant is widespread or vanishingly rare — and no established public commercial test yet. The variant was absent from a database of more than 3,000 dogs, which is reassuring but not conclusive. ALPS is, for now, an important discovery in the breed, not a screening tool you can act on. The authors’ own advice is the sensible one: avoid mating two known carriers if and when testing becomes available.[22, 23]

It’s worth noting why this one finding matters out of proportion to its (currently tiny) case count: it is, quite literally, the only disease-causing gene variant ever identified specifically in the Boerboel. Everything else on this page is either a phenotype screened by imaging, a test borrowed from other breeds, or a giant-breed-general risk. That scarcity is the real story of Boerboel health genetics — a theme we develop in the genetics article.

What you can actually DNA-test

Strip away the marketing and the genuinely useful DNA menu for a Boerboel is short. Two single-gene health tests are real and breed-relevant; a third is sold but not breed-proven; and the conditions that matter most aren’t DNA-testable at all.

Worth doing

CMR1

Eye — canine multifocal retinopathy

A recessive BEST1 mutation; first reported in a Boerboel in 2014. Vision is usually preserved, but it’s a clean, validated test offered by VGL, Embark and Wisdom Panel.

Worth doing

HUU

Urinary — urate stones

A recessive SLC2A9 mutation that lets urate bladder/kidney stones form. A real test is offered for the breed, though Boerboel frequency data is thin (just nine dogs).

Offered, not proven

DM / SOD1

Degenerative myelopathy

Sold for the breed, but the 222-breed survey that validated the marker excluded the Boerboel, and no case has been confirmed. Treat as “offered,” not “breed-proven.”

CMR1[25, 26, 27]; HUU[28, 29]; DM/SOD1[30, 31].

The big one: the conditions that matter most have no DNA test. Hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and heart disease are not predictable from a cheek swab — they’re screened by X-ray and ultrasound.[10] A DNA test once sold for an inherited heart defect in another breed was even withdrawn after its variant failed to hold up in further study — a reminder that “has a DNA test” and “is reliably predicted by DNA” are not the same thing.[35] A consumer DNA kit can confirm your dog is a Boerboel and flag CMR1/HUU status, but it cannot tell you whether its hips are sound. Don’t let a clean DNA panel stand in for the screening that actually counts.

The wider picture, condition by condition

Beyond hips, elbows and bloat, the Boerboel’s name gets attached to a long list of conditions. Here is that list sorted honestly — what the evidence actually shows for each, and whether it is a real breed signal, a testable gene, a structural trait, a documented small series, or simply an inference (or assumption) borrowed from giant breeds. The standout is at the top, and it surprises people.

Cranial cruciate ligament rupture

Real breed signal

In a 600,000-dog Swedish insurance study the Boerboel had the highest relative risk of all 181 breeds — RR 11.0 (95% CI 5.84–18.8). It is a relative risk, not a prevalence, and the wide interval reflects few Boerboel cases.

Managed by: Keep lean, manage hard exercise on growing joints; surgical repair (e.g. TPLO) if it ruptures.

Eyelid defects (entropion / ectropion)

Conformational

The most consistently breed-attributed eye problem. The AKC standard disqualifies entropion, ectropion and blue eyes outright. No breed-wide prevalence figure exists.

Managed by: ACVO eye exam of breeding stock; surgical correction (Hotz–Celsus, wedge resection) where needed.

Canine multifocal retinopathy (CMR1)

Testable

An inherited retinopathy with a real recessive DNA test; first reported in a Boerboel in 2014. Lesions appear by ~3–4 months and vision is usually preserved.

Managed by: DNA-test breeding stock (UC Davis VGL, Embark, Wisdom Panel) and avoid carrier-to-carrier matings.

Hyperuricosuria (HUU)

Testable

A recessive mutation in SLC2A9 that lets urate stones form. A real DNA test is offered for the breed — though the only Boerboel carrier figures rest on just nine dogs.

Managed by: DNA test; manage diet and monitor for urate stones in affected dogs.

Cervical spondylomyelopathy (wobbler)

Documented (small series)

A genuine Boerboel case series exists (10 young dogs, 2003), consistent with the known giant-breed predisposition. No breed-wide rate — it is a small series, not an epidemiological estimate.

Managed by: Neurological work-up; medical or surgical management depending on severity.

Focal epilepsy (fear-onset)

Documented (small series)

A real Boerboel-specific finding — five littermates with sudden fear/“panic” seizures from ~3 months. Suspected recessive, no gene identified. It is NOT triggered by metabolic stress, despite the popular claim.

Managed by: Veterinary neurology referral; standard anti-seizure management.

Subaortic stenosis (SAS) / DCM

Not established in the breed

SAS appears for the breed only as a single histopathology specimen; the Boerboel is on no standard DCM predisposed list. “Genetically predisposed” is extrapolation — often from confusing the Boerboel with the Dogue de Bordeaux.

Managed by: Cardiac auscultation plus echocardiogram screening of breeding dogs.

Vaginal hyperplasia

Not established in the breed

Estrus-driven fold prolapse, cured by spaying. Merck records no breed predisposition (only a brachycephalic over-representation) — it is frequently listed for Boerboels without any breed data.

Managed by: Usually resolves after the heat; spaying is curative.

Osteosarcoma & developmental ortho disease

Inferred from size

Bone-cancer risk is strongly size-driven (giant breeds run ~16–29× a small dog's risk), but the Boerboel is in no cancer dataset — any breed figure is an inference from body size, not a measurement.

Managed by: Watch for unexplained lameness; no screening DNA test exists.

Degenerative myelopathy (DM / SOD1)

Test offered, not validated

A SOD1 DNA test is sold for the breed, but the 222-breed survey that validated that marker excluded the Boerboel; there is no confirmed case or breed carrier rate.

Managed by: Treat a DM result as unproven for the breed; it is not on the recommended screening core.

Cruciate[32]; eyelids[6, 42]; CMR1[26]; HUU[28, 29]; wobbler[38]; epilepsy[37]; SAS/DCM[33, 34, 36]; vaginal hyperplasia[39]; osteosarcoma[41]; DM[30, 31].

A reproductive footnote often attached to the breed: caesarean rates run markedly higher in flat-faced breeds — in one large kennel-club study, roughly three times the all-breed rate — but the Boerboel is moderate-muzzled rather than truly brachycephalic, and no Boerboel-specific whelping or caesarean data exists. So treat “Boerboels always need a C-section” as unproven for the breed, not established fact.[40]

The cruciate signal, in context

That top row deserves a moment. In an insured population of more than 600,000 Swedish dogs, the Boerboel had the highest relative risk of cranial cruciate ligament rupture of all 181 breeds that had any cases — a relative risk of 11.0 against the baseline.[32] Two honest caveats keep it in proportion: it’s a relative risk, not a share of dogs affected, and the confidence interval is wide because the Boerboel case count was small. But it is the breed’s clearest single signal in any large dataset, and it fits the pattern — big, heavy, fast-growing dogs are hard on their knees. Keeping a Boerboel lean and sensibly exercised while the joints mature is the practical takeaway.

Bloat (GDV) — and the prevention that works

Gastric dilatation-volvulus — “bloat” — is the one giant-breed emergency every Boerboel owner should understand, because it’s fast, deadly, and partly preventable. The stomach fills with gas and then twists, cutting off its own blood supply; without rapid surgery it is frequently fatal.[48] There is no Boerboel-specific bloat rate — the breed wasn’t in the classic studies — but it carries the risk by conformation: large, deep-chested Molossers sit squarely in the high-risk group alongside the Great Dane, German Shepherd, Bullmastiff and St Bernard.[43]

The large-breed epidemiology is worth knowing because it overturns some common advice:

  • A deep, narrow chest is the core risk factor — thoracic depth-to-width ratio alone explained a large share of why some breeds bloat more than others.[45]
  • Risk also rises with age, with a first-degree relative that has bloated, and with fast eating.[44]
  • A raised food bowl increases risk — the opposite of long-repeated advice. In the large-breed data, raised feeders were associated with a substantial share of GDV cases.[44]

The clearest actionable evidence on this whole page: prophylactic gastropexy. It’s a surgery that tacks the stomach to the body wall so it can dilate but can’t twist. It doesn’t stop simple bloating, but it mechanically prevents the deadly volvulus. In a series of 766 dogs that had it done preventively, none went on to a GDV, with only a 0.4% rate of minor surgical-site complications — against a recurrence rate well over half in dogs that bloat and aren’t pexied.[47] A decision analysis found it worthwhile for every at-risk breed it modelled, cutting lifetime GDV-mortality risk dramatically in the largest breeds.[46] It’s commonly done at the same time as spay or neuter, often laparoscopically — a conversation well worth having with your vet for a dog this size.

Know the signs, too: a swollen or hard belly, unproductive retching, drooling, restlessness and fast collapse. Bloat is a “drive to the emergency vet now” event, not a wait-and-see one.[48]

Living longer: what actually helps

The good news in all of this is that the best-evidenced levers are things an owner controls. They won’t make a giant dog live like a small one, but the data behind them is unusually solid.

  • Keep the dog lean — this is the big one. In a 14-year study that followed Labradors for their whole lives, dogs fed 25% less than their free-fed littermates lived a median 13.0 versus 11.2 years and developed hip arthritis years later. Leanness is the single most powerful, best-proven thing you can do for a dog’s lifespan and joints.[49]
  • Don’t rush to grow them. Giant-breed puppies should grow steadily, not maximally. Excess dietary calcium is an independent cause of developmental orthopedic disease in large breeds — feeding trials in Great Danes produced skeletal damage from calcium overload — so a complete large-breed puppy diet, not supplements, is the right call.[51]
  • Be thoughtful about neuter timing. In giant dogs (from mixed-breed data), neutering before about six months was linked to a roughly tripled rate of joint disorders, and the researchers suggested delaying neutering in giant males to around two years. There’s no Boerboel-specific study, so treat it as a vet conversation — but “not too early” is the consistent giant-breed theme.[50]
  • Consider a prophylactic gastropexy at spay/neuter, as covered above — the clearest single surgical hedge against a giant-breed killer.[47]

None of these is exotic, and none depends on a designer supplement. Lean body condition, sensible growth, sensible timing, and screened parents do more for a Boerboel’s odds than anything you can buy in a bottle.

What “health-tested” should mean

“Health-tested” is a phrase breeders use freely, so it helps to know what it should actually cover. Both the US and South African systems converge on the same screening core — and both rely on imaging, not DNA, for the conditions that matter.

Hips

Radiograph — OFA, PennHIP, BVA/KC or FCI

Elbows

Radiograph — OFA or FCI grading

Heart

Auscultation + echocardiogram (OFA cardiac)

Eyes

ACVO exam → OFA Eye Certification Registry

In the United States, the American Boerboel Club (the AKC parent club) recommends radiographic hips and elbows plus a cardiac evaluation, with eye exams advised as well; the AKC lists the breed’s national-club tests as hip, elbow and cardiac evaluation. Complete the recommended screens and publish the results and a dog earns a CHIC number — which certifies that the testing was done and made public, not that the results were all perfect.[52, 53, 54, 55]

In South Africa, the SABBS appraisal — the government-recognised system under the Animal Improvement Act — goes further for stud registration: a dog must appraise at the top tier and submit certified hip status (0:0–1:1, i.e. FCI A1–C2), elbow status (1:1 maximum), an eyelid check, a vaginal-hyperplasia exam in females, and a DNA profile.[56, 57, 58] One distinction matters: that SABBS DNA profile is a parentage and identity check — an anti-fraud measure — not a disease test. It proves a dog is who its papers say it is; it says nothing about its health.[59] (The registry side of this story — SABBS, KUSA and the rest — gets its own article in this series.)

For a buyer it reduces to a simple, fair ask: show me the parents’ hip, elbow and heart results. A breeder who can is doing the part of breed health that the evidence actually supports.

Myths vs. facts, at a glance

The claim

Boerboels live 9–11 (or 10–12) years on average.

What the record shows

There is no measured breed average. That figure is an editorial breed-page estimate repeated circularly; the breed is in no life-table dataset and its standard gives no longevity number. Related Molossers run roughly 8–11 years.

The claim

65% of Boerboels have hip dysplasia (25% elbow).

What the record shows

Those come from a single 20-dog Nigerian sample of dogs brought in for screening; the same group's larger samples conflict (57.8% / 43.7%). There is no reliable breed-wide rate.

The claim

OFA shows ~48.2% of Boerboels dysplastic — ~5th-worst breed (Dec 2016).

What the record shows

That traces to a commercial retailer's republished table, not OFA, and the dating is wrong. The article it's credited to never mentions the Boerboel. Don't repeat it.

The claim

Boerboel juvenile epilepsy is triggered by metabolic stress.

What the record shows

The only peer-reviewed study found bile acids and ammonia normal and no metabolic abnormality; the seizures followed waking, excitement or startle. The “metabolic trigger” is content-farm framing.

The claim

The Boerboel is genetically predisposed to SAS / prone to DCM.

What the record shows

SAS appears for the breed only as a single specimen; the Boerboel is on no standard DCM list. The claim is extrapolation — often from confusing the Boerboel with the Dogue de Bordeaux.

The claim

A raised food bowl helps prevent bloat.

What the record shows

Backwards. In the large-breed data, raised feeders were associated with increased GDV risk, not reduced.

The claim

There's a DNA test that predicts hip or elbow dysplasia.

What the record shows

No — those are polygenic and screened by X-ray (OFA, PennHIP, BVA, FCI). No validated DNA test exists, in the Boerboel or any breed.

The claim

The viral Boerboel health percentages (e.g. 3.94% orthopedic, 0.79% osteosarcoma) are real data.

What the record shows

They trace to a content-farm page with no sample, source or citation. They are not citable as fact.

Where the record runs out

A source-of-truth page should own its blind spots. These are the Boerboel health questions that genuinely can’t be answered from the current record — anyone who answers them with a confident number is guessing.

  • A measured Boerboel life-expectancy figure — none exists; the breed is in no life-table dataset.[1, 3]
  • Any reliable breed-wide hip or elbow dysplasia rate — the live OFA breed table is gated, and the circulating figures are tiny, conflicting clinic samples.[16, 17, 21]
  • The breed-wide carrier rate for the new ALPS/FAS variant — only one family has been genotyped.[22]
  • A trustworthy Boerboel CMR1 or HUU carrier frequency — the available figures rest on very small numbers.[27, 29]
  • Whether the high cruciate relative risk is confirmed beyond the single Swedish cohort.[32]
  • Any breed-specific data on skin, thyroid, cardiac or bloat rates — the Boerboel is absent from the large datasets that would settle them.[41, 42]

Frequently asked questions

How long do Boerboels live?

There is no measured breed average. The widely repeated “9–11” or “10–12 years” is an editorial estimate from breed pages, not data — the Boerboel is too uncommon to appear in the big veterinary life-table studies, and its breed standard gives no longevity figure. The honest, sourced way to anchor expectations is to look at closely related Molossers, which in a 584,734-dog UK study ran from about 8 to 11 years (Mastiff 9.0, Cane Corso 8.1, Bullmastiff 10.2, Dogue de Bordeaux 11.1). None of those is a Boerboel figure, but together they place a giant guardian breed firmly in the high-single-digit to low-double-digit range. And larger dogs age faster — roughly a month of life lost per 2 kg of adult body weight.

Do Boerboels really get hip dysplasia 65% of the time?

No reliable breed-wide rate exists. The viral “65% hip / 25% elbow” numbers come from a single 20-dog Nigerian sample of dogs brought in for screening, and other samples from the same research group conflict with it (57.8% hips, 43.7% elbows). A separate “48.2%, ~5th worst breed” figure traces to a commercial retailer's republished table, not to OFA. Hip and elbow dysplasia are real giant-breed concerns, but they are screened by X-ray (OFA, PennHIP, BVA, FCI), not predicted by any DNA test — and you should buy from a breeder who hip- and elbow-scores their dogs.

What single thing most extends a giant dog's healthy life?

Keeping it lean. In a 14-year study that followed Labradors for life, dogs fed 25% less than their free-fed littermates lived a median 13.0 versus 11.2 years — and developed hip arthritis much later. Leanness is the best-evidenced lever any owner controls.

Which Boerboel DNA tests are actually worth doing?

Two single-gene health tests are genuinely validated for the breed: CMR1 (an inherited eye condition) and HUU (a urate-stone risk). A degenerative-myelopathy (SOD1) test is sold for the breed, but the survey that validated that marker didn't include Boerboels, so treat it as “offered,” not “breed-proven.” There is no DNA test for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia or heart disease — those are screened by X-ray and ultrasound.

What is ALPS, the new Boerboel finding?

Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome — and the 2026 Boerboel report is the first time it has ever been documented in any dog. It is caused by a recessive variant in the FAS gene. Affected pups develop markedly swollen lymph nodes and spleen from about 8–11 weeks, and the immune-suppressant sirolimus helps. Crucially, only one affected family has been genotyped, so there is no breed-wide carrier rate and no established public DNA test yet — it is a discovery, not yet a screening tool.

Should I worry about bloat (GDV)?

Yes — as a large, deep-chested breed the Boerboel carries a real conformational risk, even though no Boerboel-specific rate exists. Bloat is a fast, life-threatening emergency. The best-evidenced prevention is a prophylactic gastropexy, which tacks the stomach so it can't twist; it is often done at the same time as spay or neuter. And contrary to old advice, a raised food bowl increases the risk rather than lowering it.

When should I neuter a Boerboel?

The best evidence in giant dogs (from mixed-breed data) links neutering before about 6 months to a roughly tripled risk of joint disorders, and researchers suggest delaying neutering in giant males to around two years. There is no Boerboel-specific study, so treat this as a conversation to have with your own vet rather than a hard rule — but “not too early” is the consistent theme for giant breeds.

What health tests should a responsible Boerboel breeder do?

Hip and elbow radiographs and a cardiac evaluation are the recommended core (the American Boerboel Club and AKC). In South Africa, SABBS additionally requires certified hip and elbow grades, an eyelid check, a vaginal-hyperplasia exam in females, and a DNA profile for stud registration. One caveat worth understanding: that SABBS DNA profile proves the dog's parentage and identity — it is not a disease test.

Sources & further reading

This article leans on primary and authoritative sources — peer-reviewed veterinary papers, the big UK VetCompass life-table studies, the OFA/PennHIP/BVA screening schemes, kennel-club and breed-club health pages — and treats breeder blogs and content farms as tradition to be checked, not fact. Where a popular figure failed to trace to a real source, we said so instead of repeating it. Numbers in the text link here.

  1. Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death (McMillan, Bielby, Williams, Upjohn, Casey & Christley, 2024) — life tables from 584,734 dogs — Scientific Reports / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10834484/
  2. Life Expectancy for 155 Dog Breeds and Crossbred Groups — the 2024 data table (median life expectancy + 95% CI per breed) — Dogs Trust. https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/downloads/life-expectancy-breeds-table-2024.pdf
  3. Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the UK (Teng, Brodbelt, Pegram, Church & O'Neill, 2022) — Scientific Reports / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9050668/
  4. The Size–Life Span Trade-Off Decomposed: Why Large Dogs Die Young (Kraus, Pavard & Promislow, 2013) — The American Naturalist (Univ. of Chicago Press). https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/669665
  5. Mastiff breed mortality: a study of owner experience, dog age and longevity (Bell & Hesketh, 2021; n = 1,036, owner survey) — Veterinary and Animal Science / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34458644/
  6. Official Standard of the Boerboel (no longevity statement; entropion, ectropion and blue eyes are disqualifications; muzzle “slightly more than a third” of head) (PDF) — American Kennel Club. https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Boerboel.pdf
  7. Boerboel — Dog Breed Information (the editorial “9–11 years” estimate) — American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/boerboel/
  8. Boerboel (South African Mastiff) Dog Breed Health and Care (vet-reviewed; repeats the AKC lifespan estimate) — PetMD. https://www.petmd.com/dog/breeds/boerboel
  9. Life Span of Boerboel (a conflicting “12–14 year” editorial estimate) — World Life Expectancy. https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/dog-life-expectancy-boerboel
  10. Genetics of Hip Dysplasia in Dogs: A Guide for Breeders (polygenic; no validated DNA test; radiographic selection) — American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/genetics-hip-dysplasia-dogs-guide-breeders/
  11. Hip Dysplasia — Hip Grade Details (the OFA hip grading scheme) — Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). https://ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia/hip-grade-details/
  12. Elbow Dysplasia (the OFA elbow grading scheme) — Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). https://ofa.org/diseases/elbow-dysplasia/
  13. PennHIP FAQ (distraction-index method; screening from 16 weeks) — Antech Diagnostics. https://www.antechdiagnostics.com/imaging-services/pennhip/pennhip-faq/
  14. BVA / Kennel Club Hip Dysplasia Scheme for dogs (0–53 per hip; breed median scores) — British Veterinary Association. https://www.bva.co.uk/canine-health-schemes/hip-scheme/
  15. Long-term genetic selection reduced prevalence of hip and elbow dysplasia in 60 dog breeds (Oberbauer, Keller & Famula, 2017) — required >1,000 hip / 500 elbow OFA records per breed; Boerboel not included — PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0172918
  16. Preliminary evaluation of the prevalence of hip and elbow dysplasia in Boerboel dogs (Ajadi & Doyin-Dada, 2019; n = 20 presented for screening — 65% hip / 25% elbow) — Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences / AJOL. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sokjvs/article/view/189880
  17. Prevalence of hip dysplasia in Boerboel dogs in Nigeria, 2016–2022 (2023; n = 64 — 57.8% dysplastic, conflicting with the 65% figure) — Nigerian Veterinary Journal / AJOL. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/nvj/article/view/258346
  18. Phenotypic status of elbow dysplasia in Boerboel dogs in Nigeria (Ajadi et al., 2021; n = 64 — 43.7% elbow dysplasia) — Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences / AJOL. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sokjvs/article/view/208551
  19. Incidence of Hip Dysplasia in Dogs (a republished OFA ranking table — the true source of the viral “48.2% / 110 evaluated” Boerboel figure) — Ortocanis. https://www.ortocanis.com/en/content/incidence-hip-dysplasia-in-dogs
  20. Latest OFA statistics for hip dysplasia, Dec 2016 (the article wrongly credited with the Boerboel figure — it never mentions the breed) — Institute of Canine Biology. https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/latest-ofa-statistics-for-hip-dysplasia-dec-2016
  21. OFA Disease Statistics (the live per-breed tables — JavaScript-gated; the Boerboel breed statistic could not be retrieved for this article) — Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/
  22. Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome in Boerboel dogs: clinicopathologic, diagnostic and genetic characterization (Tong et al., 2026, J Vet Intern Med 40(1)) — the first ALPS documented in any dog — J Vet Intern Med / Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/jvim/article/40/1/aalag011/8487436
  23. Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome in Boerboel dogs: treatment, clinical outcomes and prevention (Tong et al., 2026, J Vet Intern Med 40(1)) — J Vet Intern Med / Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/jvim/article/40/1/aalag010/8487694
  24. ALPS in Boerboel dogs — clinicopathologic, diagnostic and genetic characterization (full-text mirror, PMC12907932) — PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12907932/
  25. Bestrophin gene mutations cause canine multifocal retinopathy (Guziewicz et al., 2007) — BEST1 c.73C>T (R25X), the CMR1 founder mutation across the molossers — Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17460247/
  26. Canine multifocal retinopathy caused by a BEST1 mutation in a Boerboel (Gornik, Pirie, Marrion & Komáromy, 2014) — the first reported Boerboel CMR1 case — Veterinary Ophthalmology / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23998685/
  27. Canine Multifocal Retinopathy 1 (CMR1) — the breed DNA test (N/N, N/CMR1, CMR1/CMR1) — UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory. https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/cmr1
  28. Mutations in the SLC2A9 Gene Cause Hyperuricosuria and Hyperuricemia in the Dog (Bannasch et al., 2008) — the HUU urate-stone mutation — PLoS Genetics / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2573870/
  29. Hyperuricosuria (HUU) in the South African Boerboel — the breed DNA test — Paw Print Genetics. https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/tests/details/77/?breed=112
  30. Breed Distribution of SOD1 Alleles Associated with Canine Degenerative Myelopathy (Zeng et al., 2014) — 222 breeds surveyed; the Boerboel is not among them — J Vet Intern Med / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4238831/
  31. Degenerative Myelopathy (Common Variant / SOD1) test offered for the Boerboel — Paw Print Genetics. https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/tests/details/87/?breed=112
  32. The epidemiology of cruciate-ligament rupture in an insured Swedish dog population (Engdahl et al., 2021) — the Boerboel had the highest relative risk of all 181 breeds (RR 11.0) — Scientific Reports / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8100293/
  33. Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis: Learning From Human and Canine Clinical Research (Crofton, Kovacs & Stern, 2023) — a single Boerboel SAS histopathology specimen — Cardiology Research / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10627371/
  34. Genetics of canine subvalvular aortic stenosis (Ontiveros & Stern, 2021) — SAS genetics studied in Newfoundland and other breeds, not the Boerboel — Canine Medicine and Genetics / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8103588/
  35. Discontinuation of PICALM gene testing for subvalvular aortic stenosis (the Newfoundland SAS variant did not replicate, so the test was withdrawn) — Paw Print Genetics. https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/news/stories/25/
  36. Dilated Cardiomyopathy (the standard predisposed-breed list; the Boerboel is not on it) — Cornell University Riney Canine Health Center. https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/riney-canine-health-center/canine-health-topics/dilated-cardiomyopathy
  37. Focal epilepsy with fear-related behaviour as primary presentation in Boerboel dogs (Stassen et al., 2019; 5 littermates) — bile acids and ammonia were within reference ranges — J Vet Intern Med / Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/jvim/article/33/2/694/8448094
  38. Cervical spondylomyelopathy (“wobbler”) in the Boerboel (Gray, Kirberger & Spotswood, 2003; 10 dogs, Onderstepoort) — Journal of the South African Veterinary Association / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15038422/
  39. Vaginal Hyperplasia in Small Animals (no documented breed predisposition; brachycephalic over-representation only) — Merck Veterinary Manual. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reproductive-system/reproductive-diseases-of-the-female-small-animal/vaginal-hyperplasia-in-small-animals
  40. Increased use of caesarean sections in pedigree dogs — Danish Kennel Club, 2013–2022 (n = 35,121 litters; brachycephalic 37.6–40.1% vs 12.7–15.5% overall) — Theriogenology / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40916259/
  41. Dog breeds and conformations predisposed to osteosarcoma in the UK: a VetCompass study (2023; 905,552 dogs) — risk rises ~16–29× with body size; the Boerboel is not in the dataset — PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10294386/
  42. Conformational eyelid disorders in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK (O'Neill et al., 2025; overall entropion 0.33%, ectropion 0.04%) — the Boerboel is not separately reported — PLOS ONE / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12208470/
  43. Incidence of and breed-related risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs (Glickman et al., 2000) — incidence 23–26 cases/1,000 dog-years in large/giant breeds — JAVMA / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10638316/
  44. Non-dietary risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in large and giant breed dogs (Glickman et al., 2000) — a raised feeding bowl increased risk — JAVMA / Semantic Scholar. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Non-dietary-risk-factors-for-gastric-in-large-and-Glickman-Glickman/dee4006602d93944ae80c9784913d86387a005d3
  45. Analysis of risk factors for gastric dilatation and dilatation-volvulus — thoracic depth-to-width conformation (Glickman et al., 1996) — Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound / Wiley. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1740-8261.1996.tb01216.x
  46. Benefits of prophylactic gastropexy for dogs at risk of gastric dilatation-volvulus (Ward, Patronek & Glickman, 2003) — lifetime GDV mortality risk up to 36.7% (Great Dane) — Preventive Veterinary Medicine / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12941556/
  47. Outcomes and complications of prophylactic incisional gastropexy in 766 dogs (de la Vega & Ralphs, 2023) — no follow-up GDV; 0.4% surgical-site complications — BMC Research Notes / PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10619303/
  48. Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (clinical overview; case-fatality with treatment) — American College of Veterinary Surgeons. https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/gastric-dilatation-volvulus/
  49. Influence of lifetime food restriction on causes, time, and predictors of death in dogs (Lawler et al., 2005) — the lifetime Labrador study; lean dogs lived a median 13.0 vs 11.2 years — JAVMA / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15323378/
  50. Assisting decision-making on age of neutering for mixed-breed dogs of five weight categories (Hart et al., 2020) — early neutering of giant dogs raised joint-disorder risk — Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00472/full
  51. Influences of chronic excess calcium intake on skeletal development in growing Great Danes (Hazewinkel et al., 1991) — dietary calcium excess causes developmental orthopedic disease — Journal of Nutrition / PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1941254/
  52. Boerboel Health Statement (the parent club's recommended hip, elbow, cardiac and eye screening) (PDF) — American Boerboel Club / American Kennel Club. https://cdn.akc.org/Marketplace/Health-Statement/Boerboel.pdf
  53. The American Boerboel Club Code of Ethics (recommended screening; permanent ID by DNA marker plus tattoo or microchip) — American Boerboel Club. https://americanboerboelclub.org/american-boerboel-club/code-of-ethics/
  54. Working Group Health Testing Requirements (the Boerboel's national-breed-club tests: Hip, Elbow and Cardiac Evaluation) — American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/breeder-programs/breed-health-testing-requirements/working-group-health-testing-requirements/
  55. CHIC Program — how a dog earns a CHIC number (complete every parent-club-recommended screen and publish the results) — Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). https://ofa.org/chic-programs/
  56. The SABBS Appraisal: Boerboels, Inch by Inch (the 8-category appraisal; 75% breeding gate) — Modern Molosser Magazine. https://www.modernmolosser.com/what-is-sabbs-south-african-boerboel-breeders-association-appraisal
  57. Animal Improvement Act: Registration of SABBS (the society's statutory recognition) — Government of South Africa (gov.za). https://www.gov.za/documents/animal-improvement-act-registration-animal-breeders-society-south-african-boerboel
  58. SABBS Stud Register requirements, reproduced verbatim (appraise ≥85%, hips 0:0–1:1 / FCI A1–C2, elbow 1:1 max, vaginal-hyperplasia exam, DNA profile) — Aisha Boerboels (mirror of sabbs.org/services/stud-register). https://aishaboerboels.co.uk/news/cassius-achieves-sabbs-stud-registration/
  59. SABBS Bylaw B — Boerboel Database and Registers (the DNA profile is parentage/identity verification, not disease screening) — South African Boerboel Breeders' Society. https://sabbs.org/bylaw-b-boerboel-database-and-registers
  60. General Health and Common Issues of Boerboel — the content-farm page behind the viral “3.94% orthopedic / 0.79% osteosarcoma” figures (no sample, source or citation) — dogmixology.com. https://dogmixology.com/boerboel/general-health

Last reviewed June 2026. This page is general breed information, not veterinary advice for an individual dog — for that, see your vet. Spot a genuine error or have a primary source we missed? Tell us via our contact page — we’d rather be corrected than wrong.

Keep reading the breed library

Health runs straight into genetics — the founder bottleneck and inbreeding behind it — and into the registry rules that decide what “health-tested” must include. Both have their own deep-dives.

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