Table of Contents

The Lumber Region, Loin

It is short, straight and muscular, and slightly narrower than the chest and rump.

Dogs with short loins seem to have better movement than dogs with long loins. Also, if the loin is too long, the dog’s body will become too long or the rib cage will appear too short. If the loin is too long, it is more likely to see too much movement in the dog’s topline when they are in motion. The width of the loin is only slightly narrower than the chest and rump. The loin should flow nicely into both the chest and the rump. Sometimes, dogs with barrel chests will also have the end of their ribcage stop too early, and not flow into the loin. So, if you were to try and run your hand along the side of the loin and onto the ribs of one of these dogs, your hand would come to a complete stop at the ribs.

Because the female will have a wider rump than the male, the loin will also be slightly wider than the males when looking from above.

This drawing from above shows how the loin is slightly narrower than the chest and rump. It also shows how everything flows into the next part. When looking at the loin and rump area, notice the female is wider because she needs to conceive puppies and pass them through her birth canal. The male has a larger chest than the female, because he is heavier and needs larger lungs and heart to pump oxygen and blood around to his larger body.

The flanks are well filled, only moderately tucked up and the depth is slightly less than the length of the loin.

What we are saying here, is that Boerboels should be moderately tucked up in the belly, but not as much as a boxer or greyhound. Often, people will try and make their dog grow by over feeding him, or by keeping their dog fat, so that they can tell people he weighs “X” kg’s. If the dog’s belly is not tucked up, it is most likely too fat. Males should look more tucked up than females. The female should also have a slightly larger flank flap or skirt, which is the flap of skin that joins the belly to the back leg.

Breed Standard - The Chest Breed Standard - The Rump, Croup