Tuebor Boerboels is a small kennel in the Finnish countryside, but my story with the Boerboel started long before there was a kennel name.

I first came across the breed in 2003. At the time, Boerboels were still very uncommon in Finland and information was not nearly as easy to find as it is today. What started as curiosity became years of reading, learning and following the breed before Tuebor ever existed.

As I learned more about the breed, I became increasingly interested in its history, the dogs behind pedigrees and how the Boerboel had developed over time. That interest has stayed with me and still influences the way I Iook at the breed today.

From interest to breeding

I completed the Finnish basic breeder course in 2010, around the time my first Boerboel was coming into my life.

Breeding was not really the plan at that point. I wanted to learn more, and the course seemed like a good place to start. I still remember sitting next to someone with an Azawakh, while another participant had Rhodesian Ridgebacks. When we were asked which breed we would possibly like to breed one day, my answer was Boerboels.

Apparently the idea was already there before I realised where it would eventually lead.

Tuebor was established in 2013.

I have continued studying subjects related to breeding over the years, including population genetics, coefficients of inbreeding, hip and elbow dysplasia and other areas of canine health and breeding. Courses give you tools and knowledge, but much of what I know today has also come from the dogs themselves.

Several generations of Tuebor dogs have now been born here. Following them as they grow older, keeping in contact with their owners and seeing what different combinations produce has gradually given me something that cannot be learned from a pedigree alone. 

Boerboels in Finland

My involvement with Boerboels has never been limited to my own kennel.

In 2015, I was one of the founders of Suomen Boerboelit ry, bringing together Finnish Boerboel owners and people interested in the breed.

I also brought the Boerboel appraisal system to Finland and organised the first appraisal held here in 2015. A second followed in 2017. For the first time, Finnish owners had the opportunity to have their dogs evaluated in Finland through an appraisal system specifically developed for the Boerboel.

Over the years I have also been involved in organising events and temperament testing and in collecting and sharing information about the breed, its health and its history.  

Tuebor today

Today, several generations connect my youngest dogs to dogs I have bred, owned or known myself.

That history has become one of the most valuable parts of my breeding. I can look beyond the individual dog in front of me and consider parents, siblings, previous offspring and generations I have already followed. 

It doesn't mean every decision becomes easy, or that there are no surprises. There always are. But every generation adds information, and that information influences what I do with the next one.

My interest is still very much in the type of Boerboel that originally made me curious about the breed. Older and traditional bloodlines have therefore remained an important part of Tuebor, not because everything old was automatically better, but because I believe there is value in knowing what came before and preserving what is worth carrying forward. 

Life with the dogs

Tuebor is not separate from our everyday life. The dogs live here with our family in the Finnish countryside, alongside children, work and everything else that comes with normal life.

Puppies are born and raised at home. Young dogs are given time to grow, learn and show what they become. The older dogs remain just as important, both as family dogs and as the generations behind the younger ones.

After all these years, I am still learning from them. The dogs change, generations move forward and plans change along the way, but my interest in the Boerboel has never really gone anywhere.

And considering that Boerboels were already my answer on that breeder course back in 2010, I suppose that part hasn't changed very much.