NEED TO KNOW

• Stephanie Fallon has owned five Boerboels since 2008 and shares her life with the breed on social media

• Fallon emphasizes the breed’s protective nature and the importance of strategic management for their safety and stability

• She spends $800 monthly on a raw diet for her dogs and advocates for using muzzles as a precautionary tool

When Stephanie Fallon first encountered a Boerboel in 2008, she knew instantly that the powerful South African guardian breed was unlike any dog she had seen before.

“They just have this presence,” Fallon, a 46-year-old stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher for her teenage son, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “If you see them online, it doesn’t do them justice — when you see one in person, you’re like, ‘Whoa.’”

At the time, Fallon and her husband were searching for a large guardian-type dog after losing their Jack Russell. Through their research, they discovered that the Boerboel is well-suited to guarding farms and families.

When they learned a breeder lived just an hour away in Blue Ridge, Ga., she and her husband decided to meet the dogs in person and were immediately captivated.

“It’s so important to see the dogs in person,” she explains when emphasizing how crucial it is to see their temperament, how they’re raised and whether they’re stable.

On Christmas Eve, Fallon and her husband brought home their first-ever Boerboel puppy and surprised their kids. The dog became a beloved member of their family and lived for a decade before dying in 2018.

Over the years, that first experience turned into a long-term devotion to the breed. Fallon and her family have now owned five Boerboels since 2008, carefully managing the dogs to maintain the balance in their home.

“We’re a really active family,” she says. “We hike, we camp, we travel — and our dogs come with us.”

Today, Fallon currently shares her Georgia home with two Boerboels — a male named Gronk and a female named Gigi, both named after the Dave Matthews band — and says she has learned that the breed often does best in male-female pairs.

Given that Boerboels are naturally territorial guardians, Fallon explains that strategic management is essential if you own one or more of the breed.

“The way we like to line it up is that we always have two [because] they work better as a team,” she explains. “They [also] do better when it’s a male-female combo because there can be same sex agression with this breed.”

While the breed’s protective instincts are part of its history as a working guardian dog, Fallon says that same quality can also feel empowering in her everyday life.

“It’s very empowering as a woman to just go, ‘Yes, I’m safe,’” she says in response to her dogs accompanying her to the ATM or to the gas station.

In recent years, Fallon has built a growing social media presence by sharing her life with her dogs online.

“I did not imagine my videos doing well,” she says. “I had no idea about a following or making money or brand deals — it was literally just, ‘Here’s some cute videos of my dogs.’”

As her followers around the globe became curious about the breed, Fallon began sharing more training clips and daily life with her Boerboels. But over time, she realized she could also help clarify misinformation about the breed online.

“Once I saw all the misinformation that was out there about the breed and a lot of what gets shared on social media showing incorrect dogs and unstable temperaments, I was like, ‘I’ve got to put some better information out there,’” she says.

Within a few years, her platform grew into a community, one she says is largely made up of women who feel inspired by her content.

“I get messages every day from women saying, ‘I just want you to know you’ve inspired me to go hiking with my dog,’” she adds.

Even for people who don’t own protection breeds, Fallon believes that simply having a dog by your side can boost confidence.

“I often say just a dog in general is a deterrent,” she says. “I’m not saying they’re gonna protect you, but having something visible often will deter, instead of having pepper spray in your pocket.”

Despite doing her best to keep her content relatable and accessible, Fallon is transparent about the commitment required to raise a Boerboel.

“If you’re going to get into this breed, it is not cheap — bigger dog [means] more food, more expensive vet bills.

Fallon also feeds her dogs a carefully balanced raw diet designed with the help of a canine nutritionist.

“We probably spend — and this is going to sound outrageous — probably food alone about $800 a month,” she says.

For her two Boerboels, their diet includes rotating proteins like turkey, duck, venison and rabbit along with organ meats and supplements.

She also trains her dogs to wear muzzles in certain situations, not because they’re aggressive, but as a safety precaution.

“Unfortunately, muzzles get such a bad reputation [as if] it means [that] muzzle equals danger and it doesn’t,” she says.

Fallon points out that muzzles don’t always signal bite risk. In fact, many times it’s to make sure your dog doesn’t eat other animals, species or stuff on the ground that could potentially affect their health. It’s a safety precaution nonetheless.

“You don’t know when you’re gonna need it,” she says. “Especially with a power breed, because what if we had a medical emergency in our home? My dogs are territorial by design.”

In testing scenarios, the breed’s bite has been measured at roughly 500-800 PSI (pounds per square inch), which is among the strongest recorded in the canine world.

For Fallon, sharing her life with her Boerboels online has become much more meaningful than simply posting videos of her dogs.

Today, her social media platforms have become spaces where she hopes to educate people about the breed and encourage others to feel more confident venturing out with their dogs.

As her audience continues to grow, Fallon says she intentionally keeps her content grounded in real life rather than turning it into something overly polished or performative.

Read the original article on People