When searching for the best medium to large size family protection dog stop with Cookie the female African Boerboel. I would suggest anyone looking for a protection dog for their family get a female Boerboel puppy. First, females are more inclined to have maternal instincts. Male dogs in general tend to be a bit more prone to roam. His instinctual desire to seek out female will make a male want to mark territory. Females on the other hand will stay tend to stay close to home and take a higher priority on the safety and well-being of the family. Cookie and all of our female Boerboels like to stay close to home and tend to be a tad more gentle than large males. Males can be too big and will need space and more opportunities to roam. Second, the boerboel breed is a large to extra large size breed. Because of their size, males would not fit into the category of medium dogs. So in search of the medium-sized guard dog then the male boerboel does not fit in the medium-sized dog mold.