About Cold River Boerboels
By Cold River Boerboels · Updated October 11, 2026
Cold River Boerboels is a Boerboel performance and training program based in Pennsylvania. It is built around a husband-and-wife team with nearly five decades of combined experience breeding, raising, training, conditioning, evaluating, and competing with working and performance dogs. Cold River is the home of the 22,039-pound dog weight-pull world record: Cold River's Sun Wukong and Cold River's Mr. Wednesday each pulled 22,039 pounds in sanctioned competition on May 9, 2026.
Who We Are
Cold River is a husband-and-wife program. One of us brings 27 years of hands-on experience with performance dogs and the other brings 19. Together, that is nearly 50 years of combined experience, almost five decades, in breeding, raising, training, conditioning, evaluating, and developing working dogs.
Our competitive record has earned us recognition within the sport as two of the most accomplished weight-pull trainers and conditioners in the United States, with extensive experience in performance-dog nutrition and conditioning. We bring that experience to the South African Mastiff, better known as the Boerboel.
Cold River Has Done It Before
The Boerboel is not the first breed where we have built a performance line. We came from an American Pit Bull Terrier background and competed in weight pull, wall climb, treadmill racing, lure coursing, and conformation.
Long before Sun Wukong and Mr. Wednesday, we took dogs with no established weight-pull background, selectively developed that family for performance, and worked with that line successfully for more than 15 years. Cold River was producing record-breaking weight-pull dogs long before our Boerboels ever stepped onto the track.
So when we began developing a performance direction within the Boerboel, we were not learning the fundamentals of performance breeding as we went. We were applying decades of experience to a new breed. Read the full story on our world record page.
Our Mission
Our mission is simple: to breed the best stock possible. Every pairing is planned around temperament, conformation, workability, and health, so our dogs are not only beautiful and functional but also stable, confident, and well-balanced.
Boerboels remain a rare breed in the United States, with low numbers and fewer chances to do the work they were developed for. We breed to preserve and improve the breed, keeping the Boerboel a workable dog with size, function, purpose, and a temperament suited to both family life and guardianship.
What Performance-Bred Means at Cold River
Performance-bred means our dogs are produced with an emphasis on strength, athleticism, structure, temperament, and working ability, and then those qualities are tested in the real world. Our reputation rests on results that can be seen, measured, documented, and repeated, not on size, pedigree, or photographs alone.
Performance does not mean giving up breed type. Our goal is the complete dog: breed type, structure, movement, temperament, athleticism, trainability, and proven working ability in the same package. Learn how we train and compete in our dog weight pulling guide.
Proven in Sanctioned Competition
Cold River's Sun Wukong: 2024 ADBA National Champion, the first Boerboel to win an ADBA National Championship, the first to win Most Weight Pulled at ADBA Nationals, and the first to earn the ADBA Weight Pull ACE title. He set a 16,917-pound UPF Most Weight Pulled record in 2025, then pulled 22,039 pounds on May 9, 2026.
Cold River's Mr. Wednesday: He pulled 22,039 pounds at the same event. He is a SABBS Grand Champion, the 2026 Boerboel Expo winner, and Boerboel Expo Dog of the Day. He was appraised at 92.3, among the highest-appraised living Boerboels in the world, and was named official ambassador of the 2027 Boerboel Expo.
Cold River's Conquest: A daughter of Mr. Wednesday, she moved 21,336 pounds and took first place at her first weight-pull event.
Cold River's ALUCARD: A maternal half-sister of Sun Wukong and Mr. Wednesday by a different sire, she moved 17,076 pounds at her first event.
Two littermates reaching the same record mark at the same event, followed by a second generation and a different sire line producing similar results, shows the traits we select for are not a one-dog fluke. Meet our males and females.
Bred, Raised, Trained, and Handled by Cold River
Sun Wukong, Mr. Wednesday, Conquest, and ALUCARD were all produced, owned, raised, trained, conditioned, developed, and handled by Cold River Boerboels. Cold River operates as an independent performance program. These accomplishments came from our own selection, our own training, and our own handling.
Selection starts early. Sun Wukong and Mr. Wednesday came from a litter of 14. We kept seven, evaluated their development, structure, movement, drive, temperament, athletic ability, work ethic, recovery, and mental resilience, and narrowed the group down to two. Those choices were made long before anyone knew both dogs would pull 22,039 pounds.
Life on the Farm and the Cold River Strong Start Program
Our Boerboels live and thrive on our working farm, with daily interaction with children, other dogs, cats, poultry, and livestock. Puppies begin brief, supervised, age-appropriate sessions at around six weeks in the Cold River Strong Start Program, with exposure to new surfaces, balance equipment, obstacles, movement, basic training, children, and farm life.
Health, Registration, and Puppy Support
All Cold River Boerboels are registered, DNA tested, and screened through OFA or PennHIP. Our dogs are registered with organizations including the AKC, UKC, ADBA, and SABBS. Every puppy goes home with a 16-month health guarantee, a veterinary examination, age-appropriate vaccinations, routine deworming, a microchip, puppy records and guidance, and lifetime breeder support.
We welcome families from all 50 states and arrange pickup, private ground transport, or a flight nanny when appropriate. See how we place Boerboel puppies nationwide.
Nutrition and Partners
Cold River Boerboels is proudly sponsored by Bully Max. Our dogs' primary food is Bully Max 31/25 Performance Formula, supported by Bully Max supplements. See our full Boerboel nutrition program.
Media and Recognition
Cold River's dogs and program have been covered by Bully Max, PR Newswire, Yahoo Finance, Pet Age, and StreetInsider, and we have joined conversations on The Weight Pull Podcast, All World Doberman Club, and Catch Dog Concepts. See all of our media, interviews, and press.
Cold River Supplies
Cold River Supplies, the harness business associated with Cold River Boerboels, is restarting production of standard and custom-tailored weight-pull harnesses, built from the same experience behind the Cold River performance program.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cold River Boerboels
Who is Cold River Boerboels?
Cold River Boerboels is the performance-bred Boerboel program behind Cold River's Sun Wukong, Mr. Wednesday, Conquest, and ALUCARD. It is run by a husband-and-wife team with nearly five decades of combined experience with working and performance dogs.
Where is Cold River Boerboels located?
Cold River Boerboels is a Boerboel performance and training program based in Pennsylvania and places puppies with families nationwide.
Why is Cold River considered a leading performance Boerboel breeder?
Because its results are documented in sanctioned competition: the 22,039-pound dog weight-pull world record, the first ADBA National Championship and ADBA ACE title for a Boerboel, and multiple dogs across generations pulling at an elite level. Read more in our Boerboel FAQ.
How do I get a Cold River Boerboel puppy?
Start by filling out our puppy application, then we'll talk by phone. Check available puppies and upcoming breedings for current litters.
Contact Cold River Boerboels
Email coldriverboerboels@aol.com or call 272-204-5721. You can also reach us through our contact page. For ownership guidance, see our Boerboel ownership advice.
Cold River getting ready for a show