Dog Training and Dog Care advice from UK Professionals

Dogue De Bordeaux Dog Breed Profile

Through its long history the Dogue de Bordeaux has been a war dog, fought bulls and bears in arenas, driven cattle and guarded both flocks and man. Many Dogues de Bordeaux were killed as they fought to protect their masters during the French Revolution.

Other Names: French Mastiff, Bordeaux Dogue, Dogue, Bordeaux Bulldog.

K9Obedience Breed Profile

Origin: France

Breed Purpose: Hunting. Guarding. Herding. Fighting.

Kennel Club Dog Group: Working

Height: Dog, 60cm – 70cm. Bitch, 58cm – 66cm.

Weight: Dog, 50kg – 68kg. Bitch, 45kg – 50kg.

Lifespan: 10-12 years

Exercise Needs: Although this dog is not very active at home and tends to lie around all day, it does need a good daily walk of at least one hour to keep it in optimum health.

Feeding Needs: As with humans, dogs are what they eat. The Dogue de Bordeaux should be fed a natural home prepared diet with plenty of fresh meat and bones. Beware of over feeding as obese Dogue's have a greater risk of skeletal problems. Do not feed before or after exercising to avoid Bloat.

Common Ailments: Female Dogue's have problems giving birth naturally due to the puppy's very large heads and invariably need Caesarean sections. Litters are generally small in number. The females have very broad chests and lie on their stomachs to feed their young which often results in the tiny pups being crushed to death. Other health factors include dysplasia, weak cruciate ligaments and spinal problems.

Physical Description: This distinctive looking dog is a short but stocky mastiff with a heavy broad head. The jaws are undershot and are extremely powerful with the muzzle being 1/3 the total of the head. The upper lips hang thickly down over the lower jaw. The skin on the head and neck is heavily wrinkled, hanging loosely around the neck to form a sizeable dewlap. The mask on the face can be red or black. The ears fold and drop downwards. The athletic, powerful body is muscular and thick-set with a straight topline. The skin on the body is also wrinkled. The tail is thick at the base and tapers to a point. The Dogue has a thick hide and a short coat. Coat colours are all shades of fawn, mahogany, golden or black speckled. All in all a powerful-looking dog with an intelligent, gentle expression.

Dogue De Bordeaux K9 Obedience Dog Breed Summary:

This gentle giant of a dog with a laid back temperament is firmly aware of its own strengths. The French Mastiff never reacts to fear or tension and rarely displays signs of nervousness.

The Dogue de Bordeaux is an excellent guardian and will react if it senses its home and family are being threatened. Careful breeding has softened their overly aggressive nature.

Virtually unknown outside France , the breed achieved fame in the 1989 film, Turner and Hooch after which popularity for this slobbering, wrinkled massive giant of a dog grew massively.

In general, males do not tolerate other males so early socialisation and firm training is needed. If one can tolerate the dog's drooling, snoring and slobbering they do make wonderful family pets, though due to the dog's awesome strength, its owner should be well-versed in training methods and canine pack theory.