Dogue
de Bordeaux
Introduction
The Dogue de Bordeaux is characterized by the largest, most magnificent head in
the dog world and layered wrinkles on its face and hefty exaggerated paws he
trudges into the heart of people all over the world. Originally used for cattle
droving and guarding the vineyards in Bordeaux. This breed has survived within a
hair of extinction one national revolution, two world wars and a Hollywood
adventure Turner & Hooch...
It
is also referred to as the French Mastiff, Bordeaux Bulldog, or just "DdB",
Dogue de Bordeaux. The Bordeaux is an extremely cooperative, intelligent, and
fearless giant. Since the 1400s the DdB has had many jobs: Herding cattle, flock
guarding, animal baiting etc. Powerful and surprisingly athletic, the Dogue de
Bordeaux makes an excellent guardian. Beneath all that toughness, exists a
sweet, sincere, slobbering loveable character that makes a wonderful companion.
History
& Background
The
Dogue de Bordeaux falls into a group of dogs classified as molosser,
descendants of the
molossus, a
dog that lived approximately 700 BC. Based on ancient carvings and paintings,
it appears the
molossus were kept as guard and hunting dogs
by the Assyrians. The first record of a molosser type
dog is in a letter dated 326 BC that mentions large, strong
dogs with short broad teeth. Bones of these big dogs have been found amongst
other artifacts in archeological expeditions throughout the world in places such
as Tibet, China
and India. These dogs were included in the army of Alexander the Great,
and journeyed from
Mesopotamia to Epirus in various wars. In Epirus there was a mythical king
ruling over the area of Molossus who took care of the dogs. From
there they journeyed to Rome, Gaulle
and other lands including Spain and France. There are contradicting reports that
this large dog first existed in Spain as the Alano, an
extinct dog whose description resembles today's Dogue de Bordeaux. The Alano was
supposedly brought to Europe by the Alans, an
Oriental tribe. The Alan vautre was described in the fourteenth century by
Gaston Phoebus (or
Febus), Count
of Foix, in
his Livre de Chasse. There are also accounts that the molosser developed
from the Molossoids, a Greco-Roman canine that existed during Julius Caesar's
time and was used in war.
Development
of a Dogue
The
word "Dogue" first appeared at the end of the fourteenth century.
Before nineteenth
century, these
dogs didn't have a standard but were very similar in looks and usage.
Eventually, the molosser developed into a variety of mastiffs including today's
Tibetan Mastiff, Spanish Mastiff, Mastino
Italiano (Neapolitan
Mastiff), and Bullmastiff, to name a few. One type of dog in France was called
the Dogues or Doguin d'Aquitaine, a
breed based on the French Molossus, which
existed in the early fourteenth century and was bred for fighting other big
animals (bears,boars
etc) There were several variations of the Doguin d'Aquitaine,
depending on the
region and the jobs they needed to accomplish.
As a result, their
general appearance was inconsistent. There were various colours and varieties of
coat, different
jaw/bite patterns (undershot and overshot), and other slight variations. For the
most part, however,
these dogs were
similar in body structure, weight
and size. Eventually one type emerged as the preferred dog,
"the Butcher's
dog" that were used to protect the meat shops and were highly coveted by
the French noblemen and wealthy families as guardians. The first reference to
"Dogue de Bordeaux" occurred in 1863 at the first canine exhibition at
the Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris, France. The winner of the exhibition was a
bitch named Magentas who was identified according to the capital of its region
of origin, that's why Dogue de Bordeaux. The first standard of the Bordeaux was
presented in 1896 by the veterinarian Pierre Meguin in his magazine L'Eleveur.
He formalised a standard from a combination of the best DdBs shown since
Magentas captured top dog honours
at Jardin d' Acclimatation. There were much controversy over the Dogue type, and
diversity in breed type persisted. Head and body size fluctuated according to
particular breeders; both scissors and undershot bites were found; and mask
colour was extremely varied. During this time there were three types of dogue;
