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The Dogue's History continued..

The Toulouse was a Dogue that had almost every color in its coat, a fawnish tiger (a light brindle perhaps), with a longer body and smaller bones. Dogues in Paris had a scissors bite, while others had a undershot of almost one inch. Finally the breeders came together and decided upon the undershot, which is today's standard.

In 1895 a few breeders tried to establish the Dogue in England, and also that year, John Proctor or Antwerp, who had judged the Dogue de Bordeaux, published an account of his experiences with the "fighting dogs of the South of France" in the magazine, The Stock Keeper.

In 1896, Pierre Mengin put together a synthesis of the best Dogue de Bordeaux shown and know from 1863-1895. He published Le Dogue de Bordeaux, that featured a description and characteristics true to the Dogue. This effort, put forward by Mr. Brooke, Mr. Mengin, Dr. Wiart, and a group of authorities in France, was the first standard of the Dogue de Bordeaux.

In 1897, Henry de Bylants work, The Breeds of Dogs, introduced the breed standard to the world of dog breeders. J. Kunstler, Professor of Comparative Anatomy of the Science Facility of Bordeaux, studied the Dogues in 1907 and in 1910 published A Critique Etude du Dogue de Bordeaux (A Critical Study of the Dogue de Bordeaux)

1960 to present
During the 1960's, Dr. Raymond Triquet headed the rebuilding of the breed, and in 1970, Dr. Triquet wrote the new standard for the Dogue de Bordeaux. The standard has once again been updated, this time by Dr. Triquet and Mr. Tim Taylor.
The Dogue can also be credited to taking part in the breeding programs of two other mastiffs, the Argentine Dogo and the Tosa. Dr. Martinez, who bred "The Fighting Dogs of Cordoba" or the Argentine Dogo, used a menagerie of breeds to produce the Dogo, and the Bordeaux was used to increase the size of the head and accentuate the overall courage, strength and jaw strength.

During the 1930's, the Bordeaux were imported to Japan to cross with the Tosa (Fighting Dog of Japan). This increased the head size and the overall body size of the Tosa.

It was a Dr. Philip Todd who is credited with bringing the Dogue to the United States in the 1960's, although evidence of Dogues in the 1920's has been found.

Dr. Todd moved to Holland with his Dogues, and there were no other records of any in the country until 1969 when Steve and Wendy Norris, with the help of Dr. Todd, began to import Dogue de Bordeaux into the United States.

It was in the 1980's when the United States saw a small Dogue boom occur. In 1986 Touchstone released Turner and Hooch, showing a big messy slobbering Dogue, which was believed to be a Bullmastiff or mutt. In reality, it was the Dogue de Bordeaux.

The Dogue was brought in to the country mainly by dog brokers, and many people received below par stock. But thorough the years, the Americans have improved this stock, with selective and careful breeding, to have some of the finest Dogues in the world.

Today there are breeders of Dogue de Bordeaux that stretch form New Jersey to California, Texas to North Dakota. One must be careful when purchasing a Dogue de Bordeaux, although they are considered a rare breed in the US, they carry a hefty price tag and are a favorite breed among the puppy millers.

The Dogue is not yet a recognized AKC breed, and they may be in the far, or near feature. They are recognized world wide by the FCI, and are a UKC recognized breed. There are a myriad of rare breed shows for the Dogue, that they are eligible to compete in.

Appearance and Temperament

The Dogue is classified as Molossoidae Brachycephalus. The FCI standard is quoted as saying "It is a powerful dog with a muscular body, while retaining a harmonious outline. They are built close to the ground...They are stocky, athletic, imposing and has a very dissuasive aspect."
Breeders recognize the red, black, and no mask varieties, but unfortunately, in the United States as well as abroad, the consensus is the red mask, which Deiter Fleig notes is the result of a mutation.

We must always remember the Dogue's original purpose was to fight and protect. The Dogue is aggressive by nature, although breeders have tried to "breed it out" through the years.

The Dogue is sweet and even tempered, it protects what is theirs, including their owners. The Dogue is devoted to its family and friends, and it is very important to socialize the Dogue in its early stages of life.

Remember that even though the body is large, the mind is till young. It is common for a 7 month old puppy to knock over the largest man while playing, or attacking.

They are stubborn, and arrogant, yet once they learn a command or task, they rarely forget it. They possess a dominate nature, "To ignore this aspect of this breeds temperament would be to produce atypical and so inferior Bordeaux Dogue." (Carl Semenic).

They have a keen sense of smell and hearing and are intelligent and balanced. They are also a product of their environment.

Dogue Health Problems

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