Dog Breeds 101: Dogue de Bordeaux

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The Dogue de Bordeaux is a dog breed from France and was already around more than 600 years ago. Its massive head, fearless nature and powerful body are the qualities which made the dog popular back then. The Dogue de Bordeaux was unknown outside its homeland until in 1989, when it caught the attention of the American public with the release of the Tom Hanks movie Turner and Hooch. Since then, the breed is gaining popularity. This large breed has a shorter average life span of 8 to 12 years. [1]

The breed originated in southern France, particularly in the region around Bordeaux, thus the name of the breed. Over the years, the French made sure to keep the old breeding line pure and that is why the modern Dogue de Bordeaux looks very similar to the ones who lived centuries ago. The following traits are important indicators of the purity of the breed: pink colored nose, light eye color, red mask and a huge head. At one point, the Dogue de Bordeaux came in two varieties: Dogues and Doguins (the Douge is considerable larger than the Dougin). The smaller variety is now extinct. [2]

These calm, quiet and relaxed dogs are surprisingly athletic and agile for their large size. They are not suited to live in an apartment because they need a lot of room to live comfortably considering how big they are. They also need daily exercise to stay physically and mentally healthy but more than anything else, they require the interaction with their humans. These dogs like to be involved in family activities but can sometimes be stubborn and are inclined to do things their way. The stubbornness can be corrected though because they respond well to early and consistent training especially when there are lots of food rewards involved. These dogs drool a lot so tons of paper towels should always be in stock. [3]