Dogue de Bordeaux: The Enormous Breed of France
One of the biggest and probably one of the oldest French breed of the canine world is the gigantic Dogue de Bordeaux. Known also as the French Mastiff, this dog is an absolute stunner in its enormous size and meaty musculature. With a dog this huge, you can expect it to be very strong, powerful and commanding.
The Dogue de Bordeaux, or Dogue as it is fondly called, has been in existence among the Bordeaux, France population since the fourteenth century. In this region, it is used as a guard, herder, cart puller and heavy load carrier. Unfortunately, this dog’s endurance and power has been used in the violent game of bull baiting as well.
The Dogue is often the companion of wealthy families and is used as a vineyard and mansion guard. The poor masses have the French Mastiff for a companion as well but it is not as highly regarded compared to the mastiff of the rich ones. However, when the French Revolution hit the region, the wealthy families and their pets crumbled but not the poor people and their Dogues.
The strong and champion Dogues of today are said to have come from the survivor breed of the poor people. The French Mastiff is well-known for its unswerving devotion and loyalty to its master and curiously, this has angered Hitler. His dislike for the French Mastiff led to the execution of many of this breed during World War I.
The French Mastiff is said to have descended from either the Tibetan Mastiff or the Greek-Roman Molosser which accompanied the Roman soldiers in their invasion of ancient Europe. Some speculate that this breed existed in two types before. The Dogue and the Doguins, but the latter became extinct leaving the Dogue to continue the original line.
Some breeds of today can trace back their roots to the French Mastiff. Two of these breeds are the Bullmastiff and the Bulldog. The French Mastiff descendants were originally breed to own the ferocity of the Dogue in bull baiting but in a much smaller size. As a result, the new small breeds indeed possessed the Dogue’s power and strength in facing the monstrous bulls, jaguars and bears.
Today, the Dogue de Bordeaux is way too placid, gentle and loving compared to the Dogue de Bordeaux of the bull baiting days. Presently, this breed is an amazing family pet, an ever reliable guard dog and a fun companion. To the family that owns it, it is supremely affectionate and much attached and you would usually not expect it from a breed this gigantic.
Often, this breed is being compared to the English Mastiff but the English Mastiff measures its appearance in terms of height and length while the Dogue is measured by its width and muscle built. The standard weight for the Dogue de Bordeaux is a minimum of 110 lbs for the male and 99 lbs for the female. The coat is short, fine and soft and comes in shades of light red to deep ultra red with patterns of black, brown or red.
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