The Dogue De Bordeaux.
The Dogue de Bordeaux is one of the oldest French Breeds. It's actual origins are obscure but it probably descended from one of the strains of Mastiff type dogs that accompanied Macedonian and Roman armies through Asia, Europe & Britain. A 14th century writer describing the Alaunt Veuteres, a probable ancestor of the Dogue de Bordeaux, wrote that this dog 'holds his bite stronger than three sight hounds'. By the middle of the 19th Century, the Dogue de Bordeaux was little known outside of Aquitaine. In France the Dogues were bred depending upon the region and jobs they were required to do. The Dogue de Bordeaux was first introduced into Australia in the early 1990's. Since then their popularity has slowly grown in numbers, in 1995 Australian National Kennel Council received registrations for 9 Dogue de Bordeaux, in 1997, 45 in 1998 , 120 and in 1999 they registered 144. The total number now is somewhere in the vicinity of 300 in Australia. They are scattered through out this huge country of ours and you rarely see them, making it hard to gain recognition for them , both in the Show Ring or by the publicThe general appearance was inconsistent, the Dogues had various colours and varieties of coat, they had scissor bites in some regions and undershot in others, all had a similar type to today's Dogues. We do know that the Dogue was used as a guardian, a hunter and a fighter. They were trained to bait bulls, bears and jaguars: hunt boars, herd cattle and protect the homes, butcher shops and vineyards of their Masters. The Dogue de Bordeaux were prized as protectors and were found in the homes of the noble and wealthy in France. The Dogue de Bordeaux was entered under it's present name in the first dog show held in France in 1863. The breed narrowly missed extinction during the two world wars but enjoyed resurgence in the 1960's. Sometime in the early 1980's the first Dogue de Bordeaux was imported to the United States. The breed is now used today almost exclusively as a family companion and house guardian. In Australia, the best place to see an exhibition of a number of Dogue De Bordeaux are at the Royals. At the Melbourne Royal, Sydney Royal, Canberra Royal and Brisbane Royal you may see approximately 18 Dogues being exhibited. Unfortunately very few Dogues get entered in to the local breed shows, maybe one or two entries if any at all! I find winning Best Of Breed at these shows is a hollow victory. It is very easy to get the title of Australian Champion here when there are no other dogs competing against you. However to win a Royal is a truly wonderful experience as there are significant numbers of other Dogues being judged. Thanks to Deborah Powell for the text. Hand Drawn Artwork By Sharron Hulley
Dogue De Bordeaux Breed Delegate: Michael Gondar(03) 5348 7749.
Breeders: Ataraxia (02) 4634 1101 Bellarouge 0415 275 279 Deauxrogue (03) 53487749 Lambda (03) 9740 8788
Moloscyg (08) 8524 2079 Onesto (03) 5727 6258 SARMATIAN (03) 97050752
