 Country of origin: France
The Dogue de Bordeaux is one of the most ancient French breeds, probably a descendant of the Alans and, in particular, the alan vautre of which Gaston Phebus (or Febus), Count of Foix, said in the 14th century, in his Livre de Chasse that " he holds his bite stronger than three sight-hounds ". The word " dogue " first appeared at the end of the 14th century. In the middle of the 19th century these ancient dogues were hardly renowned outside the region of Aquitaine. They were used for hunting large animals such as boar, for fighting (often codified), for the guarding of houses and cattle and in the service of butchers. In 1863 the first French dog show took place in Paris in the Jardin d'Acclimatation. The Dogues de Bordeaux were entered under their present name. There have been different types: the Toulouse type, the Paris type and the Bordeaux type, which is the origin of today's dogue.
The breed, which had suffered greatly during the two world wars, to the point of being threatened with extinction after the second world war, got off to a fresh start in the 60's.
- - 1st standard (Caractère des vrais dogues) in Pierre MEGNIN, Le Dogue de Bordeaux, 1896.
- - 2nd standard in J. KUNSTLER, Étude critique du Dogue de Bordeaux, 1910.
- - 3rd standard by Raymond TRIQUET, with the collaboration of Vet. Dr. Maurice LUQUET, 1971.
- - 4th standard reformulated according to Jerusalem model (F.C.I.) by Raymond TRIQUET, with the collaboration of Philippe SEROUIL, President of the French Dogue de Bordeaux Club and its Committee, 1993.
Photos borrowed from "The saga of the Dogue de Bordeaux" |
