DOGUE DE BORDEAUX BREED STANDARD

• General Appearance
  Powerful with muscular body. Has harmonious outline. Not appearing leggy in any way nor too low to the ground
• Characteristics
  Powerful, stocky, athletic, imposing. Distinctive head with forbidding expression.
• Temperament
  Natural guarding instincts, vigilant and courageous without aggression. A good companion and very affectionate.
• Head and Skull
  Large with characteristic expression and appearance. The skull is broad, wider at ears than eyes. The upper region of the skull is slightly rounded from side to side. Pronounced stop forming a near right angle with the muzzle. Distinct median groove, lessens towards the back of the skull. The forehead is a prominent feature of the face but does not overhang it. The head is slightly furrowed with fine symmetrical wrinkles on each side of the median groove, but without excess. These are mobile when the dog is alert. Prominent cheeks due to very strong muscle development. The muzzle is powerful, short and slightly hollowed below the eyes with moderate folds, the width hardly decreasing towards the tip of the muzzle, when viewed from above looks square. Topline of muzzle is slightly turned up. Length from nose to stop between a quarter and one third of the length of the head. Broad, well-opened nostrils, well pigmented according to mask colour. Jaws very powerful and broad. Lower jaw curves upwards. The chin is well defined and must not overlap the upper flew excessively nor be covered by it. Upper flew thick, moderately pendulous in profile and shows a rounded lower line. In front, the edge of the upper lip meets with the lower lip then drops on each side, forming an inverted wide 'v'.
• Eyes
  Oval, set wide apart. Frank expression. Showing no haw. Colour hazel to dark brown for dog with black mask, lighter colour tolerated in dogs with brown mask or no mask.
• Ears
  Relatively small, of slightly darker colour than coat. The front of the base of the ear is slightly raised. They must fall forward and down but not hang limply, the front edge being close to the cheek when the dog is alert. The tip of the ear is slightly rounded, not reaching beyond the eye. Set rather high, at the level of the upper line of the skull, appearing to accentuate its width even more.
• Mouth
  Undershot, the back of the lower incisors not in contact with the front of the upper incisors. Strong teeth, particularly the canines. Lower canines set wide apart and slightly curved. Incisors of good size, well aligned, especially in the lower jaw where they form an apparently straight line.  Teeth not visible when mouth closed.
• Neck
  Strong, muscular and solid, skin supple and loose. Circumference almost equals that of head. The well defined dewlap starts at the level of the throat forming folds down to the forechest without exaggeration. Neck very broad at base merging smoothly into the shoulders.
• Forequarters
  Well laid shoulders, withers well defined. The legs are strong, exceptionally muscled and as straight as is compatible with a broad-chested dog.  Pasterns strong and slightly sloping.
• Body
  Chest broad, powerful and deep, let down below the elbows. The depth of the chest is slightly more than half of the height of the dog at the withers. Ribs well sprung, but not barrel shaped. Back solid, broad and muscular. Topline as straight as possible and maintained while on the move.  The length of the body is greater than the height at the withers as 11 is to 10 measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock. Underline slightly tucked up.
• Hindquarters
  Broad loin. Rather short and solid croup moderately sloping down to the root of the tail. Hind legs strong and muscular. Well angulated stifles. Well-developed second thigh. Low set hocks.
• Feet
  Strong. Toes tight. Nails strong and curved. Pads well developed and supple. Well up on his toes despite his weight. Hind feet slightly longer than front feet.
• Tail
  Very thick at the base. Tip preferably reaching the hock. Carried low. Raised when the dog is in action, but never curving over the back or curled.  Kinked tail highly undesirable.
• Gait/Movement
  Movement is free, quite supple for his size and weight and close to the ground. Good drive from hindquarters, good extension of the forelegs. At a faster gait, the head is carried lower.  Absolute soundness essential.
• Coat
  Fine, short and soft to the touch. The skin is thick and loose fitting, without excessive wrinkles.  Folds on the ribs or limbs highly undesirable.
• Colour
  Self-coloured, in all shades of fawn, from mahogany to Isabella. Chocolate highly undesirable.  Good pigmentation is desirable. Limited white patches are permissible on the chest and the extremities of the limbs. White patches on the head or body highly undesirable.
• Three mask colours allowed:
• Black mask - mask must not extend above the eyes. Slight black shading allowed on ears, skull, neck and down the topline. Nose black.
• Brown mask - nose and eye rims are brown
  No mask - coat is fawn, skin appears red, nose may be reddish.
• Size
  Ideal height at the shoulder: dogs 60-68 cms (23½ - 26¾ ins); bitches 58-66 cms (22¾ - 26 ins). Weight: dogs at least 50 kgs (110 lbs); bitches at least 45 kgs (99 lbs).
• Faults
  Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
• Note
  The male should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

GETTING A PUPPY



Bordeaux pups are the absolutely cutest pups in the world so NEVER buy on impulse  it is so easy to make a poor decision because you are looking at a cute as  wrinkle face but you must do your research before getting one to save yourself    unnecessary heartache in the long run.

The absolute best advice I can give you is to research the breed. When looking for the right breeder make sure the parents of the litter have been , at the very least, vet checked before being bred from.

Make sure you sight all paperwork from any tests done ,both hip & elbow scoring,  or also to verify the dogs registration and lines , a good breeder will be more than happy to show you any paperwork . Try to meet both parents if possible to access not only there physical condition & quality but evaluate there temperament , remembering of course that some females can be a bit defensive with pups around .Due to the risk of parvovirus most breeders do not allow puppy  viewing until 6 weeks of age but again after this period most breeders would be happy to oblige , but you may have to travel to see the male if a stud has been used.

Ask your chosen breeder for references of other puppy owners , does the breeder offer lifetime assistance to you should you require it ,or a guarantee ,  do they provide a comprehensive puppy care sheet or booklet , are they asking just as many questions of you as you are of them , do they seem to have excellent breed  knowledge , are the puppies  happy , healthy solid pups without wormy pot bellies, have they been reared on  a good quality food and has mum also throughout the pregnancy , being large breeds this is important for the future , and finally have they been wormed every 2 weeks since whelping .

Do the pups come on a limited or full register , with free  insurance , or have a contract to be desexed by a certain age , most responsible breeders have there pups on a contract of some form so discuss this with the breeder before committing yourself , a contract is not a bad thing it is generally a goodprotection for not only the owner but the breeder should things go wrong. Look at the conditions the pups are in are they clean and tidy and safe with some toys to amuse pups! the conditions they are in are usually a good indicator as to how well  the pups are cared for ….if you have any doubts at all go elsewhere .

When choosing a pup be honest with your breeder as to your lifestyle and the requirements you have for the pup whether it is going to be simply a loving pet & companion or that you wanted to do dog showing or similar and may want to breed from the pup in the future so the breeder can advice of whether any of the pups would be suitable for this purpose, no dog ever has a litter that are all of top quality there are generally 2 maybe 3 at most that are and normally the breeder would be keeping one maybe two from the litter for themselves , so you may have to add your name to a waiting list for a pup of this quality . As with any litter there are always variations in temperament between litter mates so discuss your wants  &  needs with your breeder , that way you won’t end up with the most outgoing demanding pup that won’t suit your situation , or the shy , less outgoing pup who finds boisterous children too much so again a good breeder will point out the one or ones that would be most suited to your situation .

Dogue pups are not placed in there new homes until at least 8 –10 weeks of age , they need there siblings and mother up until then to develop there social skills for later in life being  a large breed this is very important  , and also  after they have had at least there first vaccination and full veterinary check . What would you  expect to pay for a Dogue de Bordeaux pup , well for a pet around the £600-£800 mark and for a breed quality pup on full register between £800-£5000 depending on the parents bloodlines .Remember to just because the breeder can show you ribbons from a local ribbon parade or similar doesn't mean  they have  excellent bloodlines.



The biggest thing with care of a Dogue de Bordeaux puppy , or any large breed puppy for that matter , is the first 12 months when they should be fed a high quality large breed puppy food as it contains all the right levels of Calcium and nutritional requirements a large breed pup needs or a comprehensive Raw food diet suited for puppies Always have fresh water available to your pup as well . NEVER over exercise your Bordeaux pup they can usually get all the exercise they need in there daily play sessions for the first 6 months, or though some pups need to be rested because they can get a little carried away especially if there is another dog in the household to play with .Remember socialisation is a must so puppy school is a great place to start this  in a safe and controlled environment until a week or so after the last vaccination then a sociable visit to a friends house , which can be done earlier if your friend also has vaccinated dogs , local park or the beach can then also be added.

NEVER allow your dogue pup to go up and down stairs ( a couple is fine ) or jump on and off beds etc ,including out of the car , until they are older because this can cause major damage to growing and developing bones when they get older. Keep an eye on to rougher play with bigger animals than themselves… no  I am not saying you  have to rap them in cotton wool just caution for the first year of there life can save you in the long term, they are a large dog and those bones grow very fast so need to be taken care of . Pups should also never carry unnecessary weight,  some people think the more they feed the bigger they will get , this is incorrec, a lot has to do with your dogs bloodlines firstly as to how big they get and over feeding a pup will only cause bone issues when older , there is nothing more heartbreaking than having to put your beloved pet down before 12 months of age due to dysplasia,  they are better to be kept on a leaner side ,  especially during there fastest growth period between 5 - 8 months than to be overweight when growing. Please keep in mind most mastiff breeds are not fully grown until around the 3 year mark so they have plenty of time to get size .