Dogue de Bordeaux

Dog breed originating in France

The Dogue de Bordeaux, also known as the Bordeaux Mastiff, French Mastiff or Bordeauxdog, is a large French mastiff breed. A typical brachycephalic mastiff breed, the Bordeaux is a very powerful dog, with a very muscular body.

The Dogue de Bordeaux was known in France as early as the 14th century, particularly in southern France in the region around Bordeaux. Hence, the city lent its name to this large dog. The breed was first exhibited in France in 1863 after which time it gained in popularity not only in their home country but in other parts of the world. The first record of the Dogue de Bordeaux in the UK can be seen in the Kennel Club Gazette in 1897. The breed received championship status with the Kennel Club (UK) in 2016. A uniform breed type of the Bordeaux dog did not exist before about 1920. The history of the breed is believed to predate the Bullmastiff and the Bulldog. It is said that the Dogue can be found in the background of the Bullmastiff, and others claim that the Dogue and mastiff breeds were both being accomplished at the same time. Another theory is the Dogue de Bordeaux originates from the Tibetan Mastiff and it is also said that the Dogue is related to the Greek Molossus used for war.

The breed standards by European FCI and the AKC specify a minimum weight of for a female and for a male. There is no formally stated maximum weight, but dogs must be balanced with regard to their overall type and the conformation standards of the breed.

Much like other mastiff breeds, Dogues de Bordeaux tend to have a strong personality and are very stubborn. This mixed with their natural strength makes strict training crucial starting at a young age. This includes proper socialization so they do not end up with potential aggression towards other dogs or strangers. It is highly recommended that you do not let this dog become the leader of the family pack.

A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 11.1 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.

The shortened snout and pushed in face of the Dogue de Bordeaux is known as brachycephaly. Brachycephaly results in deformation of the upper airway tract and leads to obstruction of breathing. Effects of brachycephaly are stridor, stertorous breathing, emesis, skin fold dermatitis, brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome, exophthalmos, pharyngeal gag reflex, cyanosis, and laryngeal collapse. Other issues arising from brachycephaly are risk of complications whilst under anaesthesia, and hyperthermia — with the latter caused due to an inability to effectively reduce body temperature via panting.

Aortic stenosis is a disease of the heart valve in which the opening of the aortic valve is narrowed. One study suggests a high predisposition in the breed. No severe cases were found in adult dogs, and most moderate to severely affected dogs died before one year of age, leading the authors to speculate that the disease is more severe in the Dogue than in other breeds. An Israeli study found the Dogue de Bordeaux to have the highest prevalence of tricuspid valve dysplasia, and the second highest prevalence of subaortic stenosis. An Italian study found a predisposition to supraventricular tachyarrhythmia.

Demodicosis is more prevalent in the breed than other dogs. A study in the UK found 0.9% of dogs had the condition compared to the general rate of 0.17%. For dogs under 2 years it was prevalent in 1.9% compared to 0.48%. In dogs over the age of 4 it was prevalent in 0.2% of dogs compared to 0.05%. An estimated 5% of dogs may be affected by footpad hyperkeratosis, a thickening of the footpad and sometimes nose. Lesions usually occur at the age of 6 months. X rays submitted voluntarily to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals shows that more than 50% of Dogues in the database are affected by hip dysplasia. The breed has a high stillborn and early neonatal mortality rate, with a stillborn rate of 14.2% and early neonatal mortality (death within 1 week from birth) of 10.4%. The average across all breeds in the study was 4.3% stillbirth and 3.7% early neonatal mortality. Excluding stillborn and early deaths, the mean litter size is 6.1. UK Kennel Club data shows that 27.8% (5 of 18) of Dogue litters were delivered by caesarean section.