Page 1 of 3
Official Standard of the Dogue de Bordeaux General Appearance : The Dogue de Bordeaux is one of the most ancient French breeds. He is a typical brachycephalic molossoid type. The Dogue de Bordeaux is a concave lined breed. He is a very powerful dog, with a very muscular body yet retaining a harmonious general outline. Built rather close to the ground, the distance from the deepest point of the chest to the ground is slightly less than the depth of the chest. A massive head with proper proportions and features is an important characteristic of the breed. His serious expression, stocky and athletic build and self-assurance make him very imposing. Bitches have identical characteristics, but less prominent. Size, Proportion, Substance : The length of the body, measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock, is greater than the height at the withers, in the proportion of 11/10. The depth of the chest is more than half the height at the withers. Size - Dogs: 23½ to 27 inches at the withers. Bitches: 23 to 26 inches at the withers. Weight - Dogs at least 110 pounds. Bitches at least 99 pounds. Head : The head is large, angular, broad, and rather short. It is trapezium shaped when viewed from above and in front. Eyes - Oval and set wide apart. The space between the eyes is equal to about twice the length of the eye (eye opening). Frank expression. The haw should not be visible. Color - hazel to dark brown for a dog with a black mask, lighter color tolerated but not sought after in dogs with either a brown mask or without a mask. Fault - Protruding eyes. Ears - The ear is small in proportion to the skull and of a slightly darker color than the coat. The front of the ears ’ base is slightly raised. They should fall back, but not hang limply. The front edge of the ear is close to the cheek when the dog is attentive. The tip is slightly rounded and should not reach beyond the eye. Set rather high, at the level of the upper line of the skull, thus emphasizing the skull width even more. Skull - Back Skull in the male: The perimeter of the skull measured at the point of its greatest width corresponds roughly to the height at the withers. In bitches it may be slightly less. Its volume and shape are the result of the spacing of the lower jaw bones, and the very well-developed temporal area, upper-orbital area, and zygomatic arches. The cheeks are prominent due to the very strong development of the muscles. The skull is slightly rounded from one side to the other. The frontal groove is deep. The forehead, characterized by well-developed eyebrows, dominates the face but does not overhang it. However, the skull is still wider than high. The head is furrowed with symmetrical wrinkles on each side of the median groove. These deep ropes of wrinkle are mobile depending on whether the dog is attentive or not. The wrinkle which runs from the inner corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth is typical. If present, the wrinkle running from the outer corner of the eye to either corner of the mouth or dewlap should be discreet. Stop - The stop is very pronounced, almost forming a right angle with the muzzle (95 to 100 degrees). Fault - Extreme characteristics such as a very short muzzle, flat skull, a swollen fold behind the nose that protrudes over it and a prominent fold that extends across the head without a break or definition between the eyes. Muzzle - Powerful, broad, thick, and rather short. Should not be fleshy below the eyes. When viewed in profile, the foreface is very slightly concave with moderately obvious folds. Its width decreases only slightly from the root of the muzzle to the tip. When viewed from above it has the general shape of a square. When viewed from the side, the top lines of the skull and muzzle form an angle that converges at, or near the end of the muzzle. When the head is held horizontally, the end of the muzzle, which is truncated, thick and broad at the base, is in front of a vertical tangent to the front of the
Powered by FlippingBook