Meet the dogue de bordeaux
Meet the native mastiff of France and its fight for survival after facing extinction following World War II.
Breed: Dogue de Bordeaux
Group: Guardian
Country Of Origin: France
Weight: 99–150 lbs
Height: 23 – 26 Inches
“That’s the Hooch dog!” - this is the common response when a member of the public sees a Dogue de Bordeaux in the wild. Popularised by the 1989 movie “Turner & Hooch” the Dogue de Bordeaux has a long standing history in France dating back to the middle ages. Primarily used as hunters of wild game, these imposing dogs were also used as guard dogs and were commonly seen standing guard at butcher shops.
By the 1960’s the once common breed was on the verge of extinction. The perfect storm of the French Revolution followed by both World Wars had taken its toll and only two breeders remained in all of France. The breed likely would have quietly passed into antiquity if not for an unlikely hero coming to their rescue.
Enter Raymond Triquet, a teacher, who was first introduced to the breed by one of his grammar students. Instantly captivated, Triquet determined that his majestic and historic breed simply could not be allowed to die out, dedicated the rest of his life to preserving the Dogue. A bit of an unlikely pair, the slight, bespectacled school teacher and the large, pumpkin headed mastiff.
The two remaining breeders of Dogue in France didn’t like each other, which fortunately meant they also hadn’t crossed their lines. Triquet acquired a female from one breeder and a male from the other and made his first cross. From this breeding the now famous Mowgli was born.
Mowgli, the pick of the litter, served as the breeds ambassador traveling all over Europe and putting Dogues back on the map. At one dog show an elderly man approached Triquet, clearly emotional. The man had served as a huntsman assistant during WWII at a French hunting lodge owned by an English man. There he had cared for and hunted boar and deer over a pack of Dogues. With German troops moving in, the owner of the lodge had shot the dogs and horses before returning to England. The elderly man's last memories were of the slaughtered pack and he had believed he would never see a Dogue again, yet miraculously here was Mowgli.
In 1970 Triquet wrote the breed standard, a masterfully written document that translates the breed's complex head into geometric and mathematical terms. One of the largest heads in the dog world a male Dogue de Bordeaux’s head circumference should be equal to his height. In 2007 when the breed became AKC recognised Triquet helped to write the official American standard ensuring the breed would remain true to type on both sides of the Atlantic.
