Written by Kris Munday, January 14, 2019
There has been a ton of misinformation regarding the Dogue de Bordeaux Breed floating around the internet as of late.
Myth #1: The breed was almost eliminated by Hitler during WWII.
Reality: The breed WAS almost eliminated during WWII, but not by Hitler. Just like other breed dogs large and small, owners, fanciers, breeders all over Europe could not afford to feed their dogs. Food was rationed, meat was scarce. People either killed their pets, or just turned them lose. Very few could afford to actually keep their dogs. Saga Page 227-231
Myth #2: Hitler had a “shoot to kill order on Dogues de Bordeaux because they were so fierce”.
Reality: Again, not true. Soldiers would however, shoot any dog that looked as though it would interfere with soldiers, all breeds, not just ddb’s. But there were no specific orders to shoot Dogues or any other breed. Saga Page 227-231
Myth# 3: During WWII, The French Resistance used Dogues de Bordeaux
Reality: There is absolutely NO PROOF the French Resistance EVER used Dogues for anything. This is a recent (2018 or so) romanticized story that is currently circling the internet, there is zero basis in fact, zero.
Myth #4: Raymond Triquet is the “savior” or even “founder” of the breed
Reality: Raymond is a writer, a wordsmith, a professor, a scholar of not only the Dogue de Bordeaux, but dogs in general . He is and always has been passionate about the breed. He had only bred a handful of litters starting with his first in 1963, his passion was elsewhere besides breeding. His passion was in bringing the breed to light, writing about it, promoting it, teaching about it, judging it, researching it’s history and putting that info to paper so others could learn about the breed. Raymond has written or assisted with writing the standards for the breed and many other breeds. He truly has a way with words that make his writings jump of the page and fill your mind with information. Through Raymond’s writings, promotion, educations, books, articles and such, the breed has been preserved and actually improved. Did he save the breed, yes, but not by breeding but rather by bringing a written history, a good standard and knowledge to Dogdom about the breed.
Myth #5: Raymond Triquet Cross bred other breeds into the Dogue de Bordeaux
Reality: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. Raymond bred for about 12 years, his first litter in 1963, his last in 1975. He NEVER bred any other breed into the Dogue de Bordeaux. There were some breeders who bred other breeds into the DDB and they are as follows (as published in “The Saga of the Dogue de Bordeaux”):
1974, Rene Averlant with Des Demon Noirs had an accidental breeding with a Neo. That dog he kept from that mating was named “IC” (Saga page 74).
1968-1969 Van Cappel with De Fenelon had a Mastiff named N’Zogo what was actually registered as a ddb but was in fact a mastiff (Saga page 73).
1957 Frau Friedel Windecker of Von Wolfsburg in Germany crossed in St. Bernard to Von Niedersachsen lines ( Saga page 261)
In more recent years (early 2000’s), there were mahogany neo mixed into the breed in England
Myth# 6: Hooch (Beasley) was bred by Pete Curley and was 14 years old when he died.
Reality: Beasley, Barry, Vigor and Cristo were all born in France and imported by Pete Curley and eventually sold to Clint Rowe, who trained them for Turner and Hooch. Beasley and Barry were born in 1986, Vigor in 1984 and Cristo in 1987. Beasley died in 1992, at the age of 6 (IMBD and Wiki are incorrect). The 3 older dogs did a brief Live Animal show at Disneyland in Anaheim California after the movie. About a year later, they were all sold. Pete’s own article/adverts that he produced and had published state that he imported these dogs, not that he bred them. He even wrote in 1988 (Dog World Magazine, July 1988, that Barry was just 19 months old (which would make the “B” named boys born in 1986, which is the birth letter for that year in France).
Myth #7: There are still 3 “types” of Dogues de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Parisian and Toulouse.
Reality: While in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, there were 3 distinct types of DDB’s (all similar, but distinctly different), the STANDARD settled on the “type” the breed would be by promoting the Bordeaux type. The other “types” were bred out and not continued with. Though occasionally some dogs with certain aspects of the other types will appear, but they are not a “Parisian Dogue” or a “Toulouse Dogue”, they are simply dogs that do NOT fit the standard of what the breed is today, they have features that are what the breed used to be more than a hundred years ago but they do not have all of the things that would make them either Toulouse or Parisian as that blood, in it’s original state, is long gone. It’s like saying “that person is a Neanderthal” because they have a very heavy brow, when in fact they have a feature that makes their brow be heavy, it does not mean they are actually a Neanderthal.
Myth #8: The Dogue de Bordeaux is a gentle creature and would not hurt a fly, they were just bred to guard castles.
Reality: They were used as guard dogs. They were used as ratters and hunters (eliminating rats, rabbits, small critters). They were used to fight other dogs, boars, bears, donkeys and anything else people of that period found good to fight. They were used as draft dogs, pulling carts for many different needs. They were used as herding dogs and flock protectors. The different regions of France used them for different things (thus the original 3 different types). Saga Chapters 8 & 9, pages 93 to 116
Myth #9: Dogue de Bordeaux come in the rare Chocolate and Brindle.
Reality: Chocolate is not a color EVER in the breed. Red and Brown are two completely separate things on the DNA strand and there is not brown in the breed (other than brown mask, there is no coat color of brown). Chocolate is NOT the same as a dark mahogany RED (not to be confused with the color of the Mahogany Neo which IS Brown). Brindle is also NOT in the breed. There is no brindle in the DDB and has not been for over 100 years. Brindle cannot spontaneously happen in any mastiff types. In order to produce brindle, one dog must be brindle (same with Black mask, in order to produce black mask, one dog must be black mask). Dogues de Bordeaux coat can range from Isabella (light, light red, almost blonde with a red tint) to a dark mahogany like an Irish Setter AND the coat is always “Agouti” meaning it is two colors, light at the body, dark on the ends. If a dogue is any color but shades of Red, it is NOT a Dogue de Bordeaux, it is a mixed breed and a DNA test will prove that.
Myth #10: If a Dogue de Bordeaux has a black mask, it is a mixed breed.
Reality: NOT TRUE. Dogues have 3 mask pigments. No mask which is often confused with Red Mask, which is a complete absence of pigment, nose leather and eye rims are a washed out pink (Saga page 35 and 191) (no mask dogs were once considered “lacking”, “defective” or have “dilute genes” and have purposely been avoided breeding wise because it was thought to be a defect, very very few dogs are true “no mask” dogues). Brown Mask which is also called Red Mask (I know, confusing, right), nose leather is a dark reddish brown, almost liver colored, same with eye rims. Sometimes has a noticeably darker colored “mask” on it’s face, but sometimes not (the majority of dogues are Brown Mask). Black mask dogues have black nose, black eye rims and may have some black on the ears and a mild black overlay on the head/face. In order for a dogue to produce a black mask, it must be a black mask (meaning you cannot take two brown mask dogues, breed them and get black mask pups, it is not possible).
To learn in depth information about the breed, the go to Bible for the breed is “The Saga of the Dogue de Bordeaux”, written by Professor Raymond Triquet and can be found at www.bbpress.nl . The “Saga” used as reference in the above 10 Myths is the original English version, not the one currently printed.