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 after which time it gained in popularity not only in their home country but in other parts of the world.
The history of the breed is believed to predate the Bullmastiff and the Bulldog. 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.
As there was a breed similar to the Dogue de Bordeaux in Rome at the time of Julius Caesar's reign, possibly a cousin of the Neapolitan Mastiff. Others suggest that the Dogue de Bordeaux is a descendant of a breed which existed in ancient France, the Dogues de Bordeaux of Aquitaine. In , the first canine exhibition was held at the " Jardin d'Acclimatation " in Paris, France. The winner of the Dogue de Bordeaux was a female named Magentas.
The Dogue de Bordeaux was then given the name of the capital of its region of origin, today's Dogue de Bordeaux. During the s, a group of breeders of the Dogue de Bordeaux in France, headed by Raymond Triquet, worked on the rebuilding of the foundation of the breed. In , a new standard was written for the breed, with the most recent update in This standard is the basis of the standard written for the AKC in Although the Dogue de Bordeaux first arrived in the USA in the s for the show ring, the first documented Dogue de Bordeaux of modern times appeared in by the name of Fidelle de Fenelon.
The breed was first "officially" introduced to American purebred enthusiasts in an article written in by the American anthropologist Dr. Carl Semencic for Dog World magazine. When Semencic's first article on the breed was published, there were no Dogues de Bordeaux in the United States. There were examples left in the world, mostly in France, the Netherlands and East Berlin, and the breed's numbers were on the decline. Since then, the Dogue de Bordeaux has taken hold in the United States and can be found in greatly increasing numbers across the country.
