Dog's Name & Age:
Sophia, 2 Years
In a Word, My Dogue de Bordeaux Is…
The best dog my wife and I have had.
Best Characteristics of the Breed
Loyalty, gentle with children and that she can protect without intimidating
Most Challenging Characteristics of the Breed
Arrogant and stubborn at times.
When, Where and How I Got My Dogue de Bordeaux
We got Sophia from a friend who breeds them in March of 2008. She was born in Fillmore, Ca. on 12/28/08. My wife instantly fell in love with her as did myself and my grandson who lives with us. She was given to us as the lady that we got her from had wanted my wife and I to take one of the puppies because we had just lost our Golden.
I'd Describe My Dog As…
She was very easy to housebreak. She was, however a real challenge in training to come, sit, stay or heel. She seemed to enjoy challenging us when training. However, once she learned, we have never had to go back and reinforce any commands she had learned.
We have socialized her since she was about 4 months old and have only had one incident where she reacted aggressively to another dog. A pit bull came after her at a dog park when she was just over a year old. She had no problem protecting herself from the pit and I think the reason she reacted so physically was that my wife and I were there and that she was not only protecting herself but my wife and I. Other than that, we have never had her be dog or people aggressive.
We have had no medical concerns with her. We take her to the vet every 4 months as we were concerned with some of the things we had read about the breed.
Advice
- They are great dogs.
- The slobbering attributed to them is greatly overstated. It occurs mostly when they have just finished eating, drinking or exercising.
- If you do not want them to take over your couch, chair or bed let them know young that this is not acceptable.
- I really don't think now that my family would want another breed of dog. We are considering adopting a male DDB.
