Original 1904 Dogue De Bordeaux Standard
- GENERAL APPEARANCE A Smooth Coated Dog, Very Powerful In Build, Somewhat Low In Stature, Massive, Broad And Muscular.
- HEAD Enormous, And Its Size In Proportion To The Size Of The Dog, Should Be Greater Than In Any Other Breed Of Dog.
- SKULL Must Be Very Long And Broad, High, Square In Appearance; A Rounded Or Coconut Skull Is A Fault. The Whole Of The Skull, Face And Muzzle Should Be Covered With Ropes Of Loose Skin Lying In Symmetrical Wrinkles.
- MUZZLE Very Broad, Deep And Powerful. The Face, Measured From Eye To Nose, Should Be Short,But Not Too Short: 2.5 To 3 Inches For A Full-Grown Dogue. If Shortness Be Too Much Insisted Upon The Power Of Jaw Will Suffer; The Cheek Bumps Highly Developed; The Underjaw Should Project Slightly, About Half An Inch In Front Of The Upper, And Be Turned Up;But This Formation Should Be Almost Concealed By The Pendulous Lips.
- TEETH Enormous EYES Small ( A Full Goggle Eye Being A Great Fault ), Wide Apart, Deep Set, Light In Color, And Very Penetrating In Expression. A Deep Furrow Extends From Between The Eyes Up The Middle Of The ForeheadFLEWS Or Chops, Pendulous, Thick And Broad.
- NOSE Very Large And Wide, Set Slightly Back, With Large Nostrils
- EARS When Cropped, Should Be Small And Fine In Texture, A Fine Rose Ear Being Preferable To A Heavy Ear Lying Flat To The Cheek. As These Dogs Have Always Been Cropped, However, No Attention Has Been Paid To This Property, So That Too Much Stress Must Not At Present Be Laid On The Carraige Of Ear.
- NECK Very Thick And Powerful, Well Arched, And The Skin Of The Neck Very Loose, Formimg A Dewlap On Each Side Of The Throat, From The Angle Of The Jaws To The Chest.
- SHOULDERS Strong, Broad And Muscular. CHESTVery Wide, Deep And Of Great Circumference.BACKShort And Straight, Of Great Breadth At The Shoulders; A Hollow Back Is Very Detrimental, Though Frequently Met With In Old Dogs, Which Have Had To Undergo Severe Strains In The Arena.
- BRISKET Round And Deep, Of Great Diameter; Ribs Well Sprung, And Any Appearance Of Flat-Sidedness Should Be Avoided.
- BELLY Behind The Ribs Well Tucked Up. HIND-QUARTERS Should Not Have The Pear-Shaped Appearance Sought For In The Bulldog,But Be Very Strong And Powerful. It Must Not Be Forgotten That The Dogue Is Essentially A Gladiator, Who Even At The Present Day Is Constantly Pitted Against The Bear, The Bull And Other Animals, Besides Members Of Its Own Tribe. A Dogue Whose Hind-Quarters Were Not Very Strong Would Be Heavily Handicapped In The Arena, Nor Does The Reason Exist Which Originally Made The Light Hind-Quarters Desirable In The Bulldog.
- FORE-LEGS Very Thick, Strong And Muscular, Rather Short Than Long, With Enormous Bone; Pasterns Straight And Strong; Fore-Feet Round, Very Strong And Well Knuckled Up.
- HIND-LEGS Strong And Muscular.A Cow-Hocked Formation Is Undesirable.
- FEET Round, Large And Well Knuckled Up. TAIL Set On Low, Thick At The Root, Of Moderate Length And Not Carried High. It Must Not Have A "Brush",Or Fringe Of Coarse Hair On The Underside.
- COLOR Reddish Fawn With Red Mask; Nose Of Reddish Brown Color. Next To This In Order Of Merit, Red, With Red Mask; Then All Fawn With Black Nose, But No Mask. Lastly, Fawn Or Red, With Black Mask, And Black Nose. Any Other Color As Brindle, Black Or Pied To Absolutely Disqualify These Colors, Being Only Met With In Cross-Bred Specimens. It Is Hoped That In Time, By Careful Selection In Breeding, The Black Mask Will Be Totally Eliminated, And That We Shall Have All Dogues With Red Masks As Was Formerly The Case.
- HEIGHT AT SHOULDER From 23.5 To 29.5 Inches
- WEIGHT About 120 lbs. For The Dog And 100 lbs. For The Bitches.
- SCALE OF POINTS General Appearance................10 HEAD..............................25 WRINKLES..........................10 NECK..............................10 CHEST..............................5 BACK.............................. 5 LEGS..............................10 FEET..............................10 COAT and COLOR....................15 _____________________________________ TOTAL............................100