The Dogue de Bordeaux is one of the oldest French breeds. Its actual origins are obscure but it is probably descended from one of the strains of Mastiff-type dogs that accompanied Macedonian and Roman armies through Asia, Europe, and Britain. By the middle of the 19th century, the Dogue de Bordeaux was little known outside of Aquitaine where it was used to hunt large animals, such as boar; to fight; to guard homes and cattle; and in the service of butchers. The breed narrowly missed extinction during the two world wars but enjoyed a resurgence in the 1960's. Sometime in the early 1980's, the first Dogue de Bordeaux was imported to the United States. |

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