Our involvement in working breeds spans over 30 years. In that time my family have owned, bred, exhibited and judged G.S.Ds and Rottweilers, but for the past 9 years Dogue de Bordeauxs have been our passion.
I am the former breed note writer for Dog World and Auther of The Dogue de Bordeaux today which I wrote for Dog Worldwhich you can read below.
Our Affix Labruja was gained in 1979 through qualification. (they could not be bought in those days)
We only attend a few Championship Shows but win or loose we always have a great day out and enjoy meeting up with friends and fellow exhibitors. The show scene is not that important to us these days, The quality of our dogs speaks for itself.
Kennels are not for us. Our dogs are first and foremost our treasured companions and live in our home as part of the family.
Our dogs do not have any health problems, which can be confirmed by our long standing vet. There are however people who spread malicious gossip about our dogs which we can only put down to jealousy or a lack of knowledge.
All our dogs are Hip Scored, wormed, frontlined and vet checked on a regular basis and walked individualy each day.
We do not breed as all our bitches are spayed but very occasionally there are quality pups available from breeders who have used our Stud.
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Help and advise freely given
There is no doubt that the film Turner and Hooch released in 1986 by Touchstone pictures had a great influence on the re-introduction of the breed into the
Registrations rose very quickly, which is not always a good thing in a newly introduced breed. However the breed was to gain the attention of a few devoted breeders who would bring the breed forward to new heights and whose ultimate concern was for the good of the breed. Unfortunately the breed also gained the attention of the unscrupulous back street breeder whose only interest was the high prices puppies were fetching. This undesirable element is still with us today very sadly; hence the large amount of litters registered to date.
Without a doubt one of the pioneers of our breed in this country has been Alan and Kerry Bates of the Brandoux/Laruscade affix whose kennel was founded in 1994. With the help of Charlie Wynn, their tireless lobbying of the Kennel club went a long way to the acceptance of the breed onto the imp register. This kennel went on to be the most successful in this country producing 13 Champions world wide such as The World renowned Multi Ch Brandoux Toezzz (Ch Blockheads Hooch x Ch Laruscade Bibi). Bibi was also the first English Bred and owned Dogue to become a Dutch Ch. Toezzz along with Jr World Ch Temple Felson (Majestic Red x Laruscade Mandy) is behind the vast majority of top winners at present and Toezzz was Top Stud for 2005.
Other top Kennels who’s stock was founded on these lines includes Bev and Les Graham of The Jerivindi Prefix who have bred no less than 4 Overseas Champions including Int Ch Jerivindi Jerome (Jr World Ch Temple Felson x Rhodonite Ms Dynamite for Jerivindi).
Bev actively campaigned IR Ch Laruscade Miracle Boy for Anbarees (Young Arnold x Jenny Fair De L’etang De Mirloup) both in the
Along with Ir Ch Rhodonite Red Explosion for Jerivindi, (Multi Ch Brandoux Toezzz x Rhodonite Rana) they became two of the top winners here in the
Jerivindi Distinctive Dream (Ir Ch Laruscade Miracle Boy x Jerivindi Angel of the North) was Eukanuba top DDB Brood Bitch 2005 producing 2 overseas Champions and being the dam of Eukanuba Top DDB puppy 2005, Jerivindi Red Rocco.
Another Kennel to produce overseas Champions is Emberez owned by Becky Swainston and Nik Birkinel with a total of 5 Champions to date, with Int Ch Emberez Apollo (Laruscade Miracle Boy for Anbarees x Rhodonite Rana) being their most prolific and the most titled Dogue in the UK. Emberez have campaigned their dogs at UK shows as well as overseas, gaining Vitalin Bitch of the year in 2004 with Belle of the North for Emberez (Tank VD Bargefenne x Bronze Mia).
I cannot end this chapter without mentioning Laruscade Moonbeam at Jehane. (Kenyee World Cup Fever x Tanakajd Szepe Merien at Kidmenot) Bred by Alan & Kerry Bates and owned by Jane Gill- who actively campaigned her in this country to Top Working Imp Reg, Top DDB, and Dog World/Pedigree Top Dog 2005. Top Working Bitch (All Breeds)/ Vitalin Bitch of the Year and Top DDB Bitch 2005. A remarkable achievement considering the restraints of a breed on the Import Register.
These restraints I feel have gone a long way to contribute to low entries at
The emphasis now for breeders must be to produce soundness as well as type.
It is evident that more and more breeders are hip and elbow scoring their stock and yet in comparison with registrations the figures of dogs tested are still relatively low. The
As far as
The breed is also no stranger to the world of TV and film and Diana Yemms mother and daughter team, namely Amy (Chunky Hourglass) and daughter Evie (Dibest Evie) have graced our screens in adds such as Bakers, Hills Science and Virgin Mobile but Diana says her best was Rigleys airwaves which is mostly seen in