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The record rates the Dogue de Bordeaux as Good with children, and this page explains what that verdict looks like in a real house. What follows covers toddlers, school age children and visiting families, because a Dogue de Bordeaux meets all three differently.
With energy at 3 out of 5, neither couch dog nor athlete, the Dogue de Bordeaux fits owners whose routine already holds an hour or so outdoors. Temperament is the deeper reason for the rating: a Dogue de Bordeaux built Sweet, adaptable, playful and devoted reads household chaos differently from a nervous breed.
The Dogue de Bordeaux's growth stages run 8 weeks at about 10 to 15 lb, 9 months at about 59 to 90 lb, 18 months at about 87 to 132 lb, ending at the adult range of 99 to 150 lb and 23 to 27 inches tall. Standard colors: all shades of fawn, from a dark red fawn to a light fawn. A rich coat color is considered desirable. Limited white patches are permissible on the chest and the extremities of the limbs. The breed belongs to the Non-Sporting group and its home ground is France.
Children old enough to ask for the dog are old enough for a share of its routine, and a Dogue de Bordeaux bonds fastest with whoever feeds and walks it.
The fixed facts behind every answer here: giant size, 99 to 150 lb, 5 to 8 years of life, and a temperament summarised as Sweet, adaptable, playful and devoted.
Apartments fail on size and stairs alone, matching the record's not ideal. Expect drool on an industrial scale, snoring, enormous affection and a dog that leans, sighs and loves with its whole considerable self. Give children jobs and the relationship deepens: supervised feeding, treat pouch duty and story time reading all teach a Dogue de Bordeaux and a child each other's value.
The dog's name belongs on the household rota like everyone else's in a Dogue de Bordeaux family: walked, fed and rested on a schedule children can see.
With strangers the Dogue de Bordeaux record reads: Friendly with strangers, which is the verdict visiting grandchildren and school friends actually meet. Barking at 3/5 gives the Dogue de Bordeaux a working doorbell without a running commentary.
Photographs lie about this pairing both ways; the real evidence is a Dogue de Bordeaux choosing the children's company on ordinary afternoons, free to leave it.
In herding and mouthy breeds it is common young behaviour, and it is managed, not punished: redirect onto toys, reward calm around running children and supervise until the habit fades. If it escalates or frightens the children, a behaviourist should see the Dogue de Bordeaux promptly.
The energy score gives the clue: at 3/5 the Dogue de Bordeaux joins household life at its own tempo. Its stranger record, Friendly with strangers, predicts the birthday party test better than any single trait: a dog happy with visitors is a dog happy in a family house.
The rating here is Good with children, and it describes the Dogue de Bordeaux with children generally. Babies and toddlers add unpredictability: sudden grabs, falls onto the dog and high pitched noise. Even the gentlest Dogue de Bordeaux deserves supervision and a child free retreat at that age.
The Dogue de Bordeaux's daily exercise bill explained: what counts, how owners fit it in and what happens when it goes unpaid.
A Dogue de Bordeaux question answered from the breed's own record: temperament, workload, costs and daily life.
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Last updated: November 4, 2026