It is absolutely ESSENTIAL to socialise a Dogue De Bordeaux puppy!

It is equally important to give him very little road walk exercise until he is 12 months old, in order to give his bones a chance to strengthen and grow correctly without stressing the joints too much, as they do a massive amount of growing in their first year of life.

The Bordeaux is a natural guard. He very quickly gets to know his new family (or his pack) and even as a youngster he will alert the pack to a stranger with a very impressive voice for a young dog. He needs quite reassurance that this is acceptable, but should stop when told to.

He needs to grow up knowing that people are great, and that he can be confident and happy with them and other 'pack' members. You don’t have very long for him to learn this. It is far easier to socialise a cute wrinkly pup at 10 -12 weeks old, than a boisterous 6 month old. Take him with you 2 to 3 times a week (minimum) to places like the local boot sale or the Sunday market, or buy a sandwich and sit in the town square, or wait outside the local school when the children are due out.

In all these places, and more, the dog lovers will come to fuss your new baby! Socialising him for free! He will grow into a happy confident young dog, showing no signs of nervousness or aggression around strangers.

But this will only happen if you put the time and effort into him when he is a baby!!!