Be sure to read the warning at the end of this page!

The Dogue de Bordeaux is considered a "rare breed" in the USA and Canada. Thus a Dogue de Bordeaux, at this time, cannot achieve the title of AKC (American Kennel Club) Champion or CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) Champion.. But there are many rare breed organizations out there that offer championships to the Dogue de Bordeaux. Have you ever looked at a Dogue de Bordeaux's name and wondered what all those letters mean? Hopefully this will be a guide for you...We hope to expand on this page more, input is appreciated!

The Basics
Let's start with the abbreviation for different levels of championships:
Ch or CH = Champion
GrCh or GRCH = Grand Champion
SGRCh or SGRCH = Supreme Grand Champion


Club and Organization Letters
Most of the Ch's and GrCh's are preceded by the show organization or club abbreviation, for example

DDBS Ch = Dogue de Bordeaux Society Champion

DDBS = Dogue de Bordeaux Society
ARBA = American Rare Breed Association
CKC = Canine Kennel Club
FIC = Federation of International Canines
IABCA = International All Breed Canine Association
R = Rarities
RBCSWO = Rare Breed Club of South West Ontario
SKC = States Kennel Club
USBC = United States Bordeaux Corporation
UKC = United Kennel Club

International Titles
A dog that is FCI registered (overseas, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other countries) can compete anywhere in the world and obtain true International titles. This would be:

FCI Ch. along with any thing from the country it is received in, i.e. Dutch FCI Ch, French FCI Ch etc.

Also a dog from the USA that competes in Mexico or Canada can earn their championships in those countries and also be called international champions. (for example Rare Breed Club of South West Ontario or Rarities). These will be noted by

Rarities Int'l Ch
RBDCSWO Int'l Ch
Canadian Ch
Mexican Ch. etc.

BEWARE!
A Dogue de Bordeaux that lives in the USA can only achieve the true title of INTERNATIONAL if it is shown internationally (i.e. overseas, Canada, Mexico, anywhere outside of the USA and only FCI registered dogs can compete in most FCI shows overseas).

Some people attend shows offered by the INTERNATIONAL ALL BREED CANINE ASSOCIATION (IABCA) in the USA. This organization offers an IABCA title and also a title they call the IABCA International title. Unfortunately a dog does not have to go outside the USA to obtain this title. Reputable show people who are not interested in deception by a twist of words will list this as IABCA Int'l Ch which is the CORRECT way. BUT some people choose to just use Int'l or International Champion in their dog’s title when in fact the dog never traveled outside of the USA to obtain this title, sometimes not even out of the state it was born in and with no competition! This is deception by twisting words. Be warned, always ask to see proof - do not assume the dog is a TRUE international champion!

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