Dogue du Bordeaux question?

We're looking into getting a Dogue du Bordeaux.
we've done the research, spoken to the vet who recommended a reputable breeder.
we spoke with the breeder, met them and after a long process we got accepted as future owners.
my question is for Dogue owners. what is your dog like personality/temperment?
we've done the book work but we're looking for more personal experience.
Answers:
I don't have one, but there is a Yahoo! Group for DDB owners that you can join and they will probably be more than happy to tell you all about their experiences
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ddbs/join...
And in case you haven't been there yet, here's the website for the DDB Society of America.
http://www.ddbs.org/
Aside from lots of good info on the breed, it tells you where there are upcoming events where you could see the DDBs and their owners/breeders in person.

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We have our second dogue de bordeaux now. We had a male for four years, unfortunately he died from bloat. We got another male from the same breeder at Christmas, he is now 11 months old. Both have wonderful personalities. Our new male is doing very well with obedience training, we started him in puppy class as soon as we got him, I would recommend it, they are not hyper, but a very big, strong dog, so you certainly want them to be well trained and controllable. He gets along well with my other dogs, we have a 8 year old weimeramer and a 2 year old shihtzu, not too sure about the cats, and he loves to chase lizards. They can be somewhat protective. If you are a neat freak, this is not the dog for you, they are very messy. We have to keep a basket of rags by the back door to clean up the drool, the glass doors always look nasty, and I find spit everywhere. They tend to slobber even more when they are excited about something or excersizing. We have not had any real health problems until recently, our new boy got some type of infection or virus, ended up with a huge abcess on his leg, and in the last 3 weeks we have dropped about $1600 at the vet. They are prone to hip and joint problems (as are most large breeds), so you want to make sure the parents have been OFA certified. You also want to avoid running the dog as a puppy to avoid knee injury. They can also have eye problems. I would make sure the breeder is willing to take the dog back if it has any major congenital problems, and I would also recommend microchipping and/or tattooing, as they are quite expensive and around here anyway I worry about him getting stolen. I can't think of anything else right now, but if you have any other questions, feel free to e mail me