Being a French breed, the Dogue de Bordeaux was initially not that popular outside of its home country. In fact, not many were aware that the breed even existed. This, however, changed in 1989, when the film Turner and Hooch premiered. The film starred Tom Hanks as one of the titular characters, Turner. The other character, Hooch, was played by a Dogue de Bordeaux named Beasley. Coming off of two Oscar wins, Tom Hanks rode his wave of popularity heading into this movie, and it definitely succeeded.

As you may have deduced from the film title, the story is centered on Scott Turner, who is a police detective, and a Dogue de Bordeaux named Hooch. Turner works for the police department in Cypress Beach, California. Starting to get bored of the lack of crime in his small town, Turner is set to be transferred to the bigger and more action-packed city of Sacramento. However, when a local man is found murdered, which is shocking given the usually peaceful nature of the town, Turner decides to stay and try to solve the case. The only witness to the crime was the man’s dog, Hooch. Hoping that the dog can identify the perpetrator, Turner decides to take Hooch in.

At first, Turner disliked Hooch, given his obsessively-organized nature and the dog's lively temperament. Hooch’s shenanigans involve ransacking Turner’s house and generally messing up Turner’s routine. Despite several attempts by Turner to give Hooch up to local veterinary doctor, Emily Carson, he eventually starts to like and respect Hooch.

As the film goes on, the pair help each other as Hooch was able to identify his former owner’s killer. After the discovery, several angles of the murder started popping up and Turner investigates on the case further. He enlists Hooch’s help to do a stake out. During one of the fights between Turner and the suspect, Hooch ambushes the suspect but gets shot during the encounter. Despite Turner rushing to bring Hooch to Emily’s clinic, the pup ultimately dies. The film ends with Turner being promoted to chief officer and him being with Emily. Camille, Emily’s dog and Hooch’s mate, also gives birth to a litter of pups.

Even though Turner and Hooch was marketed as a comedy, the death of Hooch was bittersweet. However, this helped highlight the loyalty of the Dogue de Bordeaux to its owners, a quality that is truly possessed by this breed. The film was a success in the box office and also helped put the breed on the map. In fact, in the United States, the Dogue de Bordeaux is sometimes jokingly referred to as “the Hooch dog”.