We are thinking of getting a Cane Corso. I have read up on the breed, but want to hear from owners.

I understand that this is a dominant breed; it expects the pack to have a leader and will fill that role if it senses one is needed.

If I am pack leader, how does a Cane Corso typically behave around other family members?
Is it always suspicious, or will it take its cue from me?

Will it accept frequent guests as not being threats?

What health issues are Cane Corsos prone to contract? Is dysplasia or stomach torsion common amongst members of the breed?

How do I pick a pup, or does the pup pick me?

Should I get a male or female? I know both have natural protective instincts; does one gender have more health issues than the other?

I fully expect to take training class(es) with the dog, and to exercise it daily.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

George

I'm going to guess there are few if any Corso owners on AR, they haven't been in the States long I believe. I'll offer my experience with Rotts, I figure it may apply.

Everybody in the household must be a pack leader in the dogs eyes. If anyone is a bit timid and not fully on board with getting such a dog I would choose another breed.

Properly trained it will accept guests taking it's que/instruction from you, will even welcome them gladly.

Not sure about their specific health issues, stomach torsion can be prevented with a rather simple surgery.

I would pick the most mellow pup.

IMO such a dog needs zero "training" to be a good family protector if that's your intent. With a Rott I do everything I can to make them a good friendly dog. First expose them as early and often to as many things as possible. Different animals, sounds, lots of new people, busy streets, everything and anything. Obeidance training for the obvious reason but also for getting them around other dogs, hopefully all sizes and breeds. I take my dog to agility classes, trick classes, everything I can to broaden it's experiance. . I think this near the top of important things to do, that and being consistent and fair, never angry. The guard dog part comes naturally if just for a family protector and not a working dog. My female Rott loves everybody, everything. She'll share her food bowl with a cat, loves everybody at the vet. One of her best pals is a horse. All that being said she knows when I question a strangers character and goes on silent alert. The perfect family dog.

I don't think he has posted in a while, but you could try this member.

Just forget half of what dempsey said and you'll be ok. They're a lot like an American bulldog, good family dogs that respond well to an authority figure. Male/Female doesn't matter much, but a fixed male is my preference in any breed. They're good dogs, but require obedience training like any other breed to be a good member of the family.

I figured an "expert" would show up sooner or later

I don't understand how what Dempsey said was bad. Exposure to multiple people, dogs, and situations combined with obedience training is a good recipe for a nice family dog.

Hi George,
What kind of dogs have you had in the past?

I have had rottweilers for about 20 yrs and when our last one died we got a cane corso(Bubba). He has alot of similarities to the rotties, and is just more of everything. He has a little more guard instinct, a little more dominance( alright alot more) and seems to be just a little smarter, and a little more independent.

He is very ,very aware of his surroundings-more so and at a greater distance than any of my rotties were.

I would say as long as you have a drivey molloser breed in your past (or maybe a good german shepard) you will very much enjoy a good corso. If you have only ever had a lab he will be another thing altogether.

To answer your questions
Bubba is only a statistical sampling of one but he has dominance in spades,in all fairness i picked out of a litter of ten as the most fearless,always on top of the pile pup.

without a doubt I am the pack leader in my house, he and my wife go back and forth on who is second fiddle, he is super-super protective of her, to the point of too much if I am not around. This has mellowed with age now that he is 3yrs old and has matured a bit.

He absolutely adores kids and loves to play with them, today a work friend of mine stopped by with his two kids who bubba has never seen before, the girls and bubba were best friends in about 30 seconds and ran around screaming and playing tag the whole time we visited.

He can be a little standoffish with strangers, especially if I'm not around. Anyone that comes around more than once or twice is his friend, no problem with frequent guests even some who are not dog people at all, scared of dogs etc... He needs to make up his own mind about that though and might not necessarily take his cues from you immediatly if that is what you mean.
Here in ontario there are a few lines with hip dysplasia, most from one unscrupulous/infamous breeder. But as a general rule they should be a fairly rugged/healthy dog. Torsion I understand can be issue with pretty well any decent sized dog but as far as I know they are not especially susceptable, as a great dane would be for instance.

please don't take it the wrong way but your next question makes me wonder abit how much dog experience you have? You pick a pup (or the breeder does most likely) based on what traits you are looking for in the dog. Most of the time it is just a semi educated guess but you/they should be able to pick the bold from the shy and after they are a little older see some drive start to show up.

My preference for gender would probably be a neutered male as well for a companion dog. However as long as you are planning to spay/neuter the gender is probably secondary to personality for me. If you're not planning to spay then 100% male for me please. As far as protective instinct that probably varies more from personality than it does from gender in my opinion. The absolutely most protective rottie we ever had was an unspayed female, she was very good at it as well. When I was away she slept at the foot of the bed with my wife and refused to let my wife out of her sight if it was at all possible. When I was home she would go and do her thing, slept downstairs etc... If neither me nor my wife were home,no-one could/would go in my house. That included my close friends who had been there 100's of times, the furnace guy or the Pope it didn't matter who it was if we weren't there then no admittance was her policy. She never in the 9 years she lived growled/looked funny at anyone while I or my wife was present always happy to see my friends etc... but if she was the only one home, nobody would of got into my house without killing her first I have no doubt of that.

Training /socializing/rigid pack structure are a must with a corso as far as I am concerned, much more so than with most breeds. I love mine to death and can't think of any other breed I would rather have right now myself. That said if you haven't had a dog with strong guard/working instinct before I probably wouldn't recommend a mastiff italiano. If you would like to talk more, shoot me a pm and I'll give you a call.

I have some mutts, a German short-haired, and a boxer.

None were particularly dominant, but man, that boxer was stupid!

I used to just pick a pup based on how we interacted; of course, with a dog like the Cane Corso (or any Molosser), I want to be a bit more discriminating so that I do not end up with a psychotic animal that I will have to put down.

I want a dog that is obedient, loyal, even-tempered but fearless in the face of a threat.

George

I hear you about boxer's! a friend of mine has them and they are about the most vacant headed things I have ever seen. I was there one day and watched them both miss an open door trying to run outside. The door opened to the inside and one ran into the edge of the door straight on, right on its nose- it yelped and the other one shyed away and ran into the door jamb on the other side. I thought to myself "a wide open door and a pair of dogs that put together are too damn dumb to get out of it" I never saw anything like it.

The traits you desire are certainly a good description of a corso as I know them. They also describe a good rottweiler.

Was your GSP a particularily mellow dog? I have known a few of them that were/are very willful and dominant.

Corso's seem to be kind of a trendy dog right now and rotties seem to be falling out of favour But I think if you got a good one of either you would be very happy.

Pay particular attention to the parents if you go to see puppies. I would expect the mother to be a little standoffish if you are looking at her pups- but if she turns into a foaming at the mouth monster and can't be in the same room with you while you handle her pups I myself would probably look elsewhere for a pup. If you can interact with one or both of the parents and see their personalities it would be a very,very good thing. Look for the traits you desire in the parents first and the pups second.

As far as the pups themselves I would also avoid one that is very shy/fearful more than one that appears bold or nonchalant. The shy/fearful ones sometimes grow into shy/fearful adults and with these breeds that is/could be a dangerous dog. In my opinion it is much easier to train and socialize and control a bold dog than a fearful one. The fearful one will avoid and hide its uncomfortableness and lash out when it can't take it anymore. I try to play and interact with a litter a couple of times and pick out one that likes to interact with me as you as said. One that will investigate new toys and show interest in the world around him. If there is a few that do that, watch how they interact with each other- If one is always on the bottom of the pile getting beat on and crying and one is always doing the beating. Guess which one will most likely have a little more of a dominant streak?

The GSP was headstrong, but not willful. I had to give him up to someone with a lot more backyard space than I had at the time.

I was thinking that a pup that cowered or ran to a stranger would not be the one I wanted.

A pup that was more circumspect (to put it in human terms) when meeting me for the first time would be more likely to have the temperament I wanted.

George

I guess the only other advice I would give after you pick out a pup, is get into a puppy class right away, the younger the better. It does alot of very good things for you and him right away. it allows lots of interaction and socializing with other people and dogs. It also starts him down the path of looking at you and your family as the leaders & trainers not just packmates to be played with. Get everyone in the family involved in the training.

Crate train him, it will make your life and his alot easier.
Structure everything you do with him so that you, your wife & kids are always in the lead. Make him give you space & wait for his food. Whenever you go through a door or down stairs he waits for you and your family, then he goes through. If he's going outside by himself make him sit by the door and wait even after the door is opened until you release him to go. You will be amazed at the difference these little things will make. If you never give him the chance to start thinking he is the boss your life will be alot easier.

In my opinion Dempseys advice is right on as well, Everything he does with his rotties, is what I did with mine and my corso's and is the secret that some people never figure out.
Structure and socializing are the keys to having a happy well-adjusted dog of this type. The nightmare ones are the ones that are either completely ignored and cooped up in the backyard or the ones that are completely coddled and spoiled and believe they are the leaders of the pack.
I also believe you don't have to do anything to try and "bring out" the guard instinct of either of these breeds. It will be there, the same as a GSP wants to point and a lab wants to retrieve- a corso or a rottie will want to guard.

If you do feel that you would like to start down that road, find a schutzhound club in your area and join. Trying to create a guard dog in your own backyard is a recipe for disaster. One bite from a corso and your neighbors kid will be scarred/maimed for life- or worse-its not worth it.

here's bubba, all 115lbs of couch potato Doesn't really look like he needs much encouragement to be a guard?

Thanks for your help!

George

Notlim knows a little bit about dogs!

What notlim said

+1

My folks raised Bullmastiffs for 30 years and I would say they are more mellow than a Cane....you have to get out in front of these dogs as the mature...you must be top dog.

Sure resemble a old english mastiff.

Yeah, the shape is similar, but they are alot smaller than an english, alot trimmer and more athletic as well. They have that big mastiff head though, some of the lines look alot like A bullmastiff or a dogue de bordeaux, with loose skin and big jowls, and some look more like the english.

Hi George,

I have few mastini with me for some years now,which I consider closer to corsos genetically than other breeds.Few of their characteristics I observed related to your questions--

Very dominant breed,males much more so than females, especially growing up males around their second year.Once settle down,they got attached to all family members.Males do test you from time to time though.

Mostly reserve with friends.

Very much prone to bloat and cherry eye. Very loose joints.

Let breeder choose a pup, type of dog you want.

A female, if you think more dominant male will be a problem at home and among visitors.One of my male never accept my father in law who is a very frequent visitor to my house and some time heips me with dogs.If you ever thought of whelping your female,cesarean may be the only option.

Exercise requirements may be different than mastini as corsos are more active and lightly built.May drool less.

A very loyal and solid guardians.

Enjoy your corso.

George try to find breeders in your area and spend some time with them and see if that is the breed for you. I have a good friend that tried to give me one last year that was a year old about 120 lbs. a very large male with huge head that he bought from a breeder in Colorado for $1500. I will give you the good the bad and the ugly. Cane Corsos have extreme natural extinct for guard/protection duties and fearless they are an extra large dog that requires a lot of commitment in energy, time and training. They need a large area for exercise, a farm size setting would be best.
Except for small animals,livestock other dogs or pets will be killed. They will not back down from a challenge, in fact they are always looking for it. Liability issues, constantly having to be on the alert to handle them and keep them in check which takes the fun out of owning them. Imagine a fighting pitbull at 40 lbs. and triple the capacity of mayhem. They drool and you will get tired cleaning after them. They have a short life compared to the smaller breeds. Good luck finding a kennel to take care of them when you go on trips and if you relegate care to family or friends will they have the experience to handle them. Granted an unneutered males are the worst and will constantly challenge authority. Fixed males are better as long as they are fixed at a young age but they can still be a handfull. Fixed females are best. Check with your home insurance company to see if they will continue to insure you or will cancel due to liability risks. My wife used to breed boxers they are the opposite in protection and courage in comparison, total fruit cakes, athletic but all the natural instinct of this bull baiting/ fighting breed was bred out of them in the last 100 years. Cane corsos are a rare breed, to propigate, the selection is just not out there in blood, meaning highly inbred, meaning you never really know what you are going to get, even if you took the best trainer with you to choose the puppy. There are exceptions, personally I would not bet on it. I also had a large rottweiller which was much more manageable excellent in all the aspects of your needs, except he always will test your resolve and challenge your alpha status. If it was me I would get a female rott.
from the best breeder with all the health certifications including the ones from the parents, check references and you will get an extremelly loyal friend that will be a pleasure to own and will fill your needs, don't underestimate them they will be fierce and obedient. My friend offered the dog back to the breeder for free and they would not take him ? he finally gave him to an experienced dog handler who lived in the boonies for the purpose of protection and pig hunting. George you are smart for doing your home work now so you won't regret it later . No matter where the dice rolls best of luck to you.
Charles

Thank you, huntergill and Charles.

I will visit the two breeders who are local (multiple champions).

Maybe I should get an Airedale.

George

HI George,
Are you opposed to a rottweiler for some reason?
It looks like about 50% of the posters here have tried to gently steer you in that direction. A good Rotty will have all the traits you desire, just in a more manageable package

With the Corso's,Tendency for Cherryeye/drooling will be somewhat dependant on the line you choose, If they have a floppy skin blockhead like a bullmastiff then drooling is a given, and cherryeye more likely.
I think that a tighter jowl smoother head dog (like Bubba for instance) is much less likely to drool and also less prone to Cherryeye.

BTW the same thing goes for Rottweilers

notlim,

I distrust the breeders, not the breed.

George

If thats the case, be very careful with a corso,
as I mentioned earlier they seem to be trendy right now, which means high $$ pups, which in turn brings in the undesirable breeders.

In Ontario right now I think that there are more shady corso breeders that Rotty's

Thanks again, notlim.

George

I won't profess to be any sort of dog expert but my dogs, past and present, when relegated to a 'job' are the best dogs and also appear to be 'happy' dogs. So taking high drive breeds such as those mentioned here and others such as terriers, hunting dogs, herders, etc... These breeds when not given DAILY jobs, DAILY training, DAILY excersize, are nothing more than disasters waiting to happen.

My 10 year old female lab is as hard headed as they come but she has had a job every day of her life guarding my livestock. She has even picked hawks out of the air while doing her job. She would not be as effective if she was a pet that slept on the door mat all day and in my bed at night and did guard duty only when going out to poop.

She works 24/7 but still gets walks, obedience time on the leash, treats, rides in the car, etc. Even at her age she can still leap 4 feet straight up, she has no joint ills or any other medical issues, not even tumors. She was never neutered either. I'm pretty proud of her.

Now labs are not bred for guarding but certainly can function as such. Breeds like Cane, Rott, mountain guardians, etc, you need to be managing them every day, all the time. If you don't, they being even more keen than a lab, will certainly manage you.







Now my dog is not to be a human deterant, just wildlife. Though I have found no one will go into the barnyard while she does the happy bark inside the gate with out me.

George, good luck with your selection! Just work with the dog each and every day for his/her life and you will be rewarded more than the money it cost for the puppy!

quote:

Originally posted by dempsey:
I figured an "expert" would show up sooner or later

No expert, just screwed up my post and just noticed it. Should have read, "Just DONT forget......". As the rest of my post would imply, I agree with what you were saying.

George,

If you find a good breeder here in the area let me know. The breed interests me. My Neapolitan Mastiff died about 6 years ago, but now that they are akc recognized, I'm not sure I trust to many breeders.

Thanks Keith

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
Maybe I should get an Airedale.

George

George,
If you are wanting a dog that can be an exceptional hunting partner as well as good family protector, than an Airedale could be a strong choice. My Airedale (Male, 92lb on the scale last week) is an exceptional family dog, and strong hunter. He is very much aware of what’s going on around his territory, and protective of the whole family.
I am no expert on Corsos, but have been around them. From my observation you are probably going to need to exercise an Airedale more, will have to deal with a dog that really and truly wants to be a part of (and into) everything, and if you get a good representative of the breed, very very smart …not bad things, but things that need to be considered. I trained labs and pointers for quite a while and found that for me the Airedales are much more fun and more rewarding hunting companions. My current dale is probably going to be the “dog of a lifetime” for me as a hunting companion. He’s got it all, and had the benefit of being exposed to thousands of birds while guiding.
When it comes to family time and family protection he has always been eager to greet and accept people whom he sensed were accepted friends of ours, and more than happy to influence strangers to not try and join that group. Like some of the posters above he sleeps all over the place when I am home, but if I leave on business he sleeps in the door way to our bedroom, will jump up and growl at the front door when he hears something he doesn’t like and just generally seems to be on red alert since Dad isn’t home. Now with the baby he has been sleeping in the doorway to her bedroom!!
Airedales are great, but they are terriers. If you are wanting a dog that you will be very involved with (because you generally don’t have a choice…they will even join you under the car while changing the oil) the rewards are great. They are tough as nails, don’t hardly shed, and are just damn entertaining.
I can’t help as much on the Corsos, but feel free to give me a call if you start to consider an Airedale and want some more info.

George,my only experience with a dog was as follows.I purchased the annual publication of Dog breeders Canada?? and found a breeder for what I was looking for-pointers.The breeder-who was also an active competition judge travelling the world over,asked that I send an application-a letter describing everything and what I wanted to do with the dog.My application was accepted and a date was set where I drove to Ontario and saw the litter with their eyes still closed.IMO,the breeder knew which was his best pup.I was very lucky he let me have him.That said all the pups in that litter where good in in their own way.I showed up a couple months later to take him home.I could not imagine a better companion.I was blessed with the whole thing such that I know my chances of this whole thing repeating itself are slim.Since then-20 yrs later the breeder has withdrawn from the whole scene and the quality of his dogs are not what they were.When I first visited and saw my dogs brothers and sisters and parents I could not believe that I could own such a beautiful companion.

Thank you, George.

I've always enjoyed dogs and want to make a good choice this time around.

George

I have a friend whose family (and he as well, but until very recently he was active duty military) breeds and trains Rotts, some of these are then sold and used in very high security US government work. He has them personally and they have saved at least one of his daughters from an attempted kidnapping and stopped numerous questionable "approaches" by unknown individuals, all with the level of force required by the situation. These dogs would not be cheap but the best quality never is. If you're interested, PM me and I will ask him if he has any that he would sell and details. To say that he doesn't advertise his dogs would be an extreme understatement.

A Rott story: A different friend that trained dogs and had his own trained Rott as a watch/house dog left the house for the weekend on Fri afternoon with Rott inside (doggie door, food and water available, etc). Unfortunately for the crook, he chose to attempt to rob the house that evening. Dog took him down, clamped on his arm, and was still clamped on it Sun afternoon when they returned. According to crook, if he attempted to move, dog "reminded" him not to, by clamping harder. Broken bones, some blood, and he want away for several years due to some priors and other burglaries. Sued my friend and lost. This was in Louisiana, had it happened in a more liberal state, the jury might have been more sympathetic to the crook.

I'm not really up on a corso, but have had several dobes, german shepherds, and currently belgian malinois. If the breeder is into competition/training, tell him what you really want first and foremost, if it's a companion, tell him so. The schutzhund type competition trainers at least in shepherds are looking for the somewhat hyper/neverending drive type of dog and that isn't what you want or need. The protective instinct comes with most of them given by nature.

In general, at least in the breeds mentioned, males tend to be more oriented towards protecting territory, females towards protecting individuals. That explains the guy earlier that talked about his rott being overprotective of his wife.

My old german shepherd which just passed on a couple months ago would growl at anyone who tried to put their arm around me, etc.

I tend to like females as a companion/protection dog, but of course everything we are talking about is a generalization, so may not apply in specifics.

By the way, if they are droolers that would be a deal breaker for me.

Corso's are not supposed to be aggressive meaning they don't look for a fight, but they are protective so they won't walk away from one either. They are to be even tempered and stable. They tend to stay close to the yard and not venture off. They are more agile and physical than most of the Mastiff Breeds. Go to a reputable breeder and do alot of research. A reputable breeder will allow you to ask as many questions and not rush or pressure you. I know people who have gone up to 5 times to a breeder prior to buying. A female I think is more protective due to protecting her offspring but it is just a theory at best but thats what I would most likely purchase?