My Doggy Thing

Close menu

My Doggy Thing

Search Toggle menu

CANE CORSO

Also Know as:

Italian Mastiff, Cane Di Macellaio, Cane Corz

.

Origin: Italy

Type: Pure Breed

Height: 23 to 27 inches

Weight: 88 to 110 pounds

Life Expectancy: 10 to 11 years

CANE CORSO TEMPERAMENT

A naturally aggressive and intelligent breed, the Cane Corso is a dog that needs proper socialization if possible from an early age. Their ancestors were known to be fighters and guard dogs, never backing down from a fight.

They are natural protectors and bond deeply with their household members which means they would look out for anybody in their household, making them somewhat good with children, but children must be thought how to behave properly around them. A word of caution is never to leave them around children without supervision.

When properly trained, they look very reserved and almost polite even to strangers

.

CANE CORSO PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The Cane Corso has a short, coarse coat, their ears naturally dropping forward, although most breeders like to crop them short, having them close to their heads. They are large dogs with an athletic look.

In size, the male weighs between 99 to 110 pounds and the female between 88 to 99 pounds. In height, the male can reach between 24 to 27 inches with the female between 23 to 25 inches.

CANE CORSO CHARACTERISTICS

CANE CORSO CARE

Four to five cups of dry food should be enough for a fully grown Cane Corso. To avoid Gastric dilatation-volvulus, feeding them twice a day is recommended. Be on the watch out for their weight as obesity can also lead to other health issues in the dog. Always talk to your vet doctor regarding any challenge you may be facing with the dog.
The Cane Corso has a short coat making grooming them very easy. Use a natural bristle brush or mitt to brush their coat at least once a week. You may also consider using a coat conditioner or polish to brighten the sheen of the coat. We also suggest bathing them at least once every three months with a mild shampoo. The Cane Corso is a big dog so even though grooming them is easy, it will take a little time to do this for the whole body. Also maintain their regular ear cleaning, dental, and nail trimming routines.
Due to their domineering character, obedience training comes highly recommended for the Cane Corso. It is important to get them to first submit to all family members before going ahead with other training programs for them. The good thing about training a Cane Corso is that they are highly intelligent dogs. This makes training them easy, but you also have to take into consideration their size when training them. Getting assistance from experienced dog parents of such a breed would be a very good advantage here.
A highly intelligent and working dog, the Cane Corso is heavily in need of both mental and physical exercise. The recommendation is to do this exercising twice daily. You can either do brisk walks, running, or a combination of the two. Due to their size and muscle tone, not exercising can lead to a lot of physical health problems. They can in addition to long walks join you in hiking and cycling if you do so. In addition involve them in some mental tasking activities to deal with their intelligence, protection sports, tracking events, or better still actual jobs e.g law enforcement dogs, airport guard dogs, etc.
Breeding the Cane Corso has come a long way and breeders aim to maintain the highest standards in their kennels but just like with every living creature, there are hereditary traits that cannot be eliminated completely. These conditions are Hip dysplasia affecting their legs which can lead to arthritis and lameness. GDV(Gastric dilatation-volvulus) twisting of the stomach from eating or drinking too fast, this cuts of blood supply and can lead to instant death, and lastly Ectropion, a condition in which their lower eyelids droop or rollout.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR PUPPY

Read More

TIPS FOR ADOPTING A DOG

Read More

HOW DO DOG VIEW THEIR OWNERS?

Read More

YOUR DOG’S HEALTH BASICS

Read More

CANE CORSO HISTORY

Originally called molossus dogs or mollosers, which came from the Greek work Molossi. The myth behind them was that they descended from big-boned, giant dogs of the gods.

The historical origin is that the Cane Corso originated from Italy. At the height of the Roman empire, after the Roman legions had dominated the Greek Islands, they brought these dogs to Italy and started breeding them there.

Their main purpose then was being war dogs, where they had hot buckets of oil strapped to their backs and allowed to charge on their enemies. Being intelligent dogs, they ended up pouring the hot oil on the enemy before ferociously attacking them.

Later on, they were used for bull-baiting, dog fights, gambling, etc. The more tamed ones at the time were geared towards hunting.

When the western empire came to an end, around 500 AD, these ferocious dogs slowly started going out of use. To preserve them and make them tamer for their times, some were crossbred with the Neapolitan Mastiff to preserve the line. These breeds were used then mainly as hunting dogs, then as time progressed they were used for livestock droving and guard dogs for farmsteads and henhouses.

As time went on the Italian region became a troubled region, political issues, invasions, economic problems, etc. the area became less viable and the priorities of most people shifted to just survival, as the 18th, 19th, and 20th century started unfolding, mechanized farming became a thing leading to the Cane Corsi losing more value in terms of usability.

By the mid 20th century, the breed was nearly extinct, it took a group of breeders in Italy to come together and revive the breed. This started in the 1970s, by 1983 the Society Amorati Cane Corso (Society of Cane Corso Lovers) was formed. Ten years later, the Cane Corsi was exhibited in European dog’s shows. Five years later the Cane Corsi was imported into America, and the AKC finally acknowledged the breed in 2010.