Tell me about Cane Corsos

[Dutchmare433]

So pretty much what the title says. Who are they appropriate for, ok in a family setting, how much exercise do they need, how are they with other pets?

Background:

My ex-brother in law did not get custody when he divorced my sister, he did, however, get limited visitation with my younger niece and the potential to get visitation with the older niece when she decides it’s OK.

He decided (obvious even to 12 y/o niece) that buying 2 dogs would be a great way to bribe the girls to want to see him. (Why not spend 3k on dogs instead of paying child support?)

So he got a Boston terrier pup and a Cane Corso pup. I know nothing about the breed except what I read on wikipedia, seemed like I could get better info here. He’s never had a dog before, so is by no means an experienced owner. Recipe for disaster?

I told my sister I’d get some more info on the breed and report back.

Thanks for any and all info!

[GraceLikeRain]

Short answer, yes.

Those who love the breed find them to be loving, child-friendly, and great companions. However, they can be aloof and they are MASSIVE. Without proper socialization they can easily become just like any under socialized watch dog but just in a bigger/stronger package. Any breeder willing to sell a Cane Corsos to a first-time dog owner who also just purchased another puppy of a completely different breed/size/disposition may not be the most thoughtful of breeders.

Maybe encouraging him to sign up for intro level obedience classes with both dogs will help him get off on the right foot and create a funny daddy-daughter bonding activity.

[Marshfield]

Not a dog for a first time owner.

[Foxtrot_s]

Agreed - not sure the social workers will be thrilled, either.

Is it a male or female? Neutered? Let me guess - will be an unneutered male, eh?

Ross Robagliati was the first Gold medallist when they introduced snowboarding to the Olympics (He had it taken away and then returned because of pot in his test and was the joke of the late night talk shows - I thought pot slowed you
down). He had a Cane Corso (female) and she was the loveliest thing - he took her everywhere on the slopes and she was very amenable.

[Dutchmare433]

Ok, that’s all pretty much what I thought–it is a male and at present is in tact. I have no idea if he plans to leave it that way, let’s hope not. He’s not really the kind of person to take suggestions well, so I doubt he’d take the dog to obedience class, though it can’t hurt to ask.

The girls aren’t allowed at his house, only at his parents (their grandparents), so thus far, I believe they’ve only met the boston terrier.

I’ll confirm my fears with my sister. I’m pretty sure she has to drag him back to court for failure to pay child support, so hopefully she can tackle the issue then.

[Hermein]

Best way to housebreak an adult dog?

I’m fostering a large dog of unknown parentage, who, apparently, has never lived in a house before. He’s recently neutered, nice to the cats and our own dogs, but lifts his leg on everything. He does go out to poop, thank heavens.

Is there any short cut to housebreaking such a dog? I’ve only had experience with puppies.

[runNjump86]

Fantastic dogs for experienced owner, but as everyone else has mentioned this is a recipe for disaster. These dogs are huge. They’re not overly tall but they are built and are very, very powerful. If they get the upper hand and know it, like other protective breeds, it will be very dangerous.

Several years ago a woman was killed in an elevator by 2 uncontrollable Cane Corsos. Is this the breed standard? Absolutely not. But your brother needs to be aware of what they are capable of. I despise most small dogs and yes, there are more bites per year by small dogs, but the damage is usually significantly less.

I happen to like the breed. I’m also a fan of pitbulls, bulldogs, dobes, GSD, and pretty much every other powerful breed, but I know these dogs are capable of inflicting way more harm if not properly handled or trained. Just because a dog can “sit” or “stay” does not mean they respect the human, and with powerful dogs, no respect can be very dangerous.

[Dutchmare433]

Thanks runNjump—to clarify, this is my ex-brother in law, I’m in no way related to him at all anymore, thank god.

The more I’ve read, the more my former brother in law sounds like exactly the type of person that gives this type of dog a bad rap. Very “macho” and probably looking for a status symbol more than anything. After the divorce it came out that he had abused my sister both verbally and physically, as well as verbally abusing my nieces. (Hence the supervised visitation.) (Can’t imagine that type of behavior will work out well with a 100lb dog either.)

This is partially a vent, obviously, but I just want to give my sister enough ammunition when it comes time that he starts pressing for unsupervised visitation. I don’t think they should be alone with him period, but it would be such an avoidable accident if either of them were hurt by a large, completely untrained guard dog.

[Rudy]

Personally I absolutely love the breed. With an experienced person they can shine, with others it can have other outcomes. They are a smaller mastiff breed with males around 100lbs and females around 70-80. Big dogs but not unusually giant.

[csaper58]

Any chance you can sleuth out who bred the dog? Knowing the breeder, how the pups were raised, and the temperament of the parents might help alleviate some worry.

Any chance you can temperament test the pup?

[vacation1]

A giant pit bull. Your former BIL has quite the novel method of getting out of child support - kill your children. I bet he overpaid - no reputable breeder would sell a puppy to a man who was simultaneously buying a second puppy, and there is a quite funny theory in the exotic mastiff world that virtually all Cane Corsos in the US are actually giant pit mixes, stemming from the addiction pit bull breeders have to size and their apparent goal to breed a gazillion litters each year. The CCs are a rare breed, and I suspect their fanciers have a point - unless you’re getting one from what passes for a reputable breeder in the exotic mastiff world, you’re probably getting a mixed-breed or a dog that’s been outcrossed with pit recently.

Two CCs killed a man in 2014. The owners were breeding them, of course, selling the offspring on hoobly. Awesome. And the killers’ pups were ‘rescued’ so those bloodlines are out there. Buyer beware.

[Dutchmare433]

Ah, me temperament testing the pup would probably involve breaking and entering, so that’s out!

I might be able to weasel out info on where he got it/who bred it and contact them.

Vacation–that’s some pretty scary info. How do I find out who is a reputable breeder? (I’ve only ever had shelter dogs, so this is all new to me)

[scierra]

I love Cane Corsos. But definitely not for first time owners. I’m going to assume he did not get the dog from a reputable breeder since he sounds uninformed about the breed. That would concern me a lot. They were probably not bred with temperament in mind and that could end up a disaster if he doesn’t train it and keep on top of the training. The ones I’ve been around were very sensitive dogs, and that in itself can cause issues.

Is the Boston also a male? If so two males can be a problem with same sex aggression. Or if the Boston is an unaltered female more issues.

Just an add on it wasn’t Cane Corsos that killed the lady in Ca. Those dogs were Pressa Canarios (sp.). Still in the mastiff family though.

[JanM]

I agree with scierra. There is no way a reputable breeder sold a Corso to a first time owner, and I’m betting the dogs came from a pet store or CL.

[french_fry]

I know some great ones (both purebred from a reputable breeder and some rescues that are likely pit/am staff mixes) but they make me a bit nervous because they are just so big and so powerful that it would be all but impossible for anyone but the largest man to control them if they took issue with a person or dog.

A shepherd went cujo at the dog park recently and even though he was a big solid boy he wasn’t so unwieldy that they couldn’t pull him off the beagle he had gone for. When a corso decided he’d had enough of a goldendoodle bothering him there was nothing anyone could do until he decided the doodle had learned its lesson.

[Crockpot]

I would be worried too

[DoodlesMom]

My sister and BiL have a male… about a year old? Maybe 2 by now? He’s giant, and one of the stupidest creatures I’ve ever met. That being said, he’s sooooo sweet. They live in NC with lots of land, and her husband takes him to work at construction sites with him on a regular basis. Kane (yes, very original for a Cane Corso), just chills wherever he goes. Except for the one day he ran around like a lunatic, and ripped his side open on rebar. He’s fine now, but they learned their lesson. He was also intact at the time, which is no longer is. Before that, when they were up here in VA visiting, he bolted from the house and ran around for 2 hours. He wouldn’t let anyone catch him, and I ended up following him home, down a VERY busy road. And they just got a second one. SMH.

But I digress. They may have lucked out with their guy temperament wise, but he is very dumb. He is stubborn, and still basically untrained. I wouldn’t get one, and I would hope your ex-BiL at least has time to put into training it.

[shadedingray]

Awesome dogs, but they need to come from a reputable breeder that does temperament testing. There are a lot of Corsos with temperaments that are not standard for the breed due to crappy breeding practices and backyard breeders looking to make money.

It sounds like your ex brother in law probably did not do his research and did not buy from the best of breeders. Previous comments have already outlined the breed characteristics when they are bred well: good for families and children, great guardians, athletic, intelligent and trainable, etc.

Can you find out where he got the pup? A breeder’s name perhaps?

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Rudy;8597802]
Personally I absolutely love the breed. With an experienced person they can shine, with others it can have other outcomes. They are a smaller mastiff breed with males around 100lbs and females around 70-80. Big dogs but not unusually giant.[/QUOTE]

Agree… I’ve had great experiences with the breed, but they are not first time owner breeds. I love them - every one I ever met was sweet and intelligent, well adjusted and very loving of their children and people. Of all of the dog breeds Cane Corsos are not violent or aggressive. But they are stoic and quiet. Not a good trait for a first time owner.

[QUOTE=vacation1;8597812]A giant pit bull. Your former BIL has quite the novel method of getting out of child support - kill your children. I bet he overpaid - no reputable breeder would sell a puppy to a man who was simultaneously buying a second puppy, and there is a quite funny theory in the exotic mastiff world that virtually all Cane Corsos in the US are actually giant pit mixes, stemming from the addiction pit bull breeders have to size and their apparent goal to breed a gazillion litters each year. The CCs are a rare breed, and I suspect their fanciers have a point - unless you’re getting one from what passes for a reputable breeder in the exotic mastiff world, you’re probably getting a mixed-breed or a dog that’s been outcrossed with pit recently.

Two CCs killed a man in 2014. The owners were breeding them, of course, selling the offspring on hoobly. Awesome. And the killers’ pups were ‘rescued’ so those bloodlines are out there. Buyer beware.[/QUOTE]

They are not “giant pit bulls”. The Cane Corso is a molosser - and Italian. They are more mastiff than terrier personality wise, despite “looking” like bully breeds. Presa Canario is an entirely different breed and IMHO a very, very different type of dog and is a terrier.

[Foxtrot_s]

Unfortunately, the high price and the ‘macho’ image have led to a lot of this type of dog being bred - for the wrong reasons, by the wrong people and sold to the wrong people.

Friends breed South African Boerbels and lovely dogs they are – they take interviews when people want to buy them and sell them to family people with kids very successfully. But - they are not just for everyone. Their male dog is used as a stud dog and his semen is sold world wide, just like a horse.

One of these Boerbels goes to the local dog park where my daughter runs her dog and it is as good as gold, if a bit intimidating in looks. They take the male on leash to the local events, very well mannered.

So it is not the dog, but the type of dog tends to end up in the wrong hands.
Like pit bulls, like rotties. Sales ads are full of these dogs and crossbreeds.