6 Facts About the Cane Corso
The Cane Corso is a large, powerful dog breed that is loving towards their families. Here are a few more facts about the Cane Corso:
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Breed Characteristics
Average Size: Large
Average Lifespan: 9-12 years
Kid/Pet Friendly: Sometimes
Registry: aca,akc
Activity Level: high
Shedding Level: moderate
Grooming Level: low
Trainability: moderate
Good For Novice Owners: low
Adaptability: moderate
Prey Drive: high
Watchdog: very alert
Breed Information
Overview
Cane Corsos are quiet, loving, and very caring for their family. They are intelligent, very loyal, and protective, which makes them wary of strangers and excellent watchdogs. They are a “family-only” type of dog and are not interested in animals or people outside of their family unit. Early socialization can curb suspicious tendencies and overprotectiveness, but this dog will always be loyal and protective of its family.
The Cane Corso, also referred to as the Italian Mastiff, is a large dog breed that originated in Italy. Like other mastiff breeds, Cani Corsi can trace their ancestry back to the molossus-type Greek guard dogs and the dogs the Romans used in warfare.
When Roman legions brought mollosers back to Italy from the Greek islands, they bred them with native Italian dog breeds. The Italian Mastiff and the Neapolitan Mastiff are descendants of these dogs. Once they were no longer Roman war dogs at the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire during the fifth century, Cani Corsi were commonly used as guard dogs, livestock guardian dogs and drivers, and to hunt big game, usually wild boar.
They became popular farm dogs. But, invasion, war, and the Industrial Revolution made them less popular. The breed almost went extinct in the 20th century. Thanks to the efforts of some Italian breeders in the 1970s, the breed held on, was revived, and started showing in European dog shows during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The first Cane Corso import came to the United States in 1988. Before this point, they were a rare breed and were relatively unknown outside of Southern Italy. The AKC recognized the Cane Corso in 2010 as part of the Working Group. Although they may not be one of the first breeds that come to mind when you think of the most popular dog breeds, they are becoming more popular and even broke into the AKC’s top 10 in 2023!
Temperament
The Cane Corso may grow into a large, powerful, and intimidating dog, but they tend to be loving and very caring for their family. These dogs are intelligent, very loyal, and naturally protective, which makes them wary of strangers and excellent watchdogs.
Although they get along well with children and other animals that are part of the family unit, they tend to be a “family-only” type of dog and do not tend to be interested in making friends with people or animals outside of their family unit. As long as they are well-socialized, they will be watchful and aloof at first, but will tend to warm up over time once introduced.
Although they do not tend to bark a lot and only tend to bark to alert you, they can be inadvertently trained into barking a lot. Training your dog to stop barking early on can help prevent nuisance barking later.
One of the facts about the Cane Corso is that they are vocal dogs. Like Siberian Huskies, they will communicate with you with their own vocalizations outside of barks; though these are usually a series of grunts and growls and not usually the howls, yips, and “woos” common to Huskies.
Did You Know?
The Cane Corso has been featured in several famous dog paintings. Some of the most notable were painted by Bartolomeo Pinelli.
Available Cane Corso Puppies
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