I have a cane corso puppy, 4 months old & 50lbs, on his way to 150 lbs. He is a handful. He gets put into the kennel when my grandson is visiting. He will mellow out as he gets older, but will remain very protective. Adults are fine around him as long as they are not afraid and stand their ground. He’s going through a major limits testing phase right now. He’ll push anyone’s limits to see where they stand. Dogs like cane corsos need tons of attention and training. I wouldn’t let mine alone with a child, or a strange adult for that matter.
Why do you choose to have this kind of dog as opposed to another, less dangerous, breed? Are there specific advantages to having a cane corso as a pet, compared to a lab-and-something?
I’ve raised one male Cane Corso, and he was always a joy to have around - well socialized, well trained, and very trustworthy, with other people and with other dogs. He used to run the courses in dog agility fun meets, which was a sight to see. He never won, but he would always draw a crowd.
Then I raised a female Cane Corso. I tried to treat her, and train her, and socialize her in the same way as I did with the male, but the female was always just “off”. She was was never really comfortable with people outside the immediate family. She loved the big male Cane Corso for the few years I had them at the same time, but she barely tolerated other dogs. I was sad when she finally died, but I don’t know that I’ll get another Cane Corso, since I don’t know what I did wrong with her.
> He’ll push anyone’s limits to see where they stand. Dogs like cane corsos need tons of attention and training.
We met a Cane Corso puppy one day, just a little 30lb thing. Lots of ego, lots of personality. He took to my Greyhound and it was an instant friendship. Very friendly and loving and we shared our ice cream and ice water with him. We met the dog again a year later and he was four times larger, so happy to see us again, huge personality. The owner was astonished at his dog’s excitement and happiness. But you could see the dog was very alert, at one point fixating on a weird homeless guy (shouting at himself) across the street when my dog grew concerned. Each dog then tried to guard the other from the threat but the Cane Corso won the contest easily.
The owner had a very commanding presence with his dog, hilariously my dog followed his commands too. That essential awareness and presence seems very necessary with such a powerfully opinionated dog.
Please be careful, my 9 yo niece had the family pet corso take a nip at her face for no reason, she is OK. This dog sleeps with the other niece in her bed every night. Last week, the dog looked like it wanted some attention from dad and then took a nip from his throat. The dog is now gone, yes, there are two other dogs in the family and everything always seemed fine, they are on a ranch, not cooped up.