Italian Mastiffs (Cane Corso) oft times get confused with Pitbulls. Similar to Presa Canario. Both breeds are akin to ‘Pitbulls on steroids.’
Most people outside of AKC dog shows and breeders are not familiar with either of these breeds because of their limited numbers in the US.
These two breeds(Cane Corso and Presa Canario) are quite expensive. They are the ultimate protection dogs. However, I would not want either of these breeds around my home or family.
Most people do not understand that ALL canines were originally bred from wolves. They are all natural born killers in their DNA. Humans have selected bred them over the last 5000 years to develop different characteristics. All hounds were bred to hunt. All terriers were bred to kill vermin. Shepards were bred to defend the flock from predators. However, if we humans stop feeding them, they will fend for themselves.
There is beginning to be some overlap here. The “Hulk” line of giant pitbulls appear to be running about 125-150#, and the “Hulk” dog himself is claimed to be 175# on the owner’s Youtube posts.
When I first began to look at these attacks, this breed-type of dog, and these pit bull owners and apologists, I was insulted, called names, and told to “educate myself”.
I educated myself. Other people have also done this.
What I have found, at the end of my latest search, is that these dogs have been bred for brain abnormalities.
. . .abnormal disinhibited behavior is not functional, and it is unpredictable. Although high arousal and sudden attack can be functional in certain environments, this behavior is pathological in a safer environment, where a high level of arousal and aggressiveness are not necessary and only lead to unnecessary attacks and injuries. Research implicates the frontal cortex, subcortical structures, and lowered activity of the serotonergic system in impulsive aggression in both dogs and humans. Impulsive aggressive behavior in dogs seems to have a different biological basis than appropriate aggressive behavior.
Kathelijne Peremans, DVM discovered this by studying two different populations of impulsively aggressive dogs. Each dog had executed one or more attacks without the classical preceding warnings, and the severity of the attacks was out of all proportion to environmental stimuli. Peremans found a significant difference in the frontal and temporal cortices of these dogs, but not in the subcortical areas, compared to normal dogs. Peremans also found significant dysfunctions of the serotonergic systems among these dogs.
(Excerpt from book: The science of how behavior is inherited in aggressive dogs)(Semyonova)