Anyone have cane corso experience?

[wakesetter]

Our bullmastiff is getting old and were looking for another large dog. Not finding any bullmastiffs in a price that I want to spend and thinking about a cane corso, I found several litters in the LA area.

My main concern is aggression towards people and animals. We tend to have parties frequently with kids present and we also have cats and friends that bring dogs over occasionally. Anyone have experience with the breed they care to share? We are very experienced with dogs and I know big breeds need an alpha owner and training from the get go, just looking for breed specific info.

 

[snobdds]

Socialize, Socialize, Socialize. Take it everywhere with you. Go to dog parks and make sure you interact with other people's pets in front of it so it knows its ok for other animals to be around you.

Take the need to protect you away from him at a young age.

I had a pit bull and the time to train it is at 8 weeks on. The first year be dedicated to his socialization and training, you will be rewarded with years of having a great dog.

Good dog, good owner...bad dog, bad owner. Simple as that.

 

[wakesetter]

I largely agree with what you say, not going to get into what I don't agree with, but thank you for the info. Yes, my plan is to get him around all of the people and dogs that I can right away. Anyone else with cane corso specific info?

 

[snobdds]

I largely agree with what you say, not going to get into what I don't agree with, but thank you for the info. Yes, my plan is to get him around all of the people and dogs that I can right away. Anyone else with cane corso specific info?

I don't have feelings, you're not going to offend me by disagreeing with something I said. You might have a good point.

 

[doug720]

Our neighbors had one, and he was a good dog.

When they moved in, Blue was older - I recall around 5-6 YO, and he lived a couple more years.

He was OK around people, but they were careful around kids with him. We have dunes at the end of our street, which are the unofficial off leash dog park. They let him romp and play, but had a shock collar on him, which I never saw them use. For the most part, he was kind of aloof, and did not care to socialize with most dogs. Though he had a few buddy's and they played pretty roughly, but no fighting.

Blue is the only CC I've ever seen in person.

 

[120mm]

My friend is a Class III manufacturer, and he got a Cane Corso for his home/shop. He got him purposely as a deterrent for his business, but he responsibly approached the acquisition, raising and caring this puppy as if it were the first moon mission.

He was extremely careful about how he selected and prepared for the dog.

Bottom line, if your breeder doesn't put you through the Third Degree prior to selling you the pup, steer away from them. The best breeders are those who evaluate potential owners prior to the sale.

He was also extremely diligent about how he raised and trained the pup.

As a result of this careful approach, Recon is an extremely good dog.

 

[MPolley]

I have a 3 year old female Cane Corso and we are fostering a 2 year old male Corso for the rescue we got ours from. They are wonderful dogs. Both are great with people and kids, as well as other dogs.

They are protective, but very discerning. If we are out and about they will be super social, but at home or in the car they will bark if someone comes too close. They do not go after anything but will sit and low bark as a "stay where you are." If I or someone they know and trust greets the incoming person and says its okay, both dogs immediately become socal and go up tail wagging to meet the guest. However,I have no doubt that if we were in danger, both dogs would put their lives one line to protect us.

Since you have mastiff experience you will love the breed. Socialize the dog a lot, particularly at home and from inside the car so they learn to not be overly territorial. Working Corsos bond with their flock and the herding dogs/ranchers so they are very affectionate and very good about discerning who is okay (with the owner's okay) but are loyal and protective when they need to be.

They tend to bond more closely to a person of the opposite sex and children who play with and train them. Our female is super attached to me and the male is super attached to my gf, and they both adore our 11yo daughter.

The only social concern i have ever had, and I'm sure you have had the same concern with a Bull Mastiff, is them playing with smaller dogs. Not an aggressive issue, but their size makes them capable of serious accidental damage if they play a little rough with a much smaller dog. A yorkie wandered up by my two playing with another corso at the dog park and I was afraid the little dog would get stepped on or the dogs would tackle each other and fall on her.

Be aware both dogs absolutely are no good with cats or small animals like rabbits. They see them as food. Raising from a puppy might curb that but we adopted ours as an adult and couldn't break her on it.

They chew like crazy so have tons and tons of chew toys around. They drool right after drinking or panting but they dont slobber all the time. We keep hand towels in the arms of all the living room furniture and wipe their mouths after we hear them at the water bowl. We use the command "napkin" and while they hate it, they allow it

 

[MPolley]

Here are ours. The blue brindle is our female, Harley Quinn, and the black brindle is the one we are fostering, and his name is Kona. He is available for adoption, and we are in Cincinnati Ohio if you are interested.

Oh, don't let them sleep in your bed. They are total bed hogs. They like to lay between us and pin down all the covers so I get like 2" of blanket.

 

[bobm]

Totally agree with @MPolley my Corso was the best dog I ever had. He was so loyal he would've have died protecting us. He was socialized at an early age, came to work with me and eventually doggy daycare. Everyone who met Smoky loved him!! Now I have a Bullmastiff and a Great Dane both great dogs.

 

[bobm]

Last picture is Smoky at 6 months 110lbs sleeping on me. Miss my Buddy. Good owners play a big part in a dogs upbringing