OT- Speaking of Italian Dogs- Cane Corso

Kirk007 · #1 11-27-2015, 01:34 PM

Our 23 year old son is very interested in a big dog, so we're off for a visit to see one of these little fellas today. Anyone have a Cane Corso?

William · #2 11-27-2015, 03:11 PM

One of my longtime students has one. Great breed, and the following rings true with what I've heard from his experience...

Quote:

Intelligent, the Cane Corso is easily trained. As a large and athletic breed, they need a lot of exercise. For this breed to be a well-balanced member of society, he needs extensive socialization and training from an early age. He does not do well crated all day and should have a fenced in yard for adequate exercise. They are affectionate to their owner and bond closely with children and family. The Corso requires substantial time invested and owners with an understanding of dog hierarchy.

William

Neil · #3 11-27-2015, 04:03 PM

Friend of mine has one called Herbie, he's a great dog - and huge.

At around one year of age he's ~85kg, trust me when I say you don't want to arouse his defensive instincts.

mtb_frk · #4 11-27-2015, 04:50 PM

No personal experience with this type of dog but, and I know it's nots the dogs fault but this happened not too far from me. But if you are going to have a big dog it needs to be owned responsibly.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...rsos/21167969/

Kirk007 · #5 11-27-2015, 05:47 PM

Ugh, that's a sad story. Cane corso's by reputation are not known to be aggressive in the same way that many of the bull breeds are. That said, they were breed as working farm and at times guard dogs. He has trained a number of dogs and is well aware of the training, discipline and structure required to keep this type of dog happy and well socialized. I'm also always leery of keeping big dogs together where a pack mentality can come into play, and not keeping any dog under control is asking for trouble.

jds108 · #6 11-27-2015, 06:47 PM

Has your son owned/raised a dog before? If not, I don't think this is a good 'first' dog. I'm not speaking from direct experience with this breed, just from the fact that they're large and have a strong defensive streak.

I would expect a mastiff or even a bull mastiff to not have such strong defensive instincts - at least speaking from my direct personal experience with both breeds.

I had a Rhodesian Ridgeback that had those kinds of instincts and it was never a good thing. He lived a long and happy life but I had to watch him all of the time. And I spent an extreme amount of time on obedience training, all to make certain that I had control over him. I'll never intentionally choose to own another breed that has a (reasonable) propensity to show these kinds of behaviors.

Simple scenario to consider - the postman rings the front door, the dog doesn't 'like' the postman and a child opens the door - what's the dog going to do? Or the dog is kept in the back yard and some neighbor's kid hits a baseball over the fence. What happens when the kid jumps the fence to retrieve the ball?

Climb01742 · #7 11-27-2015, 06:57 PM

One other thought about bigger dogs...we have a chocolate lab who's the sweetest dog ever...she's about 70-80 pounds...and almost 12 years old. Climbing stairs is getting very hard for her, but carrying her upstairs to be with her 'pack' at night isn't doable. Granted, it's an issue for down the road but once bigger dogs get older, caring for them, even having them with everyone else, can be a challenge. Just a thought. Smaller dogs (or at least lighter ones

) can be easier to care for as time goes on.

Kirk007 · #8 11-27-2015, 08:42 PM

Thanks for the thoughts - good points all. jds - Ian has had dogs in the house since he was one - Airedales, Springers, Goldens.

BobbyJones · #9 11-27-2015, 10:20 PM

I had a neighbor in NYC that had a Cane Corso. He was pretty aloof once out of the puppy stage.(From what I saw)

At the time, I had a Pit / Bull Terrier mix that was a handful (similar to what JDS said about the Ridgeback) and we'd get into typical dog owner conversations. One thing that stood out was the fact that he in no way would leave him with anybody besides his equally capable brother. No weekends away, no spontaneous vacations. The dog also wasn't exactly welcome at family gatherings, etc. Seemed like a lot of restriction for a young guy.

To each his own, but if its not a working dog it's a heck of a lot of animal to have as just a pet.

BobbyJones · #10 11-27-2015, 10:43 PM

*dupe post!

simonov · #11 11-28-2015, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobbyJones

I had a neighbor in NYC that had a Cane Corso. He was pretty aloof once out of the puppy stage.(From what I saw)

At the time, I had a Pit / Bull Terrier mix that was a handful (similar to what JDS said about the Ridgeback) and we'd get into typical dog owner conversations. One thing that stood out was the fact that he in no way would leave him with anybody besides his equally capable brother. No weekends away, no spontaneous vacations. The dog also wasn't exactly welcome at family gatherings, etc. Seemed like a lot of restriction for a young guy.

To each his own, but if its not a working dog it's a heck of a lot of animal to have as just a pet.

Really good point about the ability to get support with the dog. A very strong willed breed can make a wonderful pet, companion and protector with the right owner. But finding someone to watch them, whether it's someone you trust or someone that's willing, can be a challenge. If size is the goal there are plenty of large breeds that are less willful, but even with size I'd be cautious. One of my dogs is a great dane mix (the mix part makes him smaller than a standard great dane) who is sweet as could be and very mellow. But it's a pain to find a dog sitter willing to watch the big guy when I want to go out of town simply because of his size. I usually need about 4-5 weeks of planning in advance to find someone. That would be frustrating if I was still in my 20s.

verticaldoug · #12 11-28-2015, 05:26 AM

I tend to agree with a few of the other posters here, that is a lot of dog. I don't see how a typical 23 yr old lifestyle will be compatible with the dog. Does your son work and will the dog be left alone for long periods of time? If the answer is yes, then don't do it.

I just think about how a lifestyle can change between the ages of 23-30 when he will have the dog. Moving, changing jobs, travel etc etc, all not conducive to owning a dog, much less a great big dog.

The dog is probably a deal breaker on match.com too.

Len J · #13 11-28-2015, 07:33 AM

Corsos require a very strong willed owner/Pack leader as they are very strong willed. The margin of error is very small because they are very big and powerful...and their entire instinct is to protect..... any threat they percieve. That's a key point, thier perception of threat. You, as the owner, have to be very sensitive to that to keep the dog under control. In addition, you have to watch the breeding lines.... because of their natural agressivness and size, unscrupulous breeders have breed for fighting/agressivness. As a result, you can end up with a very hard to control dog. Couple that with their natural independance and it makes them even harder to control.

We have a 150 lb English Mastiff (Which have a very different personality, much more laid back. But here is the thing, she is 150 lbs, a fact you can never forget. My wife is an ex vet tech, very animal friendly.... Ember (our mastiff) sees her mission in life to protect Ella. When she gets uber protective, it's very difficult for my wife to restrain her, just due to pure muscle. Now that my wife is sick, it's impossible.

We have a neighbor with a rotty.... great dog, but they let their kids walk him occasionally..... no way the kids are strong enough to handle the dog if he ever gets into protect mode...... it's a recipe for disaster. Take that up a multiple with a Corso.

I've been a large dog owner for 30 years, & I would think twice about owning a Corso. A well managed Corso by a very experienced trainer/owner is a wonderful dog, but I have seen too many not managed well....it's scary.

A Large breed dog is a bigger responsiability than a smaller dog because they can inadvertaintly do damage just based on size.

IME

Len

HenryA · #14 11-28-2015, 08:03 AM

For the overhead of responsibly maintaining a big dog like that, your son could have a dog that he almost does not have to worry about causing trouble. Instead he could put his time into training a more easily managed breed and get more fun out of the dog while fitting in easier with society.

I've known people with lesser breeds who have been troubled by keeping watch for inappropriate aggression. Unless one has real work for such a critter the burden is not worth the reward.

mg2ride · #15 11-28-2015, 08:43 AM

Don't pay attention to any of these concerns about aggression in the breed.

If your son is a responsible dog owner ANY dog he gets will be fine. If he is a lousy dog owner it can go bad with ANY dog he gets.

I only "judge" people with large dogs based on the size of their yard.

ATMO, if he doesn't have a decent size, fenced in yard where he can leave the dog unattended for hours at a time, he should get something smaller.

P.S. That is one gorgeous animal!