The Cane Corso dog breed is a very ancient breed. It is one of the very few breeds to have maintained its original characteristics over time. In spite of its name, it does not originate from Corsica, the French island, but it is an all-Italian breed. It is the ancient Roman molossus (canis Pugnax) that accompanied the ancient legionaries on the battlefields.
Its name has several meanings; one says that it derives from the Latin cohors, which means courtyard, farm, which indicates that this dog is a guardian of houses and farms. Another meaning of the word is also companion, which indicates its ability to stand by the side of the master. Another translated from the Celtic-Provençal “cursus”, translates as strong, powerful, robust.
This dog has also been used to defend herds of cattle and horses and for hunting, especially wild boar. Given the absolute loyalty that brings to the master and his family is also an excellent guard dog, without being too aggressive.
In the 60’s it began to be less and less requested and risked extinction, but thanks to some breed enthusiasts it has had a good recovery. However, this breed is currently widespread in southern Italy and especially in Puglia, it is not very well known in the rest of the world.
Character of the Cane Corso dog breed
The Cane Corso is faithful, intelligent and well-balanced towards its owner and its family, with whom it establishes a very strong bond. It is one of the breeds of dogs that most have these characteristics. It is absolutely not a dangerous dog, if well trained it always listens to and follows its master’s instructions. And it is not a difficult breed to train, its gentle and malleable character make it perfectly suitable for training aimed at framing its behavior according to certain standards or for personal defense.
But it all depends on the type of training and on the owner who may educate these dogs to guard and relegate them to the garden tied to a chain or worse still train them to attack. If trained in the right way it is an excellent life companion for families and children with whom it loves to play.
It absolutely does not like solitude, it always seeks contact with its owner who follows it everywhere, and it needs this very much, so whoever takes a Cane Corso must have time to dedicate to it every day. This does not mean that it is a clingy dog, on the contrary it is discreet and intelligent and understands when it is time for cuddles and when it must step aside.
This dog also lends itself to living in an apartment, as long as it is taken for a long walk at least 3 times a day, but being a lively dog, the ideal is a garden where it can spend a few hours in the open air and where it can move freely.
It gets along well with the family cats, if there are any, after a proper introduction, but being territorial, it often does not get along with dogs of the same sex and size. With strangers it is naturally suspicious, and being a guard dog, if it senses a real threat, it can be aggressive, thus revealing its brave and powerful character, but most of the time it limits itself to barking to make the intruder desist, which given its size is very easy.
Appearance of the Cane Corso dog breed
The Cane Corso is of medium-large size, males range from 64 to 68 cm for a weight that oscillates between 45-50 kg while females range from 60 to 64 cm for a weight between 40 and 45 kg. It is solid and vigorous while remaining elegant. Its sharp contours reveal a powerful musculature. It is somewhat longer than tall. Even the neck of the Corso dog is very muscular and continues on a compact trunk, but everything in its gait is agile and elegant.
The limbs, both the hind and the fore ones are well aligned, strong and robust and characterized by a good bone structure. The tail is high, it starts off big and then becomes shorter up to the tip.
The head of the Cane Corso is proportionate to the body, the muzzle appears wide and deep, accompanied by a voluminous and flat grey or black truffle. The teeth are well developed even if the closing of the jaw can often present a slight prognathism. The eyes are quite large, well spaced, are dark in color with an alert and watchful expression. The ears are on average large, triangular and pointed.
The coat is hard to the touch, almost shaggy. The color can be black, gray, fawn or brindled. The brindled version exists both with fawn and grey base. The coat is thick, shiny with a very dense undercoat that gives it excellent waterproofing.
Health and care of the Cane Corso dog breed
The Cane Corso generally enjoys excellent health although, like other dogs of the breed, it is subject to some congenital pathologies, such as hip dysplasia, torsion of the stomach, excess prognathism is a defect that can afflict the Cane Corso. In common with all molossoids, it can suffer from eyelid problems.
This dog has a life expectancy of 10 to 12-13 years. Having a short coat, this breed feels the cold a lot, while heat does not give it excessive problems. It is not prone to obesity as long as it gets adequate exercise and as far as the care of its coat is concerned, it is sufficient to brush it once a week. It does not lose much hair except during the moulting period in spring and autumn.
