(Sicilian Branchiero, Italian Mastiff, Cane di Macellaio) The Cane Corso Itliano is a comparatively large breed with a powerful and graceful presence. The breed’s body is well-muscled and strong, and they are very agile and possess high stamina. The length of their frame is slightly longer than it is high at the withers. Their build is compact and their skin is thick. Their head does not have wrinkles. Their muzzle is broad and deep, with a width that is almost the same as its length. Because of the parallel sides of the muzzle and because of the fullness of the jaw, the anterior face of the breed’s muzzle is square-shaped and flat. Their stop is very pronounced and their oval-shaped, brawny neck is somewhat arched. The eyes, noses, nails, and soles of this breed are dark in color. The short-haired coat of the Cane Corso Italiano is rough, thick, and very dense. A thicker layer appears during winter. The hair is slightly longer on the rear, the back of the thighs, and the tail. The hair is shorter and smoother on the dog’s muzzle. This breed’s coat exists in a number of colors including black, light fawn, deer fawn, dark fawn, blue gray, plumb gray, and tubby. Tubby is a coat color that consists of well-marked stripes across various shades of gray and fawn. A black mask may be present on fawn or tubby coats.

A Cane Corso without a mask may not be shown in competition. AKC standards regard this as a show ring fault.

The Cane Corso Italiano is a devoted, loyal breed that is calm and quiet around the house. They constantly aim to please and make excellent watchdogs. Because of their even temper and high intelligence, they are comparatively easy to train. They get along well with children and are very loving towards their master(s). They will not wander from the home, and they will courageously protect their territory and family. This working dog will not go out in search of a fight, but they will defend themselves fiercely if threatened. Proper training and socialization of this breed will ensure the development of a wonderful companion. While they are leery of strangers, they will tolerate visitors once they are introduced.

This breed is loyal, loving and sometimes klutzy. They love people and other dogs and generally do well with children.

Because of the Cane Corso Italiano’s large size, the breed is susceptible to many of the bone and joint problems of the giant breeds. They have an extremely high pain tolerance, so it can be difficult to tell when they are sick or need medical attention. The Cane Corso Italiano typically lives for 10 to 11 years.

A Cane Corso lives up to 12-14 years on average. If the dog is kept in a perfect shape with daily exercise, they should not have problems with hips and joints.

The Cane Corso Italiano originated in Italy, and it is considered to be the original Cane Corso breed. The breed is a direct descendant of the “Canis Pugnax”, the old Roman Molossian. They are lightweight and capable of hunting large wild animals. For hundreds of years, the breed has been a prized companion of the people of Italy. The Cane Corso Italiano has a number of natural talents, and they have been heavily utilized as property and cattle guards. In the recent years, this breed has been preserved in Southern Italy, predominately in the areas of Puglia, Lucania, and Sannio. The name “Cane Corso Italiano” is derived from the Latin word “Cohors”, meaning “guardian” and “protector”.

The dense, short-haired coat of the Cane Corso Italiano is easy to groom and care for. An occasional brushing and combing will keep the coat free of dead and unwanted hair. This breed sheds lightly.

The Cane Corso Italiano is content to live in a small household or apartment if he is sufficiently exercised. They are capable of living outdoors if they have adequate shelter. They are an athletic breed and require a great deal of regular exercise. They enjoy running and going for long walks.

	we adopted a cane corso at 10 months old. He was brought up wrong and has to be managed at all times. Is there a support group for people like us? Did you manage to re train the poor dog?
	Hi, I am a single mother of six my children range from ages 7 to16 years of age and I have never been one that desired to have a dog. There have been several break-ins in my neighborhood so my children's father purchase us a cane corso because I refuse to own a fire arm in my home. Do you think that having this aggressive animal in my home is a good idea? I ask this because so many people are discouraging me from keeping her. I received her just today and she is still a puppy. Not to mention I fell in love with her at first sight. It would be stupid to listen to what other people say. You are the mother and you know what's best for your children. I, as well, am a single mother of six (ages 7-18) and my children have been brought up around American PitBull Terriers their entire life. I couldn't have asked for better dogs. They are loyal, intelligent, and are excellent with children. If I had a penny for everytime somebody said something about how crazy it is to have Pitbulls around children, I'd be able to retire.
	Hi I have a 4 month old cane corso named Sheba and I feed her eukanuba puppy food mixed with rice and salmon oil for her coat. My question is how do I make her gain weight? She's been dewormed and had all her shots and she is gaining weight as she gets taller. She is 56 pounds but her waist is very thin and I can't get any meat on those bones. Does anyone have any suggestions? Feed your dog pork cooked well done and go to meat locker ask for cracklins mix that with your dog food.
	I have a 3 year old Corso which attempts to mount all other animals male and female, I thought it was a show of dominance, but because of the continued mounting even while playing I am not sure. It's a bad habit of behaviour. Like humans, dogs are intelligent enough to form good and bad habits, except they need a constant reminder (at least at first) to break or put on habits you enforce for him/her. Put a leash on him/her and train the dog with a firm and consistent manner. You'll know when your dog is taking you seriously, because he'll treat you like his pack leader, expecting direction from you..and with these breed it's so easy because of the obvious expression on the dogs face. Anyway, you should look into some more techniques online, because there are literally millions. Keep a leash on him when introducing the dog to another dog. Show the dog how you want him to behave. Say the command as you direct him. Stay consistent. Reward him with your tone of voice and treat for listening! P.s this would've been a lot easier if you gave me a gender or name Good luck!
	Help! We bought our second Cane Corso puppy in August after our first had to be put to sleep due to health issues at 9 1/2. Macey is very friendly towards people and dogs, much more than our first Cane. We got her at 6 weeks old (whcih we found out later is bad and illegal in NYS). She was very mouthy and jumpy the first few months, but has settled down. She had intestional infections, and could not get with other puppies for awhile. When she was better in the fall, she went to several puppy play dates and spent an afternoon at a dog day care. She did well with the other dogs. She loves everyone that comes to our house or she sees out walking, but is often very excited when visiters first come and she takes awhile to settle down. Macey is now 7 months old, spayed a month ago. Early on, we had a trainer come to our house to help us work with her as she could not be with other dogs yet. She sits, stays, and down. She went to her first group lesson last week, and did well after she settled down from the excitement of the other people and dogs. The trainer used her to demonstrate heeling as he said she is a fast learner. We had been heeling with her, but she hadn't walked much for 2 weeks in Jan. due to her surgery. PROBLEM: 2 days ago she started biting me (I am the 40 something mom that does the most with her). Yesterday, she did the same thing. Both times she was outside, near the road, and already had been for a short walk in the morning. She just started jumping and pulling, and bit my left hand (luckily I had gloves on). I shortened her lease, tried to get her in control by sitting, but she was not cooperating. Today, I tried "trade" with her when she took a pillow from the chair for the second time. SHe bit me on my forearm! Again, just a bruise as I had on a sweater. Also, she was jumping on me in the kitchen, and I turned my back to ignore her when she ignored my "off." She actually jumped on my back! Then, later outside she started freaking out again near the house, tried grabbing my foot, and bit the back of my heal. QUESTION: Does this sound like a play for dominance, or does it sound like true agression? Our first Cane had chewing issues and seperation anxiety, but never biting or anything like this. Thank you for any help! I'm also talking with our "one on one" trainer, but she is not well versed on this breed, and thought it was young for a big dominance push. The dog sees you as weak. It's been trained off others so doesn't respect you. You need to be firm immediately and must be pack leader don't use its name when reprimanding the dog. You need to own everything by standing over the dog and owning your space. Feeding times and treats need put down and you stand over and wait until the dog shows submission then you give a command to eat. You need to take control quickly or re home as this could be a potential dangerous dog. If it has no pack awareness and sees it's self as stronger willed than you it will be dangerous around children and any other animals I'm afraid😟
	Hi there i got 2 Cane Corso puppies imported from Hungary that are 45 days old now. After 3 days they start vomiting and having diarrhea...? They are eating normaly but what scared me is that last night the boy had diarrhea with a little bit of blood in it... :-( Also the boy start having some white spots under his belly that look like pimples (white)??? Doctor on the phone told me to stop feading them and give them water only as much as they need and cook them to eat some soft rice with chicken in it... Any idea what that might be and how serious could be? tomorrow monday i will take them to the doctor of course. Just asking if you guys ever encounter something similar before. Dogs are energetic however they tend to seat and sleep more i guess because they feel hypotonic because of their health issue now? Any comments? Thank you Doxis Take them to the vet, it could be parvo, the sooner the better. It's good that you are alert to your puppies needs.
	How much should a 4 month old cane corso weigh? at five months my cane weighted 45 pounds now at seven months she weights 75 pounds
	My husband and I are thinking of getting a Cane Corso Italiano mastiff and my husband was talking to someone and they said that they think that they possess the same sort of lock jaw as a pit bull. And before I would get a large animal lik the Cane Corso, I need to make sure of this. We have 3 grandchildren and I worry about that issue in a dog. If you are thinking about getting a Cane Corso, I would recommend getting one as a puppy. This will prevent future aggression if you socialize it at this age. Their bite is greater than the pitbulls on the chart

View all Q&A