Chase here, perhaps you should know a little bit about Cane Corsos before buying one. If you already have one, this post will suit you too. Cane Corsos come from Italy. They are a very popular watch dog in Italy and also play the role of watch dogs. They are used in Italian police work. That being said, these dogs are fairly trainable, docile, protective, and make great companions. These dogs are not asinine, lazy, or fainthearted and are therefore not for the novice dog owner. I rarely come across owners that are tired of having a Corso. I do come across owners that are having problems controlling their dog, but most owners are elated to have these dogs. These dogs show respectable owners affection, loyalty, and obedience.
In my experience I've owned a total of four Cane Corsos my whole life. I own two now, and the other two are dogs I've bred and have given to other Corso enthusiasts. Zeus and Hades, the two I own now, (named after the Greek Gods Zeus the God of the Sky and Hades the God of the Underworld), are puppies. I've never really liked raising puppies, I mostly owned matured adult dogs because puppies come with their own set of challenges. Caring for a pup Corso is comparable to raising any other puppy, but the breed does have some distinguished characteristics that you should be aware of: for this reason I've found this nifty little chart that is very accurate according to my experience and knowledge.
Look at Weaknesses, Not Strengths
So based on this chart, you want to pay attention to the areas that the Corso breed scores low in. Neglecting these areas are where many people find problems with the breed. When most people see a dog they want, they look at the plus side and opposed to the downside, or rather, they won't take into account the whole Character Profile of the dog. Just because you favor a dog that is perhaps athletic, intelligent, and quiet, doesn't mean you are a good match for a Siberian Husky or an Alaskan Malamute. Yes these dogs are very athletic, very intelligent, and considerably quiet, but the require top notch grooming, they demand time, and they aren't initially a breed that will tolerate you having company over every day. A great example is if you work a nine to five, live in a studio apartment, and are always throwing parties, positively a "snow dog" is not the dog for you. So in looking at Cane Corsos, here are some questions to ask yourself that target the weaker points of the breed.
- are you constantly changing your location or lifestyle? (adaptability)
- do you live in an apartment? (apartment friendly)
- do you have cats or other animals that dogs don't generally get along with? (cat/animal friendly)
- do you live in an urban environment where your dog will constantly be exposed to strangers? (stranger friendly)
- Do you have the time and patience necessary to devote to their playful nature? (playfulness)
These are certainly crucial questions to ask yourself that can be the deciding factors in whether or not you choose a Cane Corso, and/or what lifestyle changes you need to make to accommodate this breed's characteristics. A lot of times behavior issues in dogs don't stem from a lack of training, but rather from the owner failing to consider the characteristics -bad characteristics esp.- of the dog.
Moderate Your Dog's Biting
Despite what most dog lovers think, that dogs aren't biters, they are. Dogs have teeth for a reason. They pick things up with their mouth like we do with our hands and when use the hell out of our hands right? Dogs use their mouth, they bite! You have to moderate your dogs biting! You must condition your dog to bite what they are supposed to bite. As a puppy, especially a Corso puppy, your dog will try to go after everything! They're curious, it's not their fault, so have patience, but do NOT count this as a cute, harmless act. If this behavior progresses, it will most likely turn into untamed aggression due to a lack of guidance, which signals to the dog that they can do whatever they want. No guidance = no order, and this can lead to a big problem when your little puppy grows into a big dog that has the capacity to cause seriously bodily harm to people.
The best remedy for a dog's uncontrollable biting is consistent attention and discipline. If you're a working adult, hire an accredited trainer to watch your dog during the day to make sure your dog isn't biting things that they shouldn't bite. This is crucial because small problems often lead to big problems. Someone once said, "the chains of habit are too light to be felt before they're too heavy to be broken"; break habits at first sight. If you have someone home or have the schedule flexibility or job flexibility to watch your dog during the day or while you work, monitor what your dog bites. Try associating disciplinary actions with biting. For example, Zeus used to love to bite shoes, so what I would do was secure a pressure operated low powered zapper (you can get these at 5 Below or Party City as gag-gifts) in the lace of my shoes........it worked. It worked because, even when I wasn't around to ensure the consistency of punishment for Zeus's unwanted behavior, the stationary zapper assured me that every time Zeus bit my shoe he would be disciplined. The reason this worked is because I ensured consistency. Consistency is the key to bad habits. As a mater of fact, no consistency is better than intermittent consistency. Intermittent consistency confuses the dog. If every once in a while the dog gets punished for doing the same thing she does everyday that he normally doesn't get in trouble for, she doesn't know what she's getting in trouble for. Inconsistent/Intermittent discipline will confuse your dog, and since the dog won't associate your disciplinary actions with their bad behavior, the dog interprets your actions as random acts of aggressiveness, adversely causing your dog to respond with aggression or fear (most likely aggression considering the breed).
Be Great
-Chase
Moderate Your Dog's Biting
Despite what most dog lovers think, that dogs aren't biters, they are. Dogs have teeth for a reason. They pick things up with their mouth like we do with our hands and when use the hell out of our hands right? Dogs use their mouth, they bite! You have to moderate your dogs biting! You must condition your dog to bite what they are supposed to bite. As a puppy, especially a Corso puppy, your dog will try to go after everything! They're curious, it's not their fault, so have patience, but do NOT count this as a cute, harmless act. If this behavior progresses, it will most likely turn into untamed aggression due to a lack of guidance, which signals to the dog that they can do whatever they want. No guidance = no order, and this can lead to a big problem when your little puppy grows into a big dog that has the capacity to cause seriously bodily harm to people.
The best remedy for a dog's uncontrollable biting is consistent attention and discipline. If you're a working adult, hire an accredited trainer to watch your dog during the day to make sure your dog isn't biting things that they shouldn't bite. This is crucial because small problems often lead to big problems. Someone once said, "the chains of habit are too light to be felt before they're too heavy to be broken"; break habits at first sight. If you have someone home or have the schedule flexibility or job flexibility to watch your dog during the day or while you work, monitor what your dog bites. Try associating disciplinary actions with biting. For example, Zeus used to love to bite shoes, so what I would do was secure a pressure operated low powered zapper (you can get these at 5 Below or Party City as gag-gifts) in the lace of my shoes........it worked. It worked because, even when I wasn't around to ensure the consistency of punishment for Zeus's unwanted behavior, the stationary zapper assured me that every time Zeus bit my shoe he would be disciplined. The reason this worked is because I ensured consistency. Consistency is the key to bad habits. As a mater of fact, no consistency is better than intermittent consistency. Intermittent consistency confuses the dog. If every once in a while the dog gets punished for doing the same thing she does everyday that he normally doesn't get in trouble for, she doesn't know what she's getting in trouble for. Inconsistent/Intermittent discipline will confuse your dog, and since the dog won't associate your disciplinary actions with their bad behavior, the dog interprets your actions as random acts of aggressiveness, adversely causing your dog to respond with aggression or fear (most likely aggression considering the breed).
Be Great
-Chase
