Cane Corso - description of the breed and character of the dog

Italians can boast of many achievements in any industry, national characteristics that are admired by other nations. And even the breed of dogs - Cane Corso - which goes back many centuries, is ideal in all respects, considering appearance, dedication to the owner and guard qualities.

Loyal friend and indispensable in the household assistant

Cane-Corso is an animal that is distinguished by its true nobility and elegant appearance, despite the fact that for many centuries its tasks included the most necessary and heavy duties - to protect peasant property, feed domestic animals, accompany the owners during the hunt, helping to drive boars and other large beasts. Often these dogs went out to dogfights, and the stakes on the fighters were very high.They also accompanied the army during long military campaigns.

What is interesting: Cane Corso was mainly distributed in peasant families, where pure working qualities were required of the dog. But noble people did not particularly complain about this unrecognized breed, but contained elite fashionable pets.

When the era of urban construction began, the breed rapidly lost its privileges as unnecessary. But there were Italian breeders who realized it very much in time, when the breed was on the verge of extinction. Having toured those areas of the country in which Cane-Corso was most in demand, they selected the most characteristic individuals, and not only managed to revive the dying breed, but also managed to ensure that these dogs were officially recognized as a separately existing breed.

All descriptions of dogs, both written and remaining in the pictures or in the form of statuettes, prove that for many centuries the exterior of these unique dogs has not changed. Most likely, the reason for this is the fact that the animal was required to serve man in many areas, and beauty was not the presence of the necessary qualities.

How to learn Kanekorso among other dogs

Based on the historical archives, we can conclude that these dogs always had a rather simple appearance, were strong, powerful, but rather neat and graceful. These were their daily hard work and constant active movements. There was no time to rest for dogs, guarding the property of owners or other domestic animals, accompanying hunters or warriors.

Despite the active lifestyle, the maximum weight of a dog can reach up to 100 kg, but this is due to a rather large physique. The muscles of the Cane-Corso are pronounced, with relief muscles. The body has a specific stretched format, which differs in that its length is higher than the withers.

Sex differences breed:

• average dog at the withers reaches up to 68 cm, weighs up to 60 kg;
• The female has an average of 64 cm at the withers, and her weight is up to 50 kg.

Breed standards:

1. A very massive head in dogs, rather elongated, but a wide skull conceals it. The front of the forehead is rather convex, but at the occiput is flat.
2. When measuring the representatives of the breed, the muzzle should be shorter than the skull in order to keep the proportions 1 to 2, since this breed belongs to the broncotsephalic type.It is unacceptable that the craniofacial axes fully converge, since the standard rules attribute this to defects. They can converge a little.
3. The nose is black, and the nostrils are large enough.
4. Eyes should be convex, oval in shape and dark in color. The standard allows the eyes to have a lighter color, but nevertheless, those dogs whose eyes are dark, but the marked stroke around the eyes should always be welcome. This breed is distinguished by a very keen attentive look.
5. The ears are set high, their shape is triangular, wide at the very base. After arresting, as required by standard forms, they take the form of a triangle. But by nature, the ears are pretty drooping.
6. The lips harmoniously create the profile line of the muzzle, are drooping and hide the lower jaw. The jaws themselves are massive, with a slight snack.
7. The neck looks as massive as the head. It should correspond to the same length as the head.
8. The body is also strong, withers clearly expressed, located above the sloping croup. In this breed the thorax is well developed.
9. The tail is set high, at the very base it is very thick.It is accepted to stop it, and this procedure is done at the level after the fourth vertebra. When the dog is in an excited state, the tail begins to rise, but should never assume an upright position, cannot twist.
10. Extremities Cane-Corso - to match the rest of the body. The same powerful and muscular. This dog can travel many kilometers without stopping, making movements wide and wide. The front legs are long with protruding muscles, have powerful shoulders, and the metacarpus is rather voluminous. The hind limbs should be proportionate to the size of the dog itself, with a long thigh, a dry shin and a hock moderately pronounced.
11. The skin is dense. Wool is short, different shine. Undercoat is, but very weakly expressed.
12. The color of this breed may be black, as well as gray, red, with its various shades included, and brindle. White markings are possible, but on the chest and on the limbs. There are also such conditions: if the color does not correspond to black or gray, there will necessarily be a mask on the face, the color of which exactly corresponds to these colors.Eyes should also be captured, but color should not go beyond their level.

This breed has a coat color with a slight blue tint.

As for the definition of standards, since quite recently the official rules for determining the breed were approved, its descriptions are gradually being formed. Therefore, there are several types of dogs belonging to this breed. And the debate of experts about some of the features of the exterior, especially during exhibitions, continues. For example, debatable are:

• allowable snacking rate;
• color combinations.

There are offers to register at shows of dogs of the same color on separate rings, relying on the fact that black representatives on the exterior are closer to the dog, gray ones resemble mastino, and tiger breeds very much resemble such breeds as the Staffordshire Terrier and Boxer.

Character traits

Many people are attracted by the beauty, power, strength, energy and invincible appearance in this breed. Proudly parading during a walk, the owner always knows that the views of passersby will necessarily be riveted to Cane Corso.With such a dog is not afraid to walk along a dark street, leave it to protect the property.

But still, we should not forget that for many centuries these animals did not live in comfortable home conditions, but carried out their difficult service, protecting, protecting, attacking and, if necessary, killing the enemy. Because novice dog breeders or those who are accustomed to decorative dogs, you need to take a short course, having studied the characteristics of this breed, so as not to get lost if an unforeseen situation happens. For example, once there was a real case. The family went out of town, taking a one-year-old pet, who for the first time got into such an open space, and was vigorously running around the field. Suddenly, because of the turn, a few goats seemed to be brought to this place every day.

Of course, the dog rushed to them. The situation seemed to be quite sad, because the ancestors of Cane Corso were excellent hunters of wild boars, and it didn’t represent labor for the young dog. In addition, there were people who wanted to protect their animals. But this time the shepherd’s instinct spoke to the dog. Cleverly knocking down goats together, which, by the way, were not at all frightened, a formidable, but satisfied pet kept guarding the animals for a while, running around and carefully inspecting the surroundings.

But such stories do not always end well, as the dog does not always show friendliness to strangers and animals, especially smaller ones. Especially if the beloved owner tries to show attention to another animal, it can suffer enough. Jealousy is inherent in dogs too. This breed has such a distinctive feature - to clearly divide the whole world into two categories, that is, into its own “pack”, who need to be betrayed, guard them, and strangers.

And although this is a smart dog, it has a balanced character, without an increased level of aggressiveness, however, if someone is aiming to invade its territory, it can become uncontrollable. In such situations, the home team becomes useless, as the dog in a rage simply does not perceive them, and behaves exactly as the primal instinct tells it to stop the enemy. When an outsider is in the house, a representative of this breed will show by his behavior that, as a faithful guardian, he is ready at any moment to give a fitting rebuff, protecting his territory and all those who belong to the family.

Family for Kanekorso - that's all she has.If the dog is deprived of the opportunity to communicate with the owners, it can die from anguish, so faithful and faithful this breed. But when he is near, the pet can lie for a long time at his feet, accompany him, with his whole appearance demonstrating readiness to execute any command. But the owner of Cane-Corso needs to remember that training is not important for the dog to carry out the commands, but to fulfill the roles assigned to it by nature, such as being a protector, a watchman.

It is impossible to bribe this dog with an exquisite delicacy, and if it knows that it is necessary to protect the home, you can’t distract it either. If necessary, protecting the house and all those whom it loves, the pet will give up its life.

For this breed, a leader is needed, a leader who can lead, dominate, but the owner must avoid aggressive and rude relations, otherwise the dog will perceive it painfully.

They treat young Cane-Corso children very carefully. They will allow the kids a lot - to climb on themselves, push, and never get knocked down, do not hurt the child, but will surely protect.

These dogs have a well-developed intuition, because they can react to the hostility of a stranger or an animal very quickly, perfectly sharing where there is just a game or a real danger.

Cane Corso, especially at a young age, is very agile and energetic, because with him you need to play more often, it is advisable to run. If he gets bored at home, he can go traveling around the apartment, tasting everything.

Good care rules

Such a pet does not require any special measures for care, but the owners must follow a number of rules, and they must become a habit.

For a puppy will require a place. These dogs at the gene level determined that the enclosure is their own territory. And therefore, if time does not enclose the area, the whole room will be considered dog property.

Living in the courtyard of the pet will be comfortable. However, when the cold comes, you need to either warm the booth very well, or take the dog to the house, otherwise it will not bear frost. Especially low temperatures are detrimental for puppies.

You need to care for your coat with a stiff brush. The problem with this breed lies in the fact that parasites too often attack the dog's skin because of its small undercoat.

It is necessary to clean the ears, especially if they are cropped, as dirt accumulates much faster.

A small puppy should eat at least 6 times a day. This goes on for up to 5 months.After this period, the meat can be given in a more rigid form, the number of feeding is reduced to three, but the portions should be increased. The menu should include foods rich in vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins. If there are not enough nutrients, the dog is not so mobile and energetic, and its wool noticeably tarnishes.

In addition to the meat menu, the dog should eat cereal grains, fruits and vegetables. Do not give fish, especially river, raw meat because of the danger of infecting the pet with parasites dangerous for health. Smoked foods, sweets and those that contain a lot of carbohydrates are harmful to him. It is very harmful to dramatically change the diet, so as not to harm the digestive system. Periodically needed for the pet on time carried out prevention from parasites.

Puppy selection rules

Choosing a Cane Corso, you should first pay attention to the behavior of the puppy. Each has its own character, which determines, first of all, the genetic factor. If the character already at an early age is too negative and does not correspond to the true nature of the breed, such an individual is not used for further offspring.

Puppies are amenable to training, because the behavior of the dog in the future will depend on the owner's ability to properly raise the pet.

When buying a Cane Corso, you should familiarize yourself with the description of the breed in advance, and buy it in a reliable proven kennel, especially if the dog will then participate in numerous exhibitions. It is also necessary to check the documents confirming the pedigree of the puppy, since the cost of this representative of the breed can be very high.

Video: Cannes Corso dog breed