CANE CORSOS

Last fall, the AKC decided that they would let three new breeds get registered, and one of these breeds is called Cane Corso, which means something like "guard dog."  I will tell you about the other two breeds later on, but today I will just talk about cane corsos.  This breed is not "new" -- it is actually a very old breed.  But it's new to the AKC.  So starting on June 1, 2010, people could register their cane corsos, and then starting on June 30, they could enter them in AKC dog shows.

The cane corso is sometimes called the Italian mastiff, and it probably has the same ancestors as the Neapolitan mastiff.  It came from a part of southern Italy that is called Puglia, and at first it was mostly used to hunt stuff like boars, stags, and bears.  Later on, when there wasn't much game left, the cane corso was used on farms for herding and guarding livestock.

Then after a while, the breed almost died out.  But in the 1980s, some people started breeding cane corsos again, and that's why there are now enough of them to register with the AKC or just to have around as family pets.  Also some celebrities started getting them, so that made the breed more popular, too.

Cane corsos look kind of big and scary, but they are supposed to have an even temperament and be good with children, if they are well socialized.  They are more muscular and athletic than most mastiffs, and their skin isn't as loose and floppy.  They weigh between 88 and 160 pounds.

The most usual colors of cane corsos are black and fawn, but they can also be brindle or blue or red.  They might have white markings on their chests, toes, chin, or nose.  Their muzzles are as wide as they are long, which means they can bite really hard.  But since their skin is tighter, they don't drool as much as some breeds of dogs.  Sometimes corsos get their ears cropped, but not if they live where it's illegal to do this.  They usually have docked tails.

Anyway, that's about all I can tell you about the cane corso breed.  Personally, I think they are a little too big and fierce-looking, so I did not ask Mom if we could get one of our own.  Besides which, if we had one, I think it would eat all the dog food, so there wouldn't be any left for the rest of us!