Cane Corso - the Italian Mastiff

This is another favorite of mine, and while it isn't rare, its not common and I have never personally seen one in real life. If you would like to learn more about this amazing breed please read one.

The Cane Corso is a lean molosser-type dog (dogs in the molosser group are breeds like most mastiffs and the boxer), being more athletically built than most mastiffs, favoring power and speed rather than power and strength. The etymology of the word Corso is still uncertain but most agree it comes from the greek word KORTOS = wall and latin COHORS = guard of the courtyard. Cane is Latin for Dog. It is a breed native to what is now Italy and is very ancient, no one is sure when exactly the breed first came about but the first written documentation of them dates back to 1137 B.C. on the military use of the Cane Corso. It was originally bred by the Italic people (not the Italians) of which not much is known, kept as guard dogs, war dogs, and as fighting dogs, well suited to all these jobs for it's strength and ferocity. Like many breeds the Cane Corso suffered near extinction towards the early 1900's as more and more jobs occupied by animals were replaced by machinery. By the 1970's there only remained a handful of these dogs and had been almost forgotten when dog enthusiast and studier of rural Italian traditions, Dr. Breber, published a number of articles on the breed in the ENCI (Italian Kennel Club) magazine, bringing the breed back into the public eye and soon after started a small rescue mission to restablish the breed's population. In 1983 the S.A.C.C. (Società Amatori Cane Corso) was founded. The first Corsos were not brought to America until the late 1980's. Since it's re-emergence in the 1980's the Cane Corso has become popular around the world as a loyal and protective family dog.

The Cane Corso, like many large breeds these days, has the potential to be agressive but the ideal Corso is more protective than aggressive. It makes wonderful family pets as long as it's owners can provide the discipline and exercise a dog of this breed requires. The breed generally comes in four colors black, gray, fawn, and red, and any of these (except black of course) can be brindled. Dogs can have natural tails and ears though cropped ears (in the shape of an equilateral triangle) and docked tails are preferred. Note I have only included one natural file, as i prefer the cropped look myself but if you like the natural look its easy to just make the ears hanging and the tail long.