Cane Corso Breed Magazine - Showsight

HELLO CANE CORSO by ALEXIA RODRIGUEZ

T he question most often asked about the majestic Cane Corso is how to pronounce the breed name. Cane Corso is pronounced Kah-Nay Kor-So . Some- times the breed name is shortened to Corso as well. The Cane Corso hails from Southern Italy. Before 1988, the Cane Corso was only found on rural farms and was considered an extreme- ly rare breed of dog. The dogs were used as all-purpose farm dogs, a drov- er, herder and protector of livestock and the farmer’s home. In addition to farm work, the Corso was also used to hunt difficult game, such a wild boar and bears. CANE CORSO AND THE US The first litter of Cane Corsos was brought to the United States by Michael Sottile, Sr. in 1988. Sottile, Sr. brought another litter to the US a few years later, it was a repeat breeding of the first lit- ter. This was the start of the Cane Corso

in America. Since then, many American breeders have brought Cane Corsos from Italy and other parts of the world into the US breeding pool. An official breed club was formed in 1993, as well as a registry, in order to serve as a Par- ent Breed Club and start documenting the dogs in the US. In 2003 the club’s membership voted to seek AKC rec- ognition. By 2007, Cane Corsos were approved to compete in the AKC Mis- cellaneous Class and the breed received full recognition in the Working group in July 2010. PERFORMANCE AND THE CANE CORSO As evidenced by its original uses on the farm, the Cane Corso is a versatile and intelligent working dog. They are the smallest of the Mastiff breeds and some would argue, the most athletic. In addition to possessing a typical tem- perament that shows endless devotion to their people, the Cane Corso is easily

trained to do many tasks. Cane Corsos thrive when they are allowed to prob- lem solve. These traits make for excel- lent competitors in Obedience, Rally, Agility, Tracking, Barn Hunt, Carting, Weight Pull and Protection Sports. While the number of Cane Corsos competing in Conformation events continues to increase, the number of Cane Corsos titling in AKC perfor- mance Events and non-AKC perfor- mance events is also increasing. In 2016 more than 80 AKC performance event titles were awarded to Cane Corsos. Compare the 2016 number to the num- ber of AKC performance titles award- ed in 2011 where only 42 titles were awarded to Cane Corsos. We have dou- bled the number of Corsos competing and titling in Performance events. The Cane Corso Association of Amer- ica, AKC’s parent breed club, offers many Club titles to members whose Cane Corsos have titled in Performance events both non-AKC and AKC events.

S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , F EBRUARY 2017 • 219

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