Each year the number of Club titles awarded is steadily increasing as well. BUT WHAT ARE THEY REALLY LIKE? As puppies, Cane Corsos are full of energy and love to explore new things. Like mentioned earlier, they thrive when they are learning and as puppies when trained with a solid foundation of reward based training, they do tend to retain all that they’ve learned rather well. Young Cane Cor- sos do require extensive socialization to new people, places and things. You cannot over socialize this breed! Once a Corso reaches sexual maturity they may behave like teenagers--unruly, headstrong and defiant. If their foun- dation in training and socialization is solid and they have thoroughly bonded to their people, they will comply with their owners’ requests, eventually. It is this period of time where the notion of needing an experienced and confident owner takes precedence. ARE THEY FRIENDLY? As a breed, the Cane Corso tends to only want to socialize with peo- ple it knows. While some Corsos are very outgoing and friendly with new people, this is not typical for the breed. The Cane Corso should never be aggres- sive unless provoked, instead they tend to just ignore a new person. I try to describe them as a dog that likes to play hard to get. If a stranger ignores them while chatting with their owner, after a minute or two, the Corso will gently nudge the strangers’ hand to be petted. However, if the stranger wants to go right up to them and start petting, a Corso will typically just turn her head away and act disinterested.
Cane Corsos feel the same way about new people as they do about new dogs. They prefer to ignore dogs that aren’t in their immediate pack. Generally speak- ing, the Cane Corso is not suited to dog park or doggy daycare types of places. As its historical use implies, the Cane Corso still makes an excellent guard dog. They will bark at a fence to alert that there may be intruders, even if it is just the mailman. They notice when something is different in their home and they will investigate it thoroughly, like a new car parked in the driveway or new furniture in the house. The breed does love children. They tend to have a natural instinct to be calm and gentle with children and the elderly. This trait is what can make them exceptional therapy dogs. Many Cane Corsos have been successful par- ticipants in the Reading with Rover Pro- gram. Reading with Rover is a program that some schools offer where children can read books to the dogs to help improve their reading skills. All in all, the Corso makes a wonder- ful companion for someone who has training experience and enjoys includ- ing their dog in all their daily activities. This stunning and imposing breed of dog is a big teddy bear with its people but can be a fierce protector if called upon to dispel a threat. They are truly a jack-of-all-trades breed! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mrs. Rodriguez has been competing in AKC events since 1990 with various breeds. She and her husband Gabriel breed Cane Corsos and Löwchen using the kennel name Potrero. They have titled dogs in conformation, agility, rally and IPO.
220 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , F EBRUARY 2017
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