Breed Information

The Cane Corso (pronounced “kah-nay kor-so”) is an ancient Italian Breed, which is a medium-large sized Molosser. The Breed is robust, with a strong skeleton and significant muscularity, yet still elegant and athletic. As a recently recovered breed, the Cane Corso was historically found on the family farms in rural Italy. The Corso’s primary responsibilities included livestock control, property and personal protection, and big game hunting. The Breed, in most cases, was the most highly valued asset of the owner and/or the farm. It can be said that the Cane Corso is still of significant value in both its capacity as a working dog, as well as in the role of a beloved and prized member of the modern family.

Cane Corso are considered to have an even, stable temperament. A true Corso should be indifferent when approached and should only react when a real threat is present. Corsos are historically working dogs that need exercise, a strong owner, boundaries and training. Therefore, a Cane Corso is not for everyone.
The American Kennel Club Board of Directors approved a proposal in October 2009 that made the Cane Corso eligible for full AKC registration on June 1, 2010 and eligible to compete in all AKC competitions as a part of the Working Group starting June 30, 2010.

Cane Corso Appearance

Cane Corso dogs are very big, standing between 23 and 27 inches tall at the withers (the top of the back between the shoulder blades). Even though Cane Corso mastiffs are large, they are also lean and generally have heavily muscled bodies, causing them to weigh, on average, between 88 and 110 pounds. These dogs also typically drool and shed quite a bit for short-haired dogs.

An unaltered Cane Corso has a long tail and ears that drop forward. Owners of Cane Corso kennels, however, often dock both ears and tails if they live in an area where doing so is legal.

Usually, Cane Corsos are either black or fawn-colored. However, these basic colors can have several different shades, such as:

  • blue
  • brindling
  • formentino (which means the dog has a “blue mask”)
  • red.

Full brindling is called tigrato. Most of the time, Cane Corsos’ noses are black. Sometimes blue Cane Corsos have gray noses, but they should still be darker than the fur. While white patches on their face, toes and chests are common, from a show perspective, smaller white patches are better..