Cane Corso breed guide

As one writer put it, an understated air of cool competence, the kind you would expect from a professional bodyguard, is the breed's trademark. Cane Corsos are intelligent, loyal, eager to please and versatile.

Many Cane Corsos are dominant and protective, so socialization is a must for such a big, strong breed and obedience training should follow.

Cane Corsos live 9 to 12 years. Breeders screen for hip dysplasia, idiopathic epilepsy, demodex mange and eyelid abnormalities.

Large, deep-chested breeds are susceptible to bloat, a sudden life-threatening stomach condition, so owners should learn the signs and what to do.

The short coat is double-layered and the undercoat, whose length depends on climate, sheds all year and most in spring. Weekly brushing, daily in shedding season, handles it.

Cane Corsos need serious exercise: a brisk walk or better yet a run of at least a mile in the morning and again in the evening sustains their health and muscle tone. Bred to work, they are happiest with a job and need mental as well as physical stimulation.

The Cane Corso belongs to the mollosus dogs or mollosers, named for the Molossi, an ancient Greek tribe thought to have bred giant, big-boned guardian dogs of Mastiff type. At the height of Rome's power the legions that occupied the Greek islands brought mollosers back to Italy and bred them to native Italian breeds.

The offspring were ancestors of the modern Cane Corso. Its larger relative the Neapolitan Mastiff and the original Cane Corsos were used as dogs of conquest.