50 Fun Facts About Cane Corso

The Cane Corso is a breed from which country?

Its name is Italian; the breed was once found across much of the peninsula.

The Cane Corso is a breed of what type?

It is a large molossoid dog, strong and muscular but not without elegance.

Since its 1980s revival, the Cane Corso has mostly been kept as what?

It may also be used to protect livestock.

In the past, the breed was used for hunting large game and for what?

Today it is mostly a companion or guard dog.

The breed standard calls for a dog that is strong and muscular but not without what?

The head is large, slightly over a third of the height at the withers.

Besides companionship and guarding, the breed may be used to protect what?

Its older jobs were hunting large game and herding cattle.

Guard dogs bark loudly mainly to do what?

The noise also serves to scare intruders away.

The Cane Corso is closely related to which other Italian breed?

Both descend from the traditional guard dogs of southern Italy.

Gastric dilatation volvulus, to which the breed is susceptible, is commonly called what?

The stomach overstretches and rotates; mortality is 10–60% even with treatment.

Which dogs are especially at risk of gastric dilatation volvulus?

The Cane Corso's build puts it squarely in the risk group.

Ancient Romans warned of guard dogs with mosaics reading what?

The Latin phrase means "beware of the dog".

The breed standard says the iris of the eye should be what?

The eyes themselves should be oval and set well apart.

By the 1970s, the breed survived only in which southern Italian region?

It had once been distributed across much of the peninsula.

In which year did the American Kennel Club recognise the breed?

Italy's ENCI had recognised it in 1994 and the FCI fully in 2007.

The modern breed derives from selective breeding of a few survivors from about which year?

The dogs had become rare after the 1960s collapse of the sharecropping system.

What is the name of the breed society formed in 1983?

Italian recognition followed eleven years later.

In which year did Italy's ENCI recognise the breed?

The FCI accepted it provisionally two years later.

What shape should the breed's eyes be?

They should be set well apart beneath a flat cranium.

Minor white markings are tolerated on which parts of the body?

Coats may be black, grey, fawn or dark wheaten, and may be brindled.

The breed is genetically predisposed to which joint problems?

Patellar luxation and retinal dysplasia are also on the list.

Nictitans gland prolapse, listed among the breed's ailments, is better known as what?

The gland of the third eyelid pops out as a red, fleshy mass.

To qualify for registration, dogs must show what reaction to gunfire?

They must also stay calm with inoffensive strangers and defend the owner against an attacker.

The extinct Molossus hound came from where?

It was kept by the Molossians of Epirus and praised by Virgil and Horace.

The FCI lumps mastiffs and flock-guarding dogs under which single type name?

Experts blame the grouping on mistranslated ancient texts and size alone.

The Salento peninsula in the breed's home region forms which part of Italy's boot?

The Gargano promontory in the north is the "spur".

What is another name for a dog's nictitating membrane?

Its gland supplies oxygen and nutrients to the eye via tear production.

Mastiffs' broad, short muzzle is described by which term?

They also typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet.

In older English sources, what did the term "bandog" technically mean?

The dog was released at night; the term was often used interchangeably with mastiff.

When working boar, a catch dog typically seizes which part of the animal?

It holds the boar down by the head until the hunter arrives.

In which city is the head office of Italy's kennel club, the ENCI?

It is the only body approved to register dog breeds in Italy and has offices in every region.

The collapse of which system in the 1960s made the dogs rare?

The modern breed was rebuilt from a handful of survivors from about 1980.

In which year was the breed's society of enthusiasts formed?

Selective breeding of the survivors had begun about three years earlier.

In which year did the FCI grant the breed full acceptance?

Provisional acceptance had come in 1996.

How tall should a male Cane Corso stand at the withers under the international standard?

Males weigh 45–50 kg; bitches are about 4 cm shorter and 5 kg lighter.

The coat colour "fromentino" describes which shade?

Black, various greys and fawns are the other accepted colours.

"Stag red" is listed as a shade of which coat colour?

The standard lists dark fawn, light fawn and stag red together.

A 2017 study found what average lifespan for the breed?

Lifespan varied with coat colour; black brindles lived longest.

Which coat colour lived longest in the 2017 lifespan study?

They averaged 10.3 years against 8.1 for dogs of other colours.

Who began selecting the Mastino Napoletano breed in 1947?

He had seen one at an exhibition in Naples the year before and drew up the first standard.

In which year was Italy's kennel club, the ENCI, founded as the Kennel Club Italiano?

Its head office is in Milan; it is the only body approved to register breeds in Italy.

Where is the Fédération Cynologique Internationale based?

It was founded in 1911 and re-created in 1921 after a wartime hiatus.

One legend links all mastiffs to giant Asian dogs sent home by which conqueror?

As the son of a Molossian princess, his dogs became associated with his mother's people.

Roughly how many Cane Corsos were registered in Italy each year in 2011–2019?

The breed had nearly vanished only a few decades earlier.

Under the standard, bitches are about how much shorter than dogs?

They also weigh some 5 kg less.

The head's length should be slightly over what fraction of the height at the withers?

The top of the cranium is flat and slightly convergent to the muzzle.

How many dogs did the 2017 lifespan study examine?

They came from 25 countries.

The breed's median lifespan is reported as 9 years and also as how many?

That matches the average for dogs of the less common coat colours in the 2017 study.

How many breeds does the FCI recognise?

Each breed is considered the "property" of a specific country that writes its standard.

What is the mortality rate for gastric dilatation volvulus in dogs treated with surgery?

Without treatment the condition is rapidly fatal.

In which year was the FCI founded?

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands were the founding clubs.