Mr. Todd,
I was visiting your website after having seen your
ad in Dogs-USA magazine and you have a very
informative site. I had never even heard of the Cane
Corso and when I saw them, just in pictures, their
power and grace just leap out at you. What a
magnificient creature!! Your analogy to the big cats
seems correct. I imagine they are truly a sight to
behold in full motion. At the moment my family (wife,
4 year old son, 4 year old pound adopted lab mix) and
I are trying to find the next addition to our home.
We were pretty much decided on a Bullmastiff, but
after having seen your website, we have to
reconsider! I was wondering if you have any videos of
your CC's, something we could see showing them
interacting with kids and other breeds? Unfortunately
we live in Houston, or else we would probably be
knocking on your door right now!! There were a lot of
ads for CC's in the magazine, most with websites, and
I wanted to let you know yours was by far the most
informative. As someone who knew nothing at all about
the CC, I appreciate your time and effort. I don't
know whether or not we will add a Cane Corso to our
family, but I know if we do, we will make sure it is
a Colosseum Cane Corso.
Thanks for your time,
-Steve Bell
Hello Steve,
Thanks much for the compliments regarding my Cane
Corso website. I remember when I had 1st discovered
the CC, I had appreciated every scrap of info I could
find about them. The Bullmastiff was a breed I had
very seriously considered as well (also the Tosa Inu,
Argentine Dogo, Presa Canario, Fila Brasilaro, & the
Anatolian Shepherd). I had boiled it down to the
Corso & the Dogo because they were the only breeds in
the group I was looking at that were developed and
used primarily for something other than pit-fighting
other dogs (Tosa & Presa) or simply guarding (Fila,
Anatolian, & Bullmastiff). The Fila was also a dual
purpose dog that would sometimes be used to hunt
Jaguar, but in its capacity as a personal protection
dog, it is definately a one person dog and is
extremely hard and intolerant of those not of the
family -quite the liability. As someone with kids (I
really have 7 :-) -most of them quite young, my main
concern was obtaining a breed that was
temperamentally tolerant and absolutely accepting of
children because my older 5 kids are constantly
having friends over to play and my dogs are always
either in the house or roaming free in the backyard.
I don't believe in kennels and the smallest section
of yard that I keep dogs in (the males must be kept
separate from each other) is 30' X 40' in dimensions
and each male takes its turn within the separated
yard on a daily rotational schedule so that they each
can spend time socializing with the other dogs and
with the kids and our family. The Cane Corsos are the
best breed with family & kids that you will find
anywhere. The Bullmastiff is great with family & kids
as well, as are nearly all the mastiff/molosser
breeds. But the Bullmastiff & the other mastiff
breeds (other than the CC) have disappointed many a
purchaser who had bought with a desire for active
interaction with their dog when they found they were
having to cut short their planned activities and
practically drag their dog home shortly after
beginning a jog or even a walk as the mastiff breeds
other than the CC are simply not temperamentally
inclined towards an active lifestyle. The CC is the
only mastiff breed that will run with you and will
hike all day with you. And they'll play fetch (hard &
fast) till you're ready to quit! To date I've
received about 3 calls from folks who had bought a
bullmastiff with the hopes of its inclusion into
their active lifestyle (walks, hikes, jogs) only to
tell me they made a big mistake and were wondering if
the CC really was more "active oriented" than their
Bullmastiff. The answer to that question is an
unequivocable "YES"! The difference is like night &
day. So Steve, you would do well to consider this BIG
difference between the two breeds before you spend
your money. They BOTH fit into the family environment
VERY VERY well and if all you want is a large family
dog that likes to hang out with the family around the
house, then both breeds will fit perfectly. But if
you would like active participation from your dog
-that rules out the Bullmastiff as it would only
disappoint you -as would any other large molosser
breed other than perhaps the Rottweiler (many of
which are temperamentally unsound and most won't keep
up with a CC on a hard all-day hike) and the American
Bulldog which has drive & agility but is smaller than
a CC and has a tendency to be more dog aggressive
from what I've learned from those who've owned & bred
them... In my decision making process, after
narrowing it down to the Cane Corso & the Argentine
Dogo, I chose the Corso because...
a) I liked the fact that the CC is an ancient breed
with a long long history behind them, whereas the
Dogo was developed in the 1920's from quite a mix of
other familiar purebreds (10 or 11 of them if I
remember correctly).
b) I liked the look of the CC better than the Dogo. I liked the look of the CC better than any other breed
for that matter!
c) The CC it seems is a bit less prey-driven than the Dogo. Cats are MUCH safer around a Corso!
d) Between the two breeds, the Corso was more rare
and less known at the time I was considering them.
That's changed as I believe there are probably now
more Cane Corsos than Argentine Dogos being placed.
e) Though my decision wasn't influenced by this fact, it was nice to pay $1000 to $2000 LESS for a Cane
Corso than an Argentine Dogo. And though you can
still pay $1500 to $1800 for the best CC blood in the world, there are now 5 CC breeders who sell their CC
for $2500 apiece. Their thought is that if our breed
is as good or better than the Dogo, the Presa, and
the Tosa (which generally sell for $2500 to $3500),
we should at least be selling our dogs for $2500.
Most of us have chosen to keep our prices under
$2000, however.
f) The Dogo's propensity for deafness -and as I
remember hearing or reading, a tendency to sunburn
(that won't work here in the glaring Sonoran Desert
of southern Arizona!)...
The Cane Corso won't disappoint you in either the kid/family-friendly arena, or in their drive, desire, and ability for adventure & strenuous activity.
Hope this info and insight helps, Steve. And again, thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you've enjoyed the COLOSSEUM SHADOWS Cane Corso website...
Sincerely,
Randall C. Todd
COLOSSEUM SHADOWS
~ CANE CORSO ~
@}~~{~~~~
Tucson, Arizona
ph: 520-297-4554
ItalianCaneCorso.com