Thanks we are working on the training I have Mr Leerburg tapes and I'm learning alot I do have a alarm on my home I do expect to do alot of training with them from what I have learned about this breed they are used for guarding. They are 3 months old and are showing lots of signs of being a wonderful guard dog. thanks again

These types of dogs may have SOME natural dominance and territorial behavior in them, but they won't naturally protect you with their life - nor will any dog. They will be a good physical deterrant, and if you teach them to bark that should be good enough because these dogs won't normally ever truly become a PPD.

What signs of a good guard dog are they showing at 12 weeks old? (Just curious).

here is my previous response on the CC as a protection or sport dog.
http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=147321&Searchpage=1&Main=15577&Words=&topic=0&Search=true#Post147321

Chris,

You aren't the first person who said the same thing. It doesn't surprise me at all. I respect experienced trainers who have been involved in elite sports for many years. Obvious, they know what they are talking about and looking for in a particular dog. I think they tend to see the sport as competition.

You are right about many things. Michael Ellis, a well respected trainer came to Tucson, Az for an informal seminar. He and I had a long talk about cane corso. He tries to encourage me to find another breed, and even suggest me a mali. I truly can see his point. I don't think I'm that interested in competiting a high level sport.

The reason I'm willing to risk with a cane corso, I want to bring something back to what cc used to be. They used to hunt deers, boars, and herd cattles to slaughter house during the medival and renassiance periods. I'm intersted in bringing the former working drives back in cc. I don't have cows or sheeps for cane to work with, but I thought why cant I work with a corso in schuthzund. Wouldn't that be a good replacement?

Lindsay,
By no means do I wish to degrade your drive to do right by the CC. In my years in dogs, and being a former owner of a schutzhund titled dobermann from the early 80's (my father gave me the dog when I was a kid) I use to want to do exactly that for the dobermann. Just as a reality check, ONLY to remind you of what you are up against, remember, it will take the entire CC community all working in unison and all towards the same goal. That means cooperation from everyone owning a CC or atleast 90% of the community.
Alot of Dobermann enthusiast entered that world thinking the same thing, only to find, that once a breed is gone it's all but impossible to revive it back to it's original state. Especially a dog like the CC who has become more and more glorified by thugs who are looking for a bigger more exotic extention of their ego, and one that is legal in their communities since the PitBull is being extinct. Also remember, the one thing the Dobe had over the CC is that it was bred originally to do man work. The corso was bred to fight lions for entertainment, and to hunt, and act as watch or guard dogs. Realizing all the above, and if your set up and ready for 15+ yrs of extensive breeding and culling, and have networks that are doing the same as you to feed off of their gene pool (because you will have to outcross) I say, if your heart is in it and your ready for the enourmous challenge, Nothing left to say to a motivated and committed person except, Good luck and go get'em!

~CHRIS DUHON

It's a shame, lions are SO hard to come by, whatever is a poor CC owner to do? :P
Sorry, I recently had a conversation with a large dog owner (said it was a CC mix?) where they wished the breed would go back to its' original purpose, and when I asked them what purpose that would be, the response was:
"Well, hunting lions, of course."

Where, praytell, do you find "practice lions" to hunt with in the US? Because if someone found some, I want to know, because I'll be first to snap shots of that training going down!

Back on topic, I've never handled a Cane before, so I can't offer much advice. It's good to see you want one for "the right reasons", and not for aesthetics and bad-@ssery. Good luck to your endeavor!

Lindsay, thanks for that link. I love to see and read about dogs/breeds that accomplish what is not expected.

 Quote: jinn schmitz

"Well, hunting lions, of course."

No, the person who you spoke with is 100% wrong. Cane corso was not bred to hunt lions. How can they hunt lions in Italy when there is none to be found in the woods? I believe the person misunderstood about cane corso because they were used to fight with lions, boars, bears, tigers, and other big animals in the theaters (colosseum).

Boerboel and Rhodesian Ridgebacks were bred to hunt lions and leopards, not a cane.

Cane corso and neapolitan mastiff were descendant of the canis pugnax ( the Roman wardog). Romans used canis pugnax in warefare, protect livestock, hunt, and protect farmers from get killed by bulls. Somehow the canis pugnax split into several groups; cane corso, neapolitan mastiff, Sicilian Vuccerisco, Branchiero Scilliano, Dogo Sardo, and Cane Di Mannera.

Cane corso and neapolitan mastiff are very close related, but they are very different in apperance and size. Cane corso is smaller than the version of neapolitan mastiff. They don't have excessive wrinkles and they are considered the only "coursing" mastiff.

Cane corso's main job was to stop the bull from attacking the farmer. During the medival age, farmers didn't have any tools to control a bull while it undergone a castration surgery. If the procedure went bad and the bull got out of control, cane corso would grab the bull's nose and pull it down to the ground. I'm sure that many inexperinced corso had been killed for doing it in a wrong way, but the strong and skilled ones would survive and pass down to next generation.

Lindsay:

Cane Corso = the only coursing mastiff
also used as a drover.

I'm highly skeptical of the comment that a cane corso would force a cow or bull! down by grabbing its nose? I know most cow dogs go to "head" or "heel" or both, but what dog has the strength, weight, etc. to use sustained force to control a cow? What am I missing here? When is the last time any breeder tested for and selected for this behaviour in the cane corso?

I think that for its original purpose and indeed for good canine health, the cane corso I see well above 100 lbs. are oversized.

It seems that the cao de fila de sao miguel is a more viable working animal of this tradition.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/caodefiladesaomiguel.htm

I can imagine that these would be highly rewarding and challenging dogs, for the right handler. I believe there is one with at least a BH in Toronto area. AM

The Marlequin is what made the Cane Corso what it is today and if you look at the history , the Marlequin was/is the Canary dog..It was bred with the English mastiff and other mastiffs to make it thicker and more molossus like.The dark coat in a Cane Corso comes from that of the Marlequin.The Marlequin IS Black..
A lot of dogs from different Countries,China, Japan , Brazil ect, were cross bred , some as far as the 1800 & even earlier,to be able to win Dog fights against the English Settlers (the English Mastiff) , not Bulls..Most if not all big breeds today have English Mastiff bloodline...