Guide to Selecting a Cane Corso Puppy

Choosing the right Cane Corso puppy is a significant decision that requires research, patience, and careful evaluation of the breeder, the puppy’s lineage, and the breeder's practices. Below is a comprehensive guide to help you find a healthy, well-bred Cane Corso that suits your needs, whether as a show dog, working dog, or family companion.

Is a Cane Corso Suitable for You?

Before deciding on a Cane Corso, it’s essential to determine whether this powerful, intelligent, and loyal breed is the right fit for your lifestyle. Cane Corso's are known for their protective nature, strength, and strong work ethic, but they also require experienced, dedicated owners who can meet their unique needs. Here are some things to consider when deciding if a Cane Corso is suitable for you:

What a Cane Corso Needs:

Consistent Leadership and Training: Cane Corso's thrive with firm, confident owners who can provide clear guidance and consistent training. They are intelligent and can be strong-willed, so training from an early age is critical to developing a well-mannered dog. You should look to build a relationship with a trainer early on with your puppy or dog, instead of waiting for problems to arise. Also consider if this is something you can afford, because training can be expensive.

Regular Exercise: This breed has a lot of energy and needs daily physical and mental exercise. Long walks, playtime, and structured activities like obedience training, tracking, or protection sports help keep them healthy and mentally stimulated. This breed should never be couch potatoes. 

Early Socialisation: Early and continued socialisation with people, other animals, and new environments is vital. This helps them become well-adjusted adults who are confident in a variety of situations.

Experienced Owners: Cane Corso's are best suited for owners who have experience with large, working breeds. They require someone who understands their temperament and can commit to their training and exercise needs.

Financial Commitments: Cane Corso's can be expensive to insure. The average price for reasonable cover is around £70-£110 per month per dog. Surgeries for such large breed dogs can exceed minimum cover levels, regularly going over £3000-£5000. Large breed dogs can also be expensive to feed and care for with a good quality food. Puppies themselves should cost in the region of £2000. Buying cheap can often mean that the breeder has not done the recommended health testing among other things, and can spell bigger expense down the line. There's no other way to say it - these dogs are expensive all around! Please be prepared before you make commitments.

1. Check the Paperwork
A reputable breeder will be able to provide you with a pedigree certified by recognised breed organisations, such as:
- FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale)
- ICCF (International Cane Corso Federation)
- ICCGB (Italian Cane Corso Club of Great Britain)

These organizations help ensure the dogs meet breed standards and have a documented pedigree. Having a registered pedigree from these organisations means that your dog is a legitimate purebred dog. There are a number of websites that allow you to write a pedigree for your dog and print it, which means they can be made up entirely, so be careful when reviewing paperwork and don't fall victim to scam breeders! Dogs exported to the UK may also come with AKC, UKC or country of origin pedigrees. If you aren't sure, you can reach out to us and ask! A great way to be sure about the legitimacy of an organisation's pedigrees is to check whether they are FCI affiliated organisations on the FCI website.

Breeders should also expect you to sign a contract, that at a minimum, requires the owner to return their dog to the breeder if they can no longer keep them. This keeps dogs out of rescues and loved for the entirety of their lives. Ask your breeder if they would take your dog back if you could no longer care for them.

 2. Parent Health Testing
The health of the puppy’s parents is crucial in determining the future health of the puppy. For Cane Corso's, some health issues are more common, and it’s essential that the breeder conducts the proper health screenings:
- Hip and Elbow Scores: Large breeds like the Cane Corso can develop hip and elbow dysplasia, especially if the parents were not tested; "I've never had a problem" is not an excuse for lack of testing. Breeders should provide test results from recognised scoring systems such as FCI recognised certificates, BVA scoring or Australian KC scoring via Vet scoring.
- DSRA Genetic Screening: Cane Corso's can carry a genetic condition called Degenerative Retinal Atrophy (DSRA), so it’s vital the parents are tested and cleared of this disease.

Additionally, inquire whether the breeder has performed optional tests such as:
- Heart (cardiac) screening: For detecting heart conditions like cardiomyopathy.
- Eye screening: To ensure no congenital eye problems.
- Patella testing: Checking for luxating patella's.
- OCD (Osteochondritis Dissecans) testing: Evaluates for joint issues.
- Embark screening: A DNA test that screens for over 200 genetic conditions.

Make sure the breeder is transparent with the health certificates and results of these tests. These screenings help ensure you’re getting a puppy with the best chance for a long, healthy life.

3. Review the Parent Dogs
Reputable breeders should be willing and able to show you photos and videos of the parent dogs. This allows you to assess not only their physical condition but also their temperament. Additionally, the breeder should be able to explain the purpose of the breeding program:
- Show Prospects: If the breeder is aiming to produce show-quality dogs, they should be able to provide proof of participation in conformation shows (such as those run by the ICCGB).
- Working Dogs: For working Cane Corso's, such as protection dogs, the breeder should provide documentation or evidence of the parent dogs working or training for specific tasks.
- Sport Dogs: If the puppies are bred for sports, ask for proof of competition results or training videos.
- Companion Dogs: If the puppies are primarily for family pets, inquire about the temperaments of the parents and how they interact with people.

Each of these categories requires a slightly different approach to breeding, so it’s essential to know what the breeder is aiming for to ensure the puppy’s suitability for your needs.

 4. Appropriate Puppy Socialisation
Puppies should be raised in a stimulating environment, with plenty of socialization. They should be introduced to different people, noises, and environments from a young age to develop into well-rounded adults. Ask the breeder about their socialization practices and how they prepare puppies for family life or work.

5. Red Flags to Watch Out For
 - "Protective" Dogs: If a breeder describes their puppies or dogs as “protective,” proceed with caution. This is often a euphemism for dogs that are reactive or poorly socialised. A well-bred Cane Corso should have a stable temperament and be capable of being trained to discern real threats. They should never be indiscriminately reactive to people, dogs or other animals. Animals who display that sort of reactivity are not being protective and are in need of training, and therefore should not be bred from as this temperament problem may stem from too much genetic nerve.
 
 - Prioritising Colour Over Health or Temperament: Some breeders may focus on producing specific coat colours rather than prioritizing the health and temperament of the dogs. Be wary of breeders who price puppies based on colour, particularly "desirable" or non-standard colours (such as merle), which are often bred without regard for health. Merle is not recognized in the breed standard and could indicate unethical breeding practices.

 - Marketing Ploys: "Champion Bloodlines": While having champions in the lineage is positive and breeders may relay this in their adverts, it should not be the sole selling point. Focus on the actual health, temperament, and conformation of the parent dogs rather than titles from distant relatives.

 - Claims about origin: This is often used as a marketing gimmick. Focus on whether parent dogs meet the current breed standard, have relevant health certificates, have verifiable temperaments (sport, working and conformation titles or evidence can often evidence good temperaments!) rather than being romanced with a story about being the only "true" type.

 -"Clean" bloodlines: Epilepsy is a concern in our breed. It does exist, and it's difficult to pin down. The type of epilepsy that is shown in Cane Corso's that are affected cannot be tested for, and often this is used as a mud-slinging exercise with breeders telling you to avoid certain kennel names and theirs are the only ones that are "clean". Beware of this! It's perfectly acceptable to ask a breeder if there is evidence of epilepsy in the bloodlines of their dogs, and what they have done to negate the risk of puppies being born at risk of epilepsy to the best of their ability. If a breeder is telling you theirs are the only clean lines this is unlikely to be true and at the same time, they are trashing other breeder's work. Instead of listening to spurious claims, look for the evidence or reach out and ask us and we will be happy to help you.

 -Selling Littermates: A breeder should never agree to sell you littermates, do you a package deal on more than one puppy, or pressure you to "take the last puppy as well" for a discount. Littermate syndrome is very real, and it can end in a lot of blood and tears. Please do not risk littermate syndrome! As a breed club, we advise against bringing home littermates very strongly.

6. Conclusion
Selecting a Cane Corso puppy requires diligence. Start by researching breeders who provide proof of pedigree, comprehensive health testing, and a focus on producing well-tempered dogs. Evaluate the breeder's transparency, especially in showing the parent dogs and their health records. Avoid breeders who prioritise appearance, such as colour, over health and temperament, be cautious of flashy marketing claims, and be cautious of breeders who will attempt to sell you something while rubbishing others. The dogs and their programme should speak for itself in the quality of dogs produced.

Always remember, your puppy will be a long-term companion, and investing time and effort into selecting the right breeder can make all the difference in the health, temperament, and overall well-being of your Cane Corso.