There are a very limited number of Corso breeders in the UK that the FOCC would recommend. Just by paging through the main sites you will find the same names being repeated. Just keep in mind that the breeders should know the history of their stock, should have hip scored their stock, and should be fountains of knowledge on the breed. Don't be afraid to ask them questions! If they don't want to answer, you should not want to buy!

The Friends of the Cane Corso is a group of Corso enthusiasts in the UK dedicated to moving the Corso forward in the UK and educating people in the UK about this amazing breed. We like to think that the FOCC stands for the Breed First, the Owners Second, and Breeders Last, but not least!

The consensus is in general that the Corso is good with children. (better than average) Most of the discussions on this subject end with the following caveat; that you should never leave children alone with dogs of ANY kind.

Children are unpredictable little animals, whereas most dogs are fairly predictable ones. It is possible for a child to trigger an unwanted response in any dog. You should endeavor to teach your children to RESPECT your dog, and as the old adage goes, let sleeping dogs lie.

One thing that appears to be clear, however, is that the Corso will in general try to defend it's family to its utmost

The cane corso is no easier or harder to train than any other breed.They do however seem to do better with positive reinforcement training as they can be a bit handler sensitive.It also helps to know your particular corso and which drives are strongest in the dog so you can use the strong drives to bring the dog through the tougher times.For example if you have a dog with strong food drive and you hit a bump in your training you can use food to bring the dog around.You could also get your breeder to have your dog temperament tested so that you get a dog that fits what you want to do with it and so you know which drives are strongest so you can use these drives to YOUR advantage.

Unfortunately, the Cherry Eye is a frequently occurring problem in the Cane Corso. With this condition, the third eyelid is inflamed or irritated, and shows itself like a little red ball (Cherry) under the eye. A time where this inconvenience often occurs is when a pup is teething. Sand and draft are also often considered as a cause for a Cherry Eye. The gland which is inflamed has the function to keep the eye clean from bacteria and dirt, but sometimes gets infected itself.

There are 3 methods to remove a Cherry Eye:

1. Removal
With this method, the entire Cherry Eye is cut away. This is quite a simple procedure. Unfortunately, it has a downside. In the infected gland the tear duct is also present. With the removal of the Cherry Eye, this tear duct is also removed. As a result of this, the dog might not produce enough tears. A dry eye could be the result. To prevent blindness, one can keep the eye moist with drops. A dry eye is however rare. Many veterinarians fully remove Cherry Eyes on a regular basis and never had the dry eye problem.

2. Attaching
With this method, the Cherry Eye is pulled back on its original position and reattached with a few stitches. In the past, they often showed up again, after which they had to be fully removed after all. Now there is a new stitching method and the chances of the Cherry Eye showing up again are much smaller. For this surgery, the dog has to go under a complete anaesthesia. The costs of the surgery are considerably higher than with the removal method. And there are still vets that use the “old” stitching method to reattach the Cherry Eye, meaning that it might show up again.

3. Partial removal
With this method, only the infected gland is removed. The tear duct will stay intact. Because the infected gland is removed, the rest of the Cherry Eye will pull back by itself. This will also be nicely stitched. This is a precision work and the dog also has to go under a complete anaesthesia. With this method, it is very important that surgery is done within days after the appearance of the Cherry Eye. After a few days, the teartube will bend because of its unnatural position, causing it to be damaged. Unless surgery is done before this time, chances that the tear duct will not function any more are present. When the Cherry Eye gets lighter in color, the damage is usually already a fact. This is also a risk with the attachment method, if one is too late with the attachment of the Cherry Eye. Partial removal excludes the chances of the Cherry Eye showing up again. If surgery is done in time, it also reduces the chances of a Dry Eye to the maximum. This method has the pros of both earlier mentioned methods. But, because of the full anaesthesia and the precision work, this method is also the most expensive one. But considering all the pros of partial removal, we highly recommend this method.

An other good site (in English) about a Cherry Eye is: http://www.eyevet.org/cherry.html . Here the pros and cons of the methods 1 and 2 are discussed. Unfortunately, method 3 (partial removal) is not discussed.

HD stands for Hip Dysplasia - a term you will learn more about as you learn more about the Cane Corso. At the most basic, it means the hip socket and femur do not meet in a perfect manner, causing a variety of health issues for a dog.

The length of the body is about ll% over the height at the withers. The total length of the head reaches 3,6/10 of the height at the withers. The length of the muzzle is equal to 3,4/10 of the total length of the head. The height of the thorax is 5/10 of the height at the withers and it is equal to the height of the limb at the elbows.

Its direct ancestor is the "Canis Pugnax" (the old Roman Molossian) of which he is the light version employed in the hunting of large wild animals and also as an "auxiliary warrior" in battles. For years he has been a precious companion of the Italic populations. Employed as property, cattle and personal guard dog and used for hunting purposes too. In the past this breed was common all over Italy as an ample iconography and historiography testify. In the recent past he has found a excellent preservation area in Southern Italy, expecially in Puglia, Lucania and Sannio. His name derives from the Latin "Cohors" which means "Guardian", "Protector".

Intelligent, active and even-minded, he is an unequalled watch and protection dog. Docile and affectionate with the owner, loving with children and with the family, if necessary he becomes a terrible and brave protector of people, house and property. He is easily trained.

Black, plumb-grey, slate, light grey, light fawn, deer fawn, dark fawn and tubby (very well marked stripes on different shades of fawn and grey). In the fawny and tubby subjects there is a black or grey mask only on the muzzle and shouldn't go beyond the eye line. A small white patch on the chest, on the feet tips and on the nose bridge is accepted.