KIDS AND CORSOs
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The question we are most often asked is, ‘Are Corsos good with kids?’ The answer is yes - when they
are raised by an owner who is willing to teach their children how to behave with a dog and one who is
willing to train and socialize their dog. The problem exists not within the breed of dog, but rather
with the owner that fails to control, supervise, maintain and properly train the breed of dog
they choose.
Any dog, regardless of breed, is only as dangerous as his/her owner allows it to be. An image that may
come to mind is one of a protection trained dog. However, the main reason children
are bitten by dogs is not because the dog is trained, but because the
children and their parents are not! We are increasingly becoming a society that has
less and less tolerance and understanding of natural canine behaviors. There seems to be an ever
growing expectation of a "Benji" type dog in the shape of a Cane Corso with no effort being made by the
owner to learn about canine behavior or to understand the breed’s true temperament.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the injury rate was highest for children aged 5-9 years and
decreased with increasing age. Approximately 154,625 (42.0%) dog bites occurred among children aged
<14 years; the rate was significantly higher for boys (293.2 per 100,000 population) than for girls (216.7)
(p = 0.037) (Figure 1). For persons aged >15 years, the difference between the rate for males (102.9)
and females (88.0) was not statistically significant. The number of cases increased slightly during April--
September, with a peak in July (11.1%). For injured persons of all ages, approximately 16,526 (4.5%) dog
bite injuries were work-related (e.g., occurred to persons who were delivering mail, packages, or food;
working at an animal clinic or shelter; or doing home repair work or installations). For persons aged >16
years, approximately 16,476 (7.9%) dog bite injuries were work-related.
Before you bring a Cane Corso into your home, you will need to decide if you are willing to follow these
guidelines:
- NEVER leave a child unsupervised with a dog
- NEVER disturb a dog when they are eating, sleeping or caring for puppies
- NEVER allow your child to pull a dog’s tail, ears or any other part of their body
- Learn to read your dog’s body language. Dogs do not wear a “do not disturb sign” around their
neck
- Do not allow your dog to mouth you (chew on your hands or arms)
- Do not allow your child to rough house or play tug with your dog. Instead, play non-competitive
games like fetch
Dog bites are always the culmination of past and present events that include: inherited and learned
behaviors, genetics, breeding, socialization, reproductive status of dog, individual temperament,
environmental stresses, owner responsibility and victim behavior. So, instead of asking if the Cane Corso
is a good breed of dog for your family, the questions you should ask yourself are:
- Am I willing to learn about canine behavior and training?
- Am I willing to invest the time necessary to ensure my dog becomes a good family member?
- Am I willing to research the breeder and their bloodlines to look for a breeding pair with solid
temperaments?
- Am I willing to wait for a puppy from a breeder who breeds with temperament in mind instead of
making an impulse purchase?
We hope this article has been helpful to you and as always, we are open to any questions you may have.
Additionally, we recommend that prior to investing in the purchase of any puppy, that you read the
following two books: ‘Good Owners, Great Dogs’ by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson and ‘The Other
End of the Leash’ by Patricia McConnell.
Stacey Kuneman
Amore Cane Corso
To learn more about the prevention of dog bites we recommend the following websites. Click on the
article to be taken directly to their article/website:
Preventing Dog Bites in Children by Ed Frawley
Understand a Bull: Website devoted to dog bite articles with photographs
Dog Bite Prevention by Dr. Michael Bermant, M.D.
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