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12 days with Thunder. Impressions, questions, and pictures!

jeekree

Active Member
As a follow-up to my original thread I just wanted to share our life with Thunder who we rescued and were finally able to take home June 18th. I have always loved Mastiffs but this guy is my first as a dog owner for many years. I'd love to hear some info back with some things I have experienced so far and any questions too. :)

- Fairly low energy, incredibly even temperament, and very docile: I question how much the previous owner impacted Thunder vs the general characteristics of the breed. For only being a year old he is super well behaved.

- He is unbelievably affectionate. It's pretty unreal honestly. We have had loads of dogs over the years but Thunder takes the cake. Truly a sweetheart. Emotional and expressive. We can read his face when he is annoyed that he has to get off the couch or is told no. It's pretty cute.

- Cautious with strangers (dogs included): this dog is so excited when one of us comes home from work, he really is all over us for the first couple minutes. But it is surprising how unamused he is towards people when we are out and even dogs being walked. He observes but never makes the move to run up and sniff, play or want pets. Very reserved. Just like I was reading, he seems to need the okay from his owner first.

- he very rarely barks but when he does it's loud deep and scary. I've only seen this when he hears a knock at the door. He makes lots of grunts and sounds though. Also snores louder than I expected.

- Very confident. I can see this being a problem if you have a very dominate dog in the house. Thunder is good with the dogs we have and actually the little guy and him get along better than with out female. Playing is supervised but I have never noticed anything that would worry me. Sometimes it gets a bit too rough though and because of his size I will do a couple firm "Thunder enough."'s and he stops. Our female is a little older and never was much into playing (lazy girl) if playing gets too much for her she gives him a nasty bark to the face here and there. He always jumps back when it's unexpected. Kinda startled and almost like he's upset that he got her mad. It's really cute.

Oh he also loves water. Holy moly!

Questions / Concerns

- weight. Seems to be a topic that answers can vary. He hasn't been weighed since he was first brought the shelter but at that time he was listed as 85lbs. Probably a little more now. He doesn't seem as big boned as other corso's I've seen but he is about 26" tall. I don't even know if he is a full blood cane corso or not, but looks mainly Corso.

I see many saying their dogs are weighing 125-130lbs but also how a few rib outlines should be showing and defined. Right now 125 seems like he would be overweight. For now I am just exercising and not over feeding and we will see how it goes.

Thunder's spine. I can't find anything on this but do Cane corso's spines feel big and defined compared to other breeds? What I mean by this is you can really feel his spine when petting him while sitting. Especially towards the bottom of his back. When moving around everything looks fine and he looks to walk and get around fine as well. His initial vet visit is soon so we will bring it up but in some scenarios info from owners gives better information in my opinion.

That's about it! Thanks for the help and info along the way with rescuing him. Here's a public photo album to have pics and videos all in one place.

https://goo.gl/photos/icFpSVj4B35CZXuV8
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
He's gorgeous! And I'd say full Cane Corso. He's light though...and if you can feel his spine that clearly, I'd say underweight. Don't worry about it though...his life has been disturbed and things will get better with time and good nutrition. My girl is 117 lbs as of her last visit, down 3, which is good because her last ribs aren't showing anymore. Doc would like her to lose up to another 5 lbs. She was the runt of a litter of 15. Boys always weigh more. So, don't fret, but when you see the Doc, ask about how much you should feed him and if he'd be better at a higher weight.

He sounds well grounded. Most Mastiffs are "low energy" and big couch potatoes. It isn't that they can't get rambunctious but its sporadic rather continuous. ie., Dog park, run myself silly, the rest of the time snooze in a soft spot. I've read that they pick their friends carefully, if they take to you, you are their friend, if not, they'll ignore you. Not sure who you are suggesting is dominant in the house....the female dog? That may be and if so, he'll respect her space. It's not likely that he'll fight to be the Alpha...the couch looks so comfy, why bother. My girl never challenged the Rottie for dominance, she sort of took a lieutenant's position and let the Rottie have the throne, but, she never allowed the Dogo to be above her. That may have been more of a girls rule the boy dogs drools sort of thing.

At any rate, he seems like a great addition to your family. A one in a million find at the shelter. And no matter what his sad story was to start with, you and your family are his Happy Ending.
 

jeekree

Active Member
Wow that was a very informative and heartfelt post! Thanks so much. 4-5 cups a day is what I'm reading for his weight range. Right now I was doing more on the lower side of that range. I know he will want to eat more so I'll go a bit higher. I know he wasn't being fed enough at the shelter.

And yeah the female is the one who will tell him "okay get outta here...". The boy is a small-brained play machine though. When Thunder and the female are alone they are good. She wants to play and tussle around. Little guy is a rough player though. Thunder adapts to either dog. It's working well.

I forgot to mention how he hates cats lol. First encounter was a bit scary. I truly believe he might have ate him, but I don't think he understood the cat was part of the house too. He knows now. They can't be left alone and when passing the cat we keep him on a leash, and have to a reprimand him. He's getting there. Truly the only real work in progress. I don't think he will ever like the cat but he's smart enough to know he has to not eat cats and leave them be. Haha
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Mine's frightened of cats. Her first exposure produced a scratch and a lifelong aversion. She whines when she sees one, but the scratch reminds her to keep her distance. Big Wus. Fierce Cane Corso owned by a nine pound cat. If a Cat Burglar was a real cat, we'd come home to an empty house. LOL!