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12 month Old CANE CORSO

Junior Sebastian

New Member
Hello All,

I am new to the site/forum. I bought a Cane Corso at the start of the pandemic just before everything went into lock-down. Milo is my second Corso. My first Coco passed in Dec 2020. Anyway the problem I have is that because of the lock down I did not get to socialize him. For the first two months I had him, based on vets recommendation I didn't take him on walks until he received his shots. And then after receiving his shots I would keep my distance from other walkers and their pets due to CDC/health recommendations.

Because of that my guy @12mos, is very wary of strangers and views everyone and almost everything as a threat and barks and sometime threatens to lunge. I wanted to know if any one has some good strategies I could employ to bring his energy down so he can see that interaction is normal and OK. He has basic obedience but once he zeroes in on something his obedience goes out the window.

Needless to say I didn't have this issue with my previous as she grew up knowing that human-to-human interaction was OK and that dog-to-dog interaction was OK ( when she felt like it), lol. I really want to be able to take Milo on family hikes but my kids and wife feel embarrassed when he is acting up so it becomes, either we go with you or he goes with you!

Any advice would be welcome!
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum,
It doesnt necessarily mean that because your cc wasnt able to let people greet him closely that he would be any different now if youd had 100 people pet him.
Some ccs just dont like being tou hed by random strangers, traits are being aloof with strangers and also not always great with other dogs.
We did all the socialisation with our boys, eldest doesnt tolerate other male dogs the middle one doesnt like some people touching him
What you need to do is get him to ignore and behave,
You know your dog, is he treat or toy motivated, how can you get his attention quickly, you can start this training in the home, find whatever works to get his attention, ie whistle, sqeeky toy clapping hands ect, you need to get him to focus on you, then get him to keep that attention, then you can use the same method when your out, keep his attention on you instead of his surroudings, i used high value treat for budcuss, boiled chicken.
Plenty of training everyday, this occupies there brain its not all about pysical exercise.
Also they have fear stages, every cc is different, all 3 of mine are. Hes still very young so you can change his behaviour to being able to enjoy taking him as a family.
 

timmy59

Well-Known Member
One thing I quite confident in is that dogs don't much like humans wearing masks.. It's not natural, do you have the ability to sit at a park bench, doesn't have to be a park.. Newspaper or magazine where you spend time relaxing and reading while the pup takes in the surroundings 1/2 hour or more of relaxation.. No biggie for you and he get a fill of the world around him.. If you have any peeps that want to pet, ask for mask removal as he doesn't like'em.. Hope that helps and as Glen said above they aren't all warm and fuzzy with everyone or other animals.. It takes time, repetition and patience..
 
Welcome to the forum,
It doesnt necessarily mean that because your cc wasnt able to let people greet him closely that he would be any different now if youd had 100 people pet him.
Some ccs just dont like being tou hed by random strangers, traits are being aloof with strangers and also not always great with other dogs.
We did all the socialisation with our boys, eldest doesnt tolerate other male dogs the middle one doesnt like some people touching him
What you need to do is get him to ignore and behave,
You know your dog, is he treat or toy motivated, how can you get his attention quickly, you can start this training in the home, find whatever works to get his attention, ie whistle, sqeeky toy clapping hands ect, you need to get him to focus on you, then get him to keep that attention, then you can use the same method when your out, keep his attention on you instead of his surroudings, i used high value treat for budcuss, boiled chicken.
Plenty of training everyday, this occupies there brain its not all about pysical exercise.
Also they have fear stages, every cc is different, all 3 of mine are. Hes still very young so you can change his behaviour to being able to enjoy taking him as a family.

Thank you for your reply. Sorry my response was late. I forgot my password and had to create a new profile. You are definitely correct on the fear. My first one did not display much fear and when she did she overcame it quickly so she could stand by my side. My new guy has what can only be classified as nervousness, his leg is always shaking and then it settles.
 
One thing I quite confident in is that dogs don't much like humans wearing masks.. It's not natural, do you have the ability to sit at a park bench, doesn't have to be a park.. Newspaper or magazine where you spend time relaxing and reading while the pup takes in the surroundings 1/2 hour or more of relaxation.. No biggie for you and he get a fill of the world around him.. If you have any peeps that want to pet, ask for mask removal as he doesn't like'em.. Hope that helps and as Glen said above they aren't all warm and fuzzy with everyone or other animals.. It takes time, repetition and patience..
Thank you. You're right about the masks. I am going to start taking him on outings and sit in a spot and just try to desensitize him to as much as possible. I really don't like to use a muzzle and he doesn't either so, I'll try to calm him when he gets excited and see how that works out.
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thank you for your reply. Sorry my response was late. I forgot my password and had to create a new profile. You are definitely correct on the fear. My first one did not display much fear and when she did she overcame it quickly so she could stand by my side. My new guy has what can only be classified as nervousness, his leg is always shaking and then it settles.
My first cc had the most fear stages, because it was my firsr, i can remember thinking, this isnt a gurdian breed, but i worked through it, keep your boy occupied when hes out, plenty of training, stay calm, what your feeling travels down the leash to them. Be confident.dont praisevthe fear.
Budcuss is now the most fearless,loyal,loveable rogue.
 

timmy59

Well-Known Member
Many an animal in the animal kingdom have the ability to read body language and or feelings, IF you are nervous, scared or un easy so will the dog be.. You must be at ease and cool calm and collected in order for the dog to be..
 

eww

New Member
I know this post is over a month old but I also have a now 13-month old pup, Fritz, who we've struggled to socialize with covid. He's still occasionally nervous when people come "too close" but the good news is he's become SO much better. I take him to parks, parking lots outside grocery stores, downtown, anywhere I can think of and sometimes we sit and watch, other times we play or do obedience. I've also taken him to a groomer and dropped him off just to give him some experiences with other people. He goes to a doggy daycare semi-regularly for the same reasons.

Fritz has become dog-reactive while on leash (meaning he does the awful bark and lunge thing!) but even that is getting better with practice on both our parts. We try to minimize the chances for him to react and when we do see other dogs out on walks, I have tasty treats ready and often we'll play a quick round of tug on the street to distract him. It looks silly but it's been effective. We've been doing this for a couple months now and he's improving all the time.

And I also get feeling incredibly embarrassed to be the one on the other end of the leash of the crazy 100lb hell-spawn. I've found once I (mostly) got over feeling so awkward, embarrassed and stressed out about it, I was better able to go with the flow and remain more calm and relaxed. I think that also helped.

That being said, I'm not a dog trainer so take my experience for what it's worth but know that it can definitely get much better with time and practice.

Good luck!
 

Patrick

Well-Known Member
Hello All,

I am new to the site/forum. I bought a Cane Corso at the start of the pandemic just before everything went into lock-down. Milo is my second Corso. My first Coco passed in Dec 2020. Anyway the problem I have is that because of the lock down I did not get to socialize him. For the first two months I had him, based on vets recommendation I didn't take him on walks until he received his shots. And then after receiving his shots I would keep my distance from other walkers and their pets due to CDC/health recommendations.

Because of that my guy @12mos, is very wary of strangers and views everyone and almost everything as a threat and barks and sometime threatens to lunge. I wanted to know if any one has some good strategies I could employ to bring his energy down so he can see that interaction is normal and OK. He has basic obedience but once he zeroes in on something his obedience goes out the window.

Needless to say I didn't have this issue with my previous as she grew up knowing that human-to-human interaction was OK and that dog-to-dog interaction was OK ( when she felt like it), lol. I really want to be able to take Milo on family hikes but my kids and wife feel embarrassed when he is acting up so it becomes, either we go with you or he goes with you!

Any advice would be welcome!


I agree with most everyone that has responded. My male never had a problem with socializing.... I didn't start taking him to home depot until he was 12 months old... mainly bc I didn't know I could....lol
My girl Xena just doesn't like people or animals... she growls and barks almost at anything the breaths air. I can take her around people but I must give her the command to calm down and not bark, or attack. With her.... if you aren't family... you are an enemy !! I truly believe it's in her bloodline.... she comes from a working bloodline. She is true to form of the original Corso. My male Magic is the most balanced dog I have ever seen.. he is SO VERY LOVING !! he sleeps by my side every night!! But when given the command he becomes EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE !! I do protection training with my Corsos. I believe you will have to put her in situations and figure out how to take her attention from doing what you want. My command to get my dogs to stop barking or attacking is the word "OUT"
When Xena sees a person a block away on our walks she starts growling... I tell her OUT and slightly pull on her leash. That makes her pay attention to me and calm.diwn... I immediately tell her " GOOD OUT XENA ! GOOD OUT !! GOOD GIRL."