Special thanks to the author: Renzo Carosio
The Cane Corso, has maintained through natural
selection over the centuries, the closest possible contact with
environment and the roles which man has asked this precious
companion to play. We are talking about hard times when the
success and survival of a race depended exclusively on their
ability to render work, so the choice of raising and keeping a
dog was a purely economic one. A responsibility taken which had
to correspond to the acquisition of a good or service, nothing
superfluous was allowed.
The Cane Corso, which we can admire
today is the best evidence of the theory which sustains that
when a race exhibits certain morphological and behavioral
characteristics relating to the work it is required to do, then
that race shows harmony of form and balanced character. The past
of the Cane Corso, is not only largely present and alive but
also extraordinarily current, as if time had just slipped away.
The Corso has conserved from its ancestors the Molossi of Epiro
and the pugnaces of Rome, used in war and for fighting in the
circus, the aggressive and combative nature necessary for
successfully reaching its goal, with no hesitation and with
surprising potential force. Through contact with man in social
situations he has learned to react only when necessary, becoming
an excellent interpreter of human gestures. With these
characteristics the Cane Corso, has survived until today. In
small settlements in the south of Italy where they have
maintained an archaic system of agriculture and a multi purpose
dog is an essential partner.
The modernization of agriculture and systems of breeding, in
particular the disappearance of breeding in the wild and
semi-wild state. The disappearance of wild game and the use of
firearms with the consequently different techniques of hunting
have reduced the traditional uses of the Cane Corso. It is for
this reason that the diffusion of the Corso has suffered drastic
reduction since the Second World War.
The situation at the
beginning of the 1970s was worrying for the very survival of the
race, then reduced to a modest number of examples and no longer
considered by in official dog-fancying circles despite the
efforts of individuals like the Count Bonatti and Professor
Ballotta. It was in the 1976 that an enthusiastic dog lover and
researcher of the rural traditions of Italy, Doctor Breber,
brought the Cane Corso, to the attention of the public and
official dog fancying circles in an article published in a
number of the ENCI (Italian Kennel Club) magazine. He followed
this first step with the setting up of a rescue mission carried
out by a group of enthusiasts who had made contact with Dr.
Breber in the meantime.
In October of 1983 these enthusiasts
formed the S.A.C.C. (Società Amatori Cane Corso). The common
intentions of rescuing the race were the basis for the forming
of the SACC, which suffered its first shock in 1986 when Dr.
Breber abandoned the society. This fact has little resonance at
the time as the group was not well known and lived on the edges
of dog-fancying officialdom. This was a determining factor in
the future direction of the race as was the contribution of the
man who was among the first to contribute to the new interest in
the race and who provided the dogs for the first litter: Basir
the model for the standard of the race was the son of Dauno and
Tipsi, two dogs chosen by Dr. Breber. When Dr. Breber left the
SACC centered itself around the kennels in Mantova run by
Giancarlo Malavasi with the entire breeding program of the race
and the running of the SACC in the hands of Stefano Gandolfi,
Gianantonio Sereni and Ferdinando Casolino.
The need to move the
breeding program forward at all costs become the justification
for centralized running of the association which was not very
democratic and often object of not positive chattering. For
these reasons the SACC, two vice-presidents from different times
stand out, Mr. Oreste Savoia and Dr. Flavio Bruno. In this
period it must be highlighted that the activities of the SACC
for the recognition of the Cane Corso were carried out with
energy and appreciable results. Unfortunately the same cannot be
said from the dog fanciers point of view because the level of
quality of the litter thrown by Basir in 1980 were never
repeated and the subjects produced, appeared and today still
appear distant from the desired model and show considerable
variation. In that period the SACC successfully organized dog
fanciers meetings with the scope of making the race known and
allow the judges of the ENCI to carry out tests and
measurements.
This activity produced an official standard document edited by
Dr. Antonio Morsiani ratified by the judging committee of the
ENCI in 1987. In the same edition of the standard, perhaps
because of the need to differentiate the Cane Corso as much as
possible from the other Italian Molosso hounds, the Neapolitan
Mastiff, for the purposes of recognition, some inaccuracies were
allowed which led to considerable discussion. The most important
regards the closure of the teeth in that the standard requires a
slight prognathism. The level bite is only tolerated, however
being just as common in the Corso. This is shown not only in the
many positions taken by enthusiastic breeders (including Breber)
but also in the official records of the first convention,
Convegno nazionale di Civitella Affadena, June 16th 1990. In
1992 in order to better follow the evolution of the Race the
ENCI decided to record the births of Corsi born of parents
verified by the judges and as such considered heads of blood
lines, in an unofficial book called the Libro Apperto or open
book.
The data contained in this book was transferred into the
official books when the race was officially recognized on
January 20th 1994. The enthusiasm for this race, the curiosity
and the knowledge that a greater number of dogs and a greater
interest in the race would have helped in the push for
recognition, lead to an uncontrolled increase in the production
of litters with a consequent reduction in the average quality of
the offspring. In this phase the SACC, not only omitted take any
action to inhibit this phenomenon, but rather took every
opportunity to publicize the race and themselves as its saviors.
Under this pressure the number of Corsi produced jumped from a
few tens of animals at the beginning to the current 2500 annual
registrations.
Given the lack of improvement in the quality of the animals
produced the success of the race was vaunted in terms of
numerical increase. This choice penalizing the zootecnical
aspects paid of in terms of political ratification. On May 22nd
1996 at Arese the best Cane Corso were gathered. CH Boris was
used as the model for the presentation of the characteristics of
the race at the upper levels of the F.C.I. A few months later in
November 1996 the Cane Corso was recognized at an international
level.
This seemed a positive result but it lead to further
worsening of the system because many enthusiast from outside of
Italy, inspired by the novelty of the situation bought the Corso
without due care or consideration. Often their chose was based
on lack of information, ready availability, colour or the price
of the puppies. What has been revealed in the last few years is
the total lack of a serious information service and management
of the race at an international level. In the general confusion,
those few who have tried to organize the Cane Corso enthusiasts
in their own country have found difficulty in opening
communication with the SACC which has often hid its obvious
shortcomings behind a veneer of arrogance.
In July of 1999, after years of superficial management and
repeated appeals against the controlling bodies the ENCI finally
relieved the SACC of recognition as the official club for the
race of the Cane Corso. In an attempt to obviate the situation
some enthusiasts have founded the A.I.C.C. If the second
millenium closes under a cloud of uncertainty for the Cane Corso,
the third millenium opens with a great hope; the presidents of
several national associations, Mr. Renzo Carosio for the Italian
AICC, Mr.Keith LeTourneau for the American CCAA** and Mr. Eric de Vries
for the Dutch CCNL have decide to work together towards an
international coordination of the race based on the commitment
of serious dog lovers.
*Article courtesy of Mr. Renzo Carosio of Val Derro kennels in
Italy. Mr. Carosio is the author of Il Cane Corso as well as
many articles on the Cane Corso. Mr. Carosio is also the
President of the A.I.C.C. (Association of Italian Cane Corso).
He is one of the most respected historians and authorities in
the world pertaining to the Cane Corso.
** Amended by Jo Lueck
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