morfologia tradizionale

Traditional Morphology

(translation by Federico)

Canine races represent a precious zootechnics and cultural resource that we should not loose. Italian “old style” dogs races like the Cane Corso, were born to satisfy human needs. The Corso is a jack of all trade and it is deeply linked to man’s history and tradition. This breed grew over the centuries according to real necessities, both human and environmental. It is a working dog that was raised to help humans.

The password was “functionality” as it was necessary for both man and dog survival.

In other sections we talked about its history and tasks, emphasising how “functionality” has always been the most relevant characteristic. Therefore, the Cane Coors’s morphology descends from these presuppositions. To be more explicit: any morpho-characterial aspect that fails to comply with these functional purposes cannot belong to a traditional Cane Corso: the Cane Corso must keep its harmonic body in the respect of its natural multi-functionality that was built over a centuries working.

Our Corso expresses strength, agility and endurance. It is an intelligent, dynamic and balanced dog. It is a wonderful watch and defence dog and he can be an amazing hunter. It is powerful and agile; its body is apt to all kind of work also in extreme climate conditions.

On the whole it distinguish from the others for strength, power and for its optimal proportions; it expresses its amazing functional beauty through a morphology constituted by, in its general structural essentiality, what follows:

• Large muscular head, compact and well–proportioned as regards the whole;

• Watchful and careful look, indicating intelligence and balance; watching the look of every subjects – somatic mirror of a temperament linked constitution – it is possible to anticipate the valuation of its nature; especially in the past, eyes were often gray or yellow, to have a grim expression.

• Well–developed and tough masseters;

• Firmly straight incisors, well-developed canines (very distant among them); scissor bite, fit together incisors or reverse scissor bite: that’s all!

• Very muscular and strong neck, lightly convex and well joint to the back and to the chest;

• Large chest and with pectoral muscles very well-developed;

• Well grown in height thorax, depth and width;

• Very muscular back, lightly climbing and with a well evident wither;

• Short large loins, very muscular and a bit convex;

• Long, well large and very muscular croup;

• Well proportionate body, longer than the wither’s height; very muscular, compact and strong;

• Sturdy and well perpendicular fore and hind limbs;

• Large and thick hock;

• Well gathered foot;

• Thick at the root tail. To value a good dog’s hind, you have to look its tail: a tail that is thick at the root is sign of a very good hind and croup muscles development (sign of power and strength).

A very important characteristic is the one concerning its tegument [see “Neglected specific qualities: Cane Corso’s tegument and various considerations (first part)” in Various Writes Section, for more details]. Its coat shows a short hair, a vitreous texture, it is glossy, adherent and thick. Its under coat becomes thicker in winter.

The Cane Corso’s physical and attitudinal characteristics are similar in the whole species, the difference is with the colour of the coat:: some of them are grey-black striped, tawny, clear and dark tawny, deer tawny, honey (mixed yellow or white and tawny hairs) brown, ash-grey (black and white hairs), dark and light grey, slate (blackish grey), tiger-striped on a grizzled background, three tiger-striped colours. As shown in the Molosso Romano (from which Cane Corso descends without any doubt) historical iconography, many subjects present white spots on the breast, on the tips of the paws and on the nose. The modern standard penalizes the white without any reason, while - especially in the past - Corsos completely white (or “almost white”) have always existed. [see “Neglected specific qualities: Cane Corso’s tegument and various considerations (second part: coat’s colour)” in Various Writes Section, for more details].

Approximately, the weight of a Corso is between 88 and 132 pounds (40 to 60 Kg) and its height at the shoulder is between 23 and 27 inches (60 to 70 cm.), even if once it wasn’t rare to see subjects with bigger size.. In order to obtain a good selection we should consider all typologies of dogs regardless of height and weight. What should interest us are good proportions and the temperament.

Many authors wrote a lot about teeth closing, never succeeding in saying the final word. The Cane Corso should show a scissor bite or incisors fit together or have the “inside out” scissor form.

Our opinion is that, now, the components of the same litter may show every type of closing, but this doesn’t mean that all are admissible, but just that this can happens. Now, we see that, as for the grip dogs, both nature and men selected the orthognatic closing (Wild wolf, Neapolitan Mastiff, Dogo Argentino, Perro da Presa Canario, etc.). Hence, the selection must follow the orthognatism rule (both jaws must be long the same), refusing the enognatism and the real prognatism, that shows a shorter upper jaw and the typical prognatic molars position. Considering that the Corso and the “grip dog” or Neapolitan Mastiff are hypothetically the same (as the Neapolitan Mastiff descends from the Corso or vice versa) and that the Neapolitan Mastiff’s teeth closing is orthognathic, we can say that the Italian “grip dog” is orthognatic.

Unfortunately, trying to respect the “standard” (prognathic (!!!) dogs showing convergent face cranium’s axes), some breeders crossed with the Boxer, the Bullmastiff, the Dogue of Bordeaux, etc.). It is sensible to say that a grip dog must have a standard that show a functional and traditional scissors bite or incisors fit together. In fact, in all carnivorous set of teeth (such as wolves, dogs, foxes, dingo, cuon, etc.) we can observe a correct scissor bite or incisors fit together. In any case, the scissor bite is the most functional in the carnivorous race.

The Corso has always called also “Grip Dog” which main characteristic is the grip. That is why the dog must have a perfect maxillary apparatus: the upper and the lower must have the same length and the upper set of teeth must match the lower one. This functional characteristic (orthognatism) can be observed in the wolf. It is the most functional as it was created by Mother Nature. On the other hand, prognatism determines the loss of efficiency boot in the gripping, in gnawing and in the use of the teeth for skin and coat cleaning. The “inside out” scissor bite does not determine inefficiency of the set of teeth. If all teeth are regular and with incisors having an inside out scissor bite, as it can be observed in some Corsos, the dog cannot be defined prognathic. The prognathism, in fact, is not due to the lengthening of the jaw but by the shortening of the nose-pipe. The illness is caused by the sliding back of the whole upper set of teeth, which resolves in a gap between the upper and lower incisors.

Even the muzzle length is relevant in relation to the dog’s health and to its functionality.

The dog’s skin (like other animals) is almost without diaphoretic glands. After a long run, in a warm environment especially, the dog cannot decrease the internal temperature by sweating and so it dissipates its heat by breathing very fast (heat polypnoea). In fact, after a run, the dog’s temperature augments of a few grades helping increase the activity of its muscles, liver and kidneys. This characteristic gives it the possibility to be a good runner. A dog feels tiredness hardly ever because it does not waste mineral salts through sweating. Anyway, not all the organs of the dog can stand a higher body temperature: the brain that, for example, needs to be cooled down.

Nature provided dogs with a thermo-regulating system in order to keep the brain to a correct temperature even after a long running. The nose, and when it is very hot, the mouth, works like radiators. When the dog keeps its mouth open with the tongue dangling, the fresh air passes through its mouth and nose, and by breathing in and out, humidity exhales thus cooling down the mucosa of the nose, of the mouth and of the tongue.

The whole nose is then cooled. The blood that goes back from the muzzle is cooler than the normal and it passes through a pipe-shaped vein that wraps the brain artery. The strict contact between the artery and the vein creates a heat exchange so that the blood that flows back cools the brain down. Warm muscles and cold brain are an exacta: this determines a short usage of water in the dog. Moreover, dogs need just an abundant intake of water while other animals need to ingest the mineral salts that they had lost sweating. Dogs with a short nose (like Pekingese’s, English bull-dogs, etc.) suffer from a real malformation called brachignatism that causes raising of the body and brain temperature even after a small moving. As the muzzle is short the blood cannot cool down and the dog feels unwell. Short muzzle breeds were obtained through a forced selection, reproducing only those exemplars that showed the deformity. Moreover, these dogs breath less air than others and leading to a reduced sense of the smell that represents the guide for all dogs. The breathed air is not filtered and this exposes dogs to bronchitis, tracheitis and pneumonia. They have reduced immune cellules in the undermucosa of the nose that increases the risks of breathing diseases. The flat muzzle alters the elimination of the lachrymal liquid and infected eyes are frequent (conjunctivitis etc.). The canine brain needs a cooler temperature and the brachignatism reduces the development of the air sinuses making the dog not apt for long physical efforts and it influences its grip that is stalled by breathing.

According to all described, how can be tolerated who changes those physiological machinery by the name of fatuous, pickle and personalistical aestheticism? And how can be tolerated in an extremely functional dog as Cane Corso some muzzle’s conformations that we can see on some “champions or in some “ribbon’s winners”? Nature didn’t give birth to “short muzzled” dogs …. Neither with a turned-up nose!

In conclusion, the Cane Corso reached us thanks to its poly-functional qualities and its strong body. Its habitat was the country-side, the wood, the fields, the cottage, the farm and the town; it reflects this environment in its beauty and perfection. Wherever one meets it, it bears the signs of its surviving: its adaptability was forged over the centuries. A dog that survived over the centuries and that reached us cannot be a fragile animal; if not so, nature and time would have erase it. We do not want that men change what has not be changed by nature and time!