Cane Corsos and kids

A friend of mine is looking at getting one. She would be a perfect home for one. however she wants to have kids in 3 years. meaning the corso would be 2 to 3yrs old. what are they like with kids? expesialy newborns. she knows not to leave them together unatended but is it a bad idea to get the dog first?

They're big, powerful, active dogs. They can easily injure a child without any malicious intent. Not knowing your friend, it's hard to make a suggestion.

Also, regardless of breed, each and every dog has their own personality.

I honestly couldn't tell you yes or no.

I echo the big, powerful aspects as well. But I did know someone with kids who had a corso and they were great with the dog and the dog was great with them. It depends a lot on training, too, and how much effort one is willing it put into owning a big dog.

agreed. They are big. Even if the dog was a sweet, docile thing, he could easily knock a toddler down or sit on it or something.

However, if the kid won't be learning to walk until the dogs is about 4 or so, chances are he'll have calmed down some.

If she is an experienced dog owner and/or willing to spend a lot of time training and making sure her dog will be behaved when the time comes, then i think it would be okay. This means socializing and extensive training because that is A LOT of dog.

It's a tough question. My concern would be that it's a LOT of dog for anyone to own - does she have experience with that type of dog? Training? Time?

The other thing to keep in mind is that they are not that common of a breed - is she going to be able to find a good breeder, or will she have to settle for a questionable one? Is she willing to place the dog if things don't work out after having it for that long? It's a breed that might be hard to place as well.

Is there an alternate breed that she likes that might be a better match for her for now? Young kids aren't always the greatest for being 'nice' to dogs, while older kids would be a lot easier to deal with (having a toddler myself who has jumped on, pulled the tail of, hit, poked and so on the dogs - not by my encouragement, just being a kid - happens sometimes faster than you think). While an older kid would be less likey to do that sort of thing.

Lana

All I can really put in is to say that I have always been amazed at how gentle my big dogs, from the GSDs, including Bear (110 pound GSD/AkitaX) all the way to Kharma, have been with very young toddlers and babies and how aware they seem to be of their size difference and the care they have taken to be extra gentle around the little ones.

I dont have any small children, mine are teenagers, but I think it comes down to training and socializing. I did have big dogs when my kids were small, a bullmastiff mix and then a english mastiff and both were excellent with the kids. One of the things I love about my corsos are how close they bond with the family.

Do you know which type she is after? I find there are big differences between the American Cane Corso and the Italian Cane Corso. American ones I find to be a bit "goofier" and tend to be more openly accepting of strangers (note, they often have very Boxer-ish features) whereas Italian ones tend to be closer to their roots and have a more "Neo temperment". Both are excellent with "their" kids.