Movement

A healthy Cane Corso is a very active dog. If he does not get enough movement, he will let you know. Our dogs let us know, with their so called run-kicks. Hereby they run through our house and yard at full speed. No obstacle is too high for them. If I see them do this, I know it’s time to take them for an extra long walk.

But what to do with a puppy?
A pup is not allowed to walk for long. If its muscles get tired, the joints will absorb the “shocks” alone. We should try to prevent this at any time. The joints are very sensitive for stress, especially during growth. A dog with a slight case of CHD, can develop severe CHD eventually, from too much stress in its puppytime. This is also the case for ED.

As soon as a pup learned to walk on a leash, they usually love it. He will not show the owner signs of being tired very soon. A pup loves to walk tough with its master. He sees so much new things in the area, that the first signs of tiredness are not shown, with the risk of too much stress on the joints. And if he finally does show his tiredness, you have to walk all the way back. This really causes too much stress. We only walk our pups on a leash, to let them do their needs outside the house or yard and then walk back home. We keep on doing this till that age of 1 to 1½ year. After that, they come along on the longer walks. We let pups play in our own yard as much as possible. Here he won’t see many new things and will come in as soon as tiredness sets in. He is allowed to go back outside any time any way. But for proper socialisation a pup should get further away from home than only his small round where he does his needs. We take the pup in the car and drive up to a place where he can play with other dogs. As soon as signs of tiredness are shown, we take him back home and he can rest in the back of the car. This way, he does not need to walk all the way back home and we avoid extra stress this way. Sometimes it turns out that we acted a bit too soon. We then let the pup continue to play in the back yard.

But we have several dogs, which means that the pup always has a playmate. What should you do if you only have the pup? You should drive to places where he can find a playmate more often. You do have to pay close attention to when the pup starts giving signs of tiredness. Does the pup sit down more often, then this is usually a sign of tiredness. But a pup can also get so caught up in his play with another dog, that he doesn’t show any signs of tiredness at all. It is very important that you “know” your own dog very well. How long does it usually takes before he gets tired? Etc. Many people also start throwing balls or sticks with the pup. He can indeed get rid of his energy this way. But this is not the correct way to let a pup get rid of his energy. First of all, your dog will love to return the ball over and over. A Cane Corso has a “will to please”. This means that he loves to work for his owner. He will return the ball infinitely, while tiredness has long set in. Secondly, the fast turn the pup makes to catch and return the ball to the owner as fast as possible, is not good for the joints at all. A better way of moving is only straight forward and preferably in a trot. Short turns should be avoided. It’s best to wait till the dog is 1 to 1½ years of age, before you take him along with a bicycle.

The best movement is swimming. Hereby, the joints are not stresses at all. Besides that, with swimming you can use things like ball or stick throwing. The short turn is now made in the water, which does not stress the joints at all. You do need to remember that also now, the Cane Corso will return the ball infinitely. Don’t push him to much. Luckily, most Cane Corsos love water. Unfortunately, in Holland, we do not always have the best weather to let a dog swim. We do know from experience that even in wintertime Cane Corsos love to go into the water. You should try to avoid this. A pneumonia could be the result of such a winter swim, especially if the dog has to walk home through the cold weather.

When you buy a Cane Corso, you should not think that you will have a dog that will only lay at your site on the couch in the evening when you come home after a hard day at work. They will do this, but they surely need their exercise. Besides the daily walks to let them do their needs, you need to have some extra time to give your Cane Corso the necessarily exercise. Loose sandground does miracles. Unfortunately, this is also very tiresome for you, but the dog loves to play, run and dig in it. Besides that, the sand absorbs the “shocks” while the dog is running. When one takes his dog next to the bike, it is usually done on concrete. So soft ground is much better.

If you do take your dog next to the bicycle, you should always pay attention that he walks in a trot. A gallop causes harder shocks, that the joints have to absorb. Besides that, it should absolutely not be too hot outside. A dog can not sweat like a human being. A dog looses warmth through his tongue and footsoles. Because of this, he can get rid of only a part of the heat that humans can get rid of by sweating. Overheating can have serious results. Also the black concrete is often hotter that you think, when the sun shines on it. We don’t feel this with our shoes on. Try it with your hands. A dog sweats through his footsoles. Many dogs have had blisters from running over the hot concrete, while the owner was safe on his bike. Many people don’t even notice this. And the dog will continue to walk next to your bike for a long time, because of his will to please. In the winter, you should also be careful with salt. Even if it does not freeze any more, the old salt can still be on the street. This causes the footsole to dry out, which causes little cuts in the soles. The salt even gets into these cuts, which is very painful for a dog.

If you let your dog play with a ball or a stick, to teach him how to fetch, do pay attention to the seize of the ball. Don’t let it be too small. Many dogs have choked to death from catching a too small ball in the back of the throat, or tripping with a too small ball in the mouth. Also a stick can be dangerous. Many dogs only take the stick in the mouth by the end. If the dog strips, the stick can also get stuck in the throat. A wooden fetchblock is much better. 

A healthy Cane Corso is a very active dog. If he does not get enough movement, he will let you know. Our dogs let us know, with their so called run-kicks. Hereby they run through our house and yard at full speed. No obstacle is too high for them. If I see them do this, I know it’s time to take them for an extra long walk.

But what to do with a puppy?
A pup is not allowed to walk for long. If its muscles get tired, the joints will absorb the “shocks” alone. We should try to prevent this at any time. The joints are very sensitive for stress, especially during growth. A dog with a slight case of CHD, can develop severe CHD eventually, from too much stress in its puppytime. This is also the case for ED.

As soon as a pup learned to walk on a leash, they usually love it. He will not show the owner signs of being tired very soon. A pup loves to walk tough with its master. He sees so much new things in the area, that the first signs of tiredness are not shown, with the risk of too much stress on the joints. And if he finally does show his tiredness, you have to walk all the way back. This really causes too much stress. We only walk our pups on a leash, to let them do their needs outside the house or yard and then walk back home. We keep on doing this till that age of 1 to 1½ year. After that, they come along on the longer walks. We let pups play in our own yard as much as possible. Here he won’t see many new things and will come in as soon as tiredness sets in. He is allowed to go back outside any time any way. But for proper socialisation a pup should get further away from home than only his small round where he does his needs. We take the pup in the car and drive up to a place where he can play with other dogs. As soon as signs of tiredness are shown, we take him back home and he can rest in the back of the car. This way, he does not need to walk all the way back home and we avoid extra stress this way. Sometimes it turns out that we acted a bit too soon. We then let the pup continue to play in the back yard.

But we have several dogs, which means that the pup always has a playmate. What should you do if you only have the pup? You should drive to places where he can find a playmate more often. You do have to pay close attention to when the pup starts giving signs of tiredness. Does the pup sit down more often, then this is usually a sign of tiredness. But a pup can also get so caught up in his play with another dog, that he doesn’t show any signs of tiredness at all. It is very important that you “know” your own dog very well. How long does it usually takes before he gets tired? Etc. Many people also start throwing balls or sticks with the pup. He can indeed get rid of his energy this way. But this is not the correct way to let a pup get rid of his energy. First of all, your dog will love to return the ball over and over. A Cane Corso has a “will to please”. This means that he loves to work for his owner. He will return the ball infinitely, while tiredness has long set in. Secondly, the fast turn the pup makes to catch and return the ball to the owner as fast as possible, is not good for the joints at all. A better way of moving is only straight forward and preferably in a trot. Short turns should be avoided. It’s best to wait till the dog is 1 to 1½ years of age, before you take him along with a bicycle.

The best movement is swimming. Hereby, the joints are not stresses at all. Besides that, with swimming you can use things like ball or stick throwing. The short turn is now made in the water, which does not stress the joints at all. You do need to remember that also now, the Cane Corso will return the ball infinitely. Don’t push him to much. Luckily, most Cane Corsos love water. Unfortunately, in Holland, we do not always have the best weather to let a dog swim. We do know from experience that even in wintertime Cane Corsos love to go into the water. You should try to avoid this. A pneumonia could be the result of such a winter swim, especially if the dog has to walk home through the cold weather.

When you buy a Cane Corso, you should not think that you will have a dog that will only lay at your site on the couch in the evening when you come home after a hard day at work. They will do this, but they surely need their exercise. Besides the daily walks to let them do their needs, you need to have some extra time to give your Cane Corso the necessarily exercise. Loose sandground does miracles. Unfortunately, this is also very tiresome for you, but the dog loves to play, run and dig in it. Besides that, the sand absorbs the “shocks” while the dog is running. When one takes his dog next to the bike, it is usually done on concrete. So soft ground is much better.

If you do take your dog next to the bicycle, you should always pay attention that he walks in a trot. A gallop causes harder shocks, that the joints have to absorb. Besides that, it should absolutely not be too hot outside. A dog can not sweat like a human being. A dog looses warmth through his tongue and foot soles. Because of this, he can get rid of only a part of the heat that humans can get rid of by sweating. Overheating can have serious results. Also the black concrete is often hotter that you think, when the sun shines on it. We don’t feel this with our shoes on. Try it with your hands. A dog sweats through his foot soles. Many dogs have had blisters from running over the hot concrete, while the owner was safe on his bike. Many people don’t even notice this. And the dog will continue to walk next to your bike for a long time, because of his will to please. In the winter, you should also be careful with salt. Even if it does not freeze any more, the old salt can still be on the street. This causes the foot sole to dry out, which causes little cuts in the soles. The salt even gets into these cuts, which is very painful for a dog.

If you let your dog play with a ball or a stick, to teach him how to fetch, do pay attention to the seize of the ball. Don’t let it be too small. Many dogs have choked to death from catching a too small ball in the back of the throat, or tripping with a too small ball in the mouth. Also a stick can be dangerous. Many dogs only take the stick in the mouth by the end. If the dog strips, the stick can also get stuck in the throat. A wooden fetchblock is much better.