The Dogo di Puglia, or Cane Corso, has served generations of farmers in Southern Italy as hunting dogs, farm dogs,  and defenders of property. Indeed, “Cane” is Italian for dog, and “Corso” relates to the Latin word, “cohors” meaning “protector” or “guardian.”

There are some, namely one Professor Giuseppe, who believe that the roots of the word, “Corso” lie in the Greek word, “Kortos,” which means “enclosed court.”  To that end, Cane Corso would literally mean “the dog that watches the court.”

Other sources believe that “Corso” comes from an ancient Celtic-Provincial vernacular that’s understood to mean “strong and powerful.” It’s as good a theory as the others, but they’ve all sidetracked us from what we really wanted to mention, and that is the term, “Cane da Corso.”

“Cane da Corso” is an older idiom to describe canines that were used to “catch” an animal, usually a boar or cattle, but sometimes bears, and to hang on to it until the rancher or hunter arrived. These dogs were (and are) known as catch dogs.

This somewhat specialized task made a Cane da Corso distinct from a “Cane da Camera,” the latter being a Cane Corso that was used as a bodyguard.

But we’re not done yet! In 1979, the Italian Kennel Club Magazine included an article written by L. Genili in which the writer opined that the name could have stemmed from guard dogs that were called “Cane da Corte,” or courtyard dogs.

When the United Kennel Club recognized the breed in 2008, it was as the Cane Corso Italiano, the same name that it’s known by in the FCI. When the American Kennel Club accepted the breed in 2010, it was as the Cane Corso. That being said, there are other names by which the breed is known, ones we’ll only mention by name: They are Cane Corz, Cane di Macellaio, Cane Pugliese, Dogo di Puglia, Sicilian Branchiero, Italian Mastiff, Sicilianos Branchiero, and Pugliese Mastiff. We suspect these might be regional monikers.

And finally, if you’re a fan of the breed, you’ll enjoy this piece about the Cane Corso in movies!

Image: Cane Corso by Barbara Keith
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