Bad breeders, but not bad dogs!
This document has been a long, long time coming and we have all hoped this could have been avoided but the number of Corsos being bred without health testing or proper paperwork is getting out of control and it now needs to be highlighted or you could end up like....
The family who brought a female Corso from a guy in Kent. Both parents of this bitch are not scored and she has had a number of behavior problems that a professional dog physiologist has put down to abuse. Or how about her litter brother now 6 months old, living in Romford and suffering from HD.
Or perhaps you are thinking about buying a puppy from a litter of blue parents that is heavily advertised (wearing very heavy leather harnesses) at the moment, both parents are not scored and indeed they are litter brother and sister and this will be the bitch's second litter at 18 months, so she was under one year old when she was first mated. A puppy from their first litter has just been put to sleep, suffering from Wobblers Syndrome – he was 11 months old and now we see they are mating a Cane Corso with an American Bulldog.
Or how about Van, a rescue Corso, found after being dumped in a quarry in Hartlepool, Cleveland, extremely undernourished. Van’s ears had been cut off and he had cherry eye that had not been treated. Or how about the lady Norfolk, who does not even know what Hip Scoring is yet, is now trying to sell her second litter. I was emailed pictures of the pups through from a member of the public because they were worried the pups were being abused as they looked so scared and it looked like they were locked in a shed. Or the wonderful man again in Norfolk who actually bred from a bitch so much she died. The same man has crossed his Corsos with numerous other breeds of dogs and has produced dogs with both HD and Epilepsy.
Or perhaps from the person that sold two female Corsos to a 17 year old boy, the girls have ended up in rescue at 8 months and one just gave birth to a litter of Corso x Rottie puppies at only 8 months - a baby herself. The 17 year old wanted to create his own breed of dog and decided to use the neighbours Rotweiller to do this! Or a nice guy in the Essex area who sold two blue Corsos to a mother and daughter, one of the dogs has severe epilepsy and has had to have many operations all before he is 12 months old. When the breeder was called he said it was because she 'dropped' the pup when it was younger. Not only did the combination throw Epilepsy, but other siblings have suffered from HD as well. This mating has just been repeated and I am sure puppies will be available soon.
Or a breeder in Cornwall who does not hip score his stock and refuses to take them back or help to re home them if people’s circumstances change hence three of his dogs having to come into rescue. Or a lady in the London area who does not hip score and has refused to take a dog she bred back when his owner’s circumstances changed. Another one into rescue!
Or a breeder in Kent who also breeds a number of other breeds. We were alerted to this guy after a lady had been to his premises to view a litter of pups (not Corsos). She had been disgusted by what she saw and reported that the dogs and pups were kept in sheds at a house that appeared to be empty. She asked him what else he had available whilst she was there and he informed her that he had Corso puppies. Following her visit she posted her findings on many forums to alert people to stay away from this breeder. The Cane Corso UK and Molosser Rescue have since taken a Cane Corso puppy in bred by this guy. His owners were unable to keep him anymore so handed him over with all his paperwork and surprise, surprise, the paperwork is very poor. The owners were given photocopies of the sires parents pedigrees and hip scores and of the dam’s FIC blue slip but they were not given any pedigree for the puppy or copies of the parents hip scores because they are not scored.
The above are examples honestly reported by reliable sources, others abound and whenever sufficient evidence exists FOCC will inform the Police and RSPCA so consideration can be given to further investigation and if appropriate prosecution. ...
There are a number of things that you can do to avoid being in potentially the same situation as the unfortunate individuals mentioned above.
Only buy from reputable breeders that health test their dogs. By this we mean people that hip score both parents and willingly show you the green BVA form. The scores of each parent should be below the breed mean score which is currently 28. Hip scoring does not guarantee good hips but it means that the breeder has been responsible enough to officially score their breeding stock.
You should be able to interact with the parents. The sire may or may not be available for you to interact with depending on whether or not the breeder used an external stud dog but you MUST be able to view mum and check her temperament. If she is not available to view, walk away, you could be buying anything!
Ask to see the pedigree of the pups, if the dog is inbred or a close line breed be very wary as this is when possible Epilepsy can occur. Brother to sister matings or father to daughter matings or even half brother to half sister matings are not acceptable and can result in possible health problems. Line breeding should only be carried out by very experienced breeders who have a vast knowledge of their bloodlines and what their dogs and their dogs ancestors have produced in the past. No one in the UK is in a position to do this yet as the breed is still in its infancy.
What paperwork are you going to get with your new puppy? Is there a pedigree and what does that pedigree look like? Are their official pedigrees of the parents from the FCI, ENCI? Who are the pups going to be registered with? FIC and FCI are not to be mistaken as both are two very different organisations. FIC is an American Registry and the paperwork means nothing here in the UK. FCI is a worldwide organisation whom many kennel clubs sit under.
Has the breeder taken the time to provide you with a puppy pack? Good breeders will provide lots of information for the new owner which will include breed information, training tips, food guide, free insurance etc. Has the breeder had the pups vaccinated? The pups should at least have had their first vaccinations before leaving the breeder and should be no younger than 8 weeks old! Don’t fall into the same category as many others have. Don’t rush into anything, do your home work, check out lots of breeders, ask lots of questions and expect to be fully vetted by any good breeder. Remember that a puppy is going to hopefully be with you for a long time so you have to get it right first time, it’s worth making the extra calls and waiting a little longer to get the right dog. Both the FOCC the Cane Corso Club and rescue are here to help. Also the reputable UK Breeders with established websites, they can offer advice on the breed… Or join the FOCC forum and ask members of the public about the breed yourself before jumping into any purchase.
The family who brought a female Corso from a guy in Kent. Both parents of this bitch are not scored and she has had a number of behavior problems that a professional dog physiologist has put down to abuse. Or how about her litter brother now 6 months old, living in Romford and suffering from HD.
Or perhaps you are thinking about buying a puppy from a litter of blue parents that is heavily advertised (wearing very heavy leather harnesses) at the moment, both parents are not scored and indeed they are litter brother and sister and this will be the bitch's second litter at 18 months, so she was under one year old when she was first mated. A puppy from their first litter has just been put to sleep, suffering from Wobblers Syndrome – he was 11 months old and now we see they are mating a Cane Corso with an American Bulldog.
Or how about Van, a rescue Corso, found after being dumped in a quarry in Hartlepool, Cleveland, extremely undernourished. Van’s ears had been cut off and he had cherry eye that had not been treated. Or how about the lady Norfolk, who does not even know what Hip Scoring is yet, is now trying to sell her second litter. I was emailed pictures of the pups through from a member of the public because they were worried the pups were being abused as they looked so scared and it looked like they were locked in a shed. Or the wonderful man again in Norfolk who actually bred from a bitch so much she died. The same man has crossed his Corsos with numerous other breeds of dogs and has produced dogs with both HD and Epilepsy.
Or perhaps from the person that sold two female Corsos to a 17 year old boy, the girls have ended up in rescue at 8 months and one just gave birth to a litter of Corso x Rottie puppies at only 8 months - a baby herself. The 17 year old wanted to create his own breed of dog and decided to use the neighbours Rotweiller to do this! Or a nice guy in the Essex area who sold two blue Corsos to a mother and daughter, one of the dogs has severe epilepsy and has had to have many operations all before he is 12 months old. When the breeder was called he said it was because she 'dropped' the pup when it was younger. Not only did the combination throw Epilepsy, but other siblings have suffered from HD as well. This mating has just been repeated and I am sure puppies will be available soon.
Or a breeder in Cornwall who does not hip score his stock and refuses to take them back or help to re home them if people’s circumstances change hence three of his dogs having to come into rescue. Or a lady in the London area who does not hip score and has refused to take a dog she bred back when his owner’s circumstances changed. Another one into rescue!
Or a breeder in Kent who also breeds a number of other breeds. We were alerted to this guy after a lady had been to his premises to view a litter of pups (not Corsos). She had been disgusted by what she saw and reported that the dogs and pups were kept in sheds at a house that appeared to be empty. She asked him what else he had available whilst she was there and he informed her that he had Corso puppies. Following her visit she posted her findings on many forums to alert people to stay away from this breeder. The Cane Corso UK and Molosser Rescue have since taken a Cane Corso puppy in bred by this guy. His owners were unable to keep him anymore so handed him over with all his paperwork and surprise, surprise, the paperwork is very poor. The owners were given photocopies of the sires parents pedigrees and hip scores and of the dam’s FIC blue slip but they were not given any pedigree for the puppy or copies of the parents hip scores because they are not scored.
The above are examples honestly reported by reliable sources, others abound and whenever sufficient evidence exists FOCC will inform the Police and RSPCA so consideration can be given to further investigation and if appropriate prosecution. ...
There are a number of things that you can do to avoid being in potentially the same situation as the unfortunate individuals mentioned above.
Only buy from reputable breeders that health test their dogs. By this we mean people that hip score both parents and willingly show you the green BVA form. The scores of each parent should be below the breed mean score which is currently 28. Hip scoring does not guarantee good hips but it means that the breeder has been responsible enough to officially score their breeding stock.
You should be able to interact with the parents. The sire may or may not be available for you to interact with depending on whether or not the breeder used an external stud dog but you MUST be able to view mum and check her temperament. If she is not available to view, walk away, you could be buying anything!
Ask to see the pedigree of the pups, if the dog is inbred or a close line breed be very wary as this is when possible Epilepsy can occur. Brother to sister matings or father to daughter matings or even half brother to half sister matings are not acceptable and can result in possible health problems. Line breeding should only be carried out by very experienced breeders who have a vast knowledge of their bloodlines and what their dogs and their dogs ancestors have produced in the past. No one in the UK is in a position to do this yet as the breed is still in its infancy.
What paperwork are you going to get with your new puppy? Is there a pedigree and what does that pedigree look like? Are their official pedigrees of the parents from the FCI, ENCI? Who are the pups going to be registered with? FIC and FCI are not to be mistaken as both are two very different organisations. FIC is an American Registry and the paperwork means nothing here in the UK. FCI is a worldwide organisation whom many kennel clubs sit under.
Has the breeder taken the time to provide you with a puppy pack? Good breeders will provide lots of information for the new owner which will include breed information, training tips, food guide, free insurance etc. Has the breeder had the pups vaccinated? The pups should at least have had their first vaccinations before leaving the breeder and should be no younger than 8 weeks old! Don’t fall into the same category as many others have. Don’t rush into anything, do your home work, check out lots of breeders, ask lots of questions and expect to be fully vetted by any good breeder. Remember that a puppy is going to hopefully be with you for a long time so you have to get it right first time, it’s worth making the extra calls and waiting a little longer to get the right dog. Both the FOCC the Cane Corso Club and rescue are here to help. Also the reputable UK Breeders with established websites, they can offer advice on the breed… Or join the FOCC forum and ask members of the public about the breed yourself before jumping into any purchase.
Re: The Destruction of a Breed
