One of the most common fears that new Cane Corso owners have is thinking it’s going to be a big challenge training their new best friend. With Cane Corsos being a very unique and special breed, I can understand why people are worried about training a huge and powerful dog the proper way. That’s why I want to start off by saying Cane Corsos are highly intelligent and easily trainable with the right approach.
Here I want to give you a few pointers every new Cane Corso owner must know when training a Cane Corso. Training a Cane Corso requires determination, consistency and a good amount of work. You will quickly realize how quickly your new dog picks stuff up and becomes a well trained companion.
Starting Early
Not everyone will have this opportunity as your Cane Corso might not be a puppy anymore, but the best time to start training your dog is as early as possible. Ideally, it should happen at least before the dogs’ first birthday, especially with Cane Corsos since they grow up pretty fast.
If you just got a new Cane Corso puppy you can start training him with basic commands as soon as today. Just pick a simple command, have some treats with you and start training. With young puppies try keeping your training sessions short and combine them with play time and games.
If you already have a grown Cane Corso, training him might require a bit more effort and time, but with consistent work you can do it. With grown dogs keep the training sessions longer and don’t mix them with games. Always reward good behavior and remember it’s important to be patient and consistent.
Keep Calm
If you’re a dog owner you already know that dogs are very emotional beings and that they can sense when their owner is tense or angry. That means that if you’re trying to teach your Cane Corso puppy to sit while you’re anxious or angry, they will sense that. And have you ever seen an anxious dog being trained? If you have, you probably know that it’s basically impossible.
Keep calm and enjoy your training sessions with your dog. Training your Cane Corso puppy should be a fun experience both for you and your dog.
Socialize All The Time
Training a dog at home, where it’s quiet, no people or other dogs around, without any distractions is great for beginning, but it’s not nearly enough to get your dog to listen to you in a public setting. It’s completely normal to see your Cane Corso completely forget everything he learned when out in public.
Socialization is a must with Cane Corsos, and it’s also a great way to improve your training. Try doing your training sessions while taking walks or in the park. This will be one of the best things you’ll do for your dogs’ training.
Focus On The Action First
This is extremely important when training a Cane Corso puppy as they’ll get distracted easily. Let’s say you’re trying to learn the ‘sit’ command. You have your treats ready to reward your dog, you stand in front of him and you tell him to sit. And obviously nothing happens. That is because your dog doesn’t yet understand what the command means.
To start your training more effectively, gently push your dog’s bottom to the floor until he sits, and reward him when he does. That’s what focusing on action first means. Make sure the dog does the action of the command and then reward him for it, until he starts doing it on his own. It’s going to be a lot easier for him to learn what ‘Sit’ means after that.
Rewarding Good Behavior
Rewarding your dog is a crucial element of it’s training, but it doesn’t just mean giving him treats when he performs a command. It’s much more than that, and as a Cane Corso owner you need to know this.
Firstly, you can give your Cane Corso rewards even outside of training sessions. Whenever he’s doing a good job, feel free to give him a treat, or just pet him and tell him that he really did do a good job. For example, if you’re walking down the street and he’s walking by your side without pulling on the leash or trying to run off, make sure you reward that by showing affection or giving him a snack.
Secondly, rewards are not just treats. There is a lot of stuff your Cane Corso will respond to that aren’t snacks or big juicy bones. You can show him love and affection when he’s behaving well. Give your dog a hug, pet him or scratch him… Do something he likes when he deserves it and you’ll see how quickly he’ll try to get the same attention again by repeating good behavior.
Never Punish Your Dog
One of the worst things anyone can do is physically punish their dog. And I hear a lot of excuses like: Cane Corsos are big and tough, they need to be trained like this…
NO! It’s not okay to punish your Cane Corso physically whatever someone thinks!
Practice Makes Perfect
Training a Cane Corso won’t happen overnight. Being patient and consistent is key to training any dog and the more you train the better your dog will get. It’s that simple.
If you have a Cane Corso and you would like to get more detailed information about training him correctly, I recommend checking out our ‘Cane Corso Training Book. It’s filled with amazing information about how to train a Cane Corso and I guarantee you and your dog will enjoy it.
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