How Much Does a Cane Corso Cost? Puppy Prices and Monthly Expenses

If you are thinking about getting a Cane Corso puppy, you better know what to expect financially. And I don’t just mean what the puppy costs itself. We are talking about all the initial costs, the vet bills, the food, the equipment, the toys, etc. After talking with many breeders and being in the industry for many years myself, I can tell you precisely how much you can expect to pay for a Cane Corso.

How much does a Cane Corso cost? The average price of a Cane Corso puppy from a reputable breeder is between $1500 and $3500. It depends mainly on the quality of the puppy. Pet quality Corsos will be closer to $1500, while a show quality Cane Corso will be closer to $3500.

This price range is for Cane Corso puppies from reputable breeders in the United States, but it will still vary on the breeder’s location, the pup’s bloodline, whether the pup is cropped or not, etc. However, one thing to keep in mind is that besides the one-time cost of the puppy itself, there are many other expenses you have to budget for, especially in the first year of Cane Corso ownership. If you are ready, pull out your ledger, and let’s work out how much will your new pup cost you every month for the rest of his life.

Purebred Cane Corso Puppy Price

Cost: $1500-$3500

Start saving up. Purebred puppies from responsible breeding programs do not come cheap, and they shouldn’t. The price of a Cane Corso puppy is between $1500 and $3500, and justifiably so.

A reputable breeder made serious sacrifices for this puppy. He purchased the best dogs, sometimes from thousands of miles away. He planned the best mating, often with studs from afar at a very high price. He took his dogs to shows in many countries. He paid for training, travel expenses, accommodation, show fees, and often professional handlers in order to qualify his Corsos for mating and to obtain great results in shows all over the world.

The reputable breeder has offered the best care, food, and supplements both for the pregnant female and for your puppy after its birth. This included high vet bills, ultrasounds, progesterone testing, sometimes C-sections, vaccinations, dewormings, vet checkups, passports and health books, tail docking, and sometimes ear cropping.

He bought new collars, new toys, new leashes, etc. He spent many hours every day cleaning, feeding, and most importantly, socializing and working with each and every puppy.

When you are buying a purebred puppy, you are buying a small legacy of a breeder’s work, his days, weeks, months spent caring for the dogs, his huge investments in them, and his vision about the breed.

However, there are some factors that can affect the price of a Cane Corso puppy. Such as:

Ear Cropping – The ideal age for cropping a Cane Corso is between 8 and 12 weeks. Good breeders never separate a puppy from their mother and littermates before 8 weeks since it’s a crucial socialization period for them. Meaning that many breeders will sell pups with their ears already cropped and will calculate that cost into the final price of the puppy.
Bloodline – If a puppy comes from a bloodline of Cane Corsos that are historically proven to be top quality and winners of many shows, you can expect that it will cost more.
Breeder Reputation – Even amongst excellent breeders, there are ones that stand out. If you want to get a puppy from a breeder that’s known far and wide for their accomplishments and champion bloodlines, be sure that the demand is high and that the waiting list is long. Exactly that availability is what can drive the prices up so high.
Location – The actual location of the breeder is important. Some states have higher costs of living, which will impact the price of a puppy. Additionally, the local supply and demand will also dictate the prices. If you live in an area where Cane Corsos are not the breed of choice and breeders can’t find buyers, the prices will be lower, and vice versa.
Color – The color shouldn’t affect the price of the puppy. However, some breeders will attempt to put a premium price tag on “rare” colored puppies. Stay away from such breeders, the price of the puppy is determined by the quality of breeding, health, and overall appearance, not the color of its coat!

A puppy from any reputable Cane Corso breeder will come with kennel club papers, health tests, the first round of vaccinations, written health guarantees, tail docked, etc. So there was no need to list these things since they are to be expected.

Avoid Unethical and Irresponsible Breeders

I’m well aware that you can find a puppy for $600 or even less. But it’s definitely a good thing to be wary about the quality of the pup you are getting if the price is unrealistically low. Anything under $1500 is a red flag, and you should probably question it and look into the breeder, his practices, reputation, and all that stuff.

Unfortunately, with our beloved Cane Corso getting increasingly popular, shady practitioners are popping up everywhere, looking to make a quick buck while selling low-quality dogs that usually have health problems, inbred diseases, and even injuries due to poor living conditions.

If you want to learn more about how such unethical breeding is ruining our beloved Cane Corso, and why you should never buy a puppy from a puppy mill or a backyard breeder, read our article on what defines a reputable breeder.

When you are buying a cheap puppy from a puppy mill or a backyard breeder, you are destroying a breed and the work of the people who have gone far and beyond to preserve it.

Initial Necessities

Cost: $690

Another cost is, of course, the initial necessities. I know you’re excited to bring your adorable little Corso puppy home, but before you do, I advise you to prepare in advance everything the puppy will need. I remember how excited I was when I was bringing my first puppy home that I forgot half the things I planned to buy and I think I made three re-trips to the pet store.

Make a list before you go shopping so you don’t forget all the things your puppy will need, but also so you don’t get too excited and haul a ton of stuff you don’t really need right now.

To help you out, I’ve compiled a short list of absolutely necessary items that every owner needs to provide for their puppy.

Type of Expense	Cost
Dog Crate	$150
Dog Bed	$65
Quality Puppy Food	$85
Treats	$20
Toys	$40
Collar, Leash, and Other Gear	$60
Food & Water Bowls	$15
Poop Bags, Training Pads, and Other Supplies	$25
Vaccines	$100
Deworming, Flea, and Tick Meds	$60
Health Insurance	$50
Dog License	$20
TOTAL	$690

All values are rounded up to the nearest dollar and are meant to give you a perspective of the initial costs of Cane Corso ownership. The price of the puppy is excluded here.

Unfortunately, standard pet insurance plans only cover accidental injury and any illnesses and diseases your Corso may contract. Things like neutering, deworming, vaccinations, and vet visits will come out of your own pocket.

Also, ear cropping is something you want to do straight away when you get your pup unless the breeder already took care of it. I decided not to put it on the list because it’s not a necessity per se, but cropped ears are a part of the breed standard and it’s something we advocate for and encourage all owners to do.

After getting ear cropping price quotes from ten different vets around the U.S., I can safely say that, on average, an ear cropping procedure for a Cane Corso will cost you about $600.

Table of Cane Corso puppy prices and all additional start-up costs of raising a Cane Corso. — All values are rounded up to the nearest dollar.

The First-Year Cost of Cane Corso Ownership

Cost: $4,565

According to the ASPCA, the first-year cost (which also tends to be the most expensive year) of owning a large-breed dog exceeds a little over $3000. This doesn’t include the cost of the puppy itself, just the cost of caring for the dog. Let’s see how accurate their calculation is.

For the sake of keeping costs at a minimum, Let’s just say that you want a pet-quality Cane Corso because that’s what you’re looking for, a really good family companion and not a show dog.

Type of Expense	Cost
Purebred Cane Corso Puppy	$1500
Food & Treats	$1050
Toys	$60
Crate	$150
Bed	$65
Other Supplies (see below)	$175
Health Insurance	$600
Vaccines	$175
Deworming, Flea, and Tick Meds	$120
Microchipping / ID Tag	$50
Neutering	$0
Ear Cropping	$600
Dog License	$20
TOTAL	$4,565

All values are rounded up to the nearest dollar. “Other Supplies” includes things like bowls, leashes, collars, poop bags, training pads, grooming equipment, shampoos, first-aid kit, etc.

I think the ASPCA was right on the money with this one. $4,565 in the first 12 months of owning your puppy. They did not kid when they said that the first year is significantly more expensive than the later years when your pup is all grown up.

But don’t let that dishearten you! While the initial costs may seem daunting, if you stop to think about each of the expenses on the list above, they are mostly one-time expenses that will make the subsequent years of ownership much more affordable.

For example, a high-quality, sturdy dog crate will provide a comfortable place for your Cane Corso to rest and can probably last you a lifetime. The same goes for the bed, the bowls, the leashes, the grooming equipment… Some of this stuff won’t last a lifetime of course, but they can last a couple of years at least, and you sure as hell don’t need to buy a new bed every single month.

And this is just the small stuff, the big stuff is the ear cropping, the neutering, the vaccines, and most importantly, the cost of the puppy itself. That alone is about $2500 that you will have to spend now and never again for the rest of your life.

You may have noticed that neutering was listed as $0. That wasn’t by accident. I listed it as $0 because I advocate against neutering puppies before the age of 18 months. I’m not saying that I’m against neutering as a whole, just against premature neutering, especially large breeds like Cane Corsos. But hey, it’s your personal decision. If you will be neutering your puppy in his first year, you will be looking at another $300.

Cane Corso looking at a laptop. — “No, no, this is all wrong, we need a bigger budget for treats!”

Monthly Cost of Owning a Cane Corso

Cost: $225

Phew… Now that all that is done, you can sigh in relief as it’s smooth sailing from now on. With all those initial and one-time costs out of the way, maintaining a mature Cane Corso (over 1-year-old) is relatively cheap since your expenses will mainly boil down to food.

Type of Expense	Cost
Food	$110
Treats	$20
Resupplying (see below)	$15
Health Insurance	$50
Medications (if needed)	$30
TOTAL	$225

All values are rounded up to the nearest dollar. “Resupplying” includes re-buying of toys, poop bags, etc.

I didn’t want my calculations to be biased and reflect just my personal experience, so I asked the members of our private FB group for their input in a form of a poll.

Have a look at the poll yourself and draw your own opinions from the results, as they provide valuable insight into the cost of owning a Cane Corso and will be helpful to those of you who are considering adding one to your family.

Screenshot of a Facebook poll regarding the monthly cost of feeding a Cane Corso. — The poll from our FB group “Cane Corso owners & lovers”

As you can see, the majority of members reported spending between $100 and $150 per month on food for their Corsos, some even more than that, but it’s worth noting that a big portion reported spending less than $100. Pilling up all votes together, I came up with $110 as the overall average cost, which I used in the table above when calculating the monthly expenses of owning an adult Cane Corso.

Other Potential Expenses

There are some expenses that don’t pop into mind right away when you’re thinking about raising a Cane Corso. You may or may not require many of them, but it’s better to be aware of them than to be “a day late and a dollar short.” Here are a few examples.

Training – Cane Corsos are no joke and require serious training (especially in the first year) in order to avoid problematic behavior and lead a fulfilling life with them. Some folks opt for puppy classes or certified trainers. I choose to train my Corso at home myself and I promise that you can too. Grab a copy of our new book “Raising and Training the Perfect Cane Corso” and make 2023 the year you finally own a well-trained Cane Corso!
Fences – If you have a yard and plan to utilize it so your Corso can run around and play freely there, you might want to consider building a fence. Installation of a typical 6-foot privacy fence around a regular-sized backyard, you can expect to pay between $2000 and $7000.
Daycare and Boarding – If you are working a full-time 8-hour job and don’t have anyone in the house who can take out your pup for at least a potty break, you might want to hire a dog walker. Or they may come a time when you’ll have to leave your pup behind, be it travel, an out-of-town wedding, an emergency, or something similar, you’ll need to leave your pup in a dog daycare. This can cost anywhere between $20 and $50 a day.
Property Damage – This is pretty much self-explanatory. Be prepared that until you get that training in, some furniture or a shoe here and there will probably get destroyed.
Professional Grooming – Luckily, thanks to their short coat, Cane Corsos are low maintenance when it comes to grooming. But if you decide to take him to a professional groomer from time to time, be prepared to gush out another $50 per visit.

You should save up for rainy days tough, as all you need to have is one or two medical emergencies and all of a sudden you are spending $5,000 more in medical bills. Better yet, I would advise you to get a solid health insurance plan.

How to Cut Some Costs

As loving owners, we strive to provide the very best to our pets, but as pet care costs rise, how can we save a few bucks here and there while still doing what’s best for our four-legged companions? Here are a few strategies to help you with just that.

Groom your Corso at home – Regular grooming is important for your Cane Corso’s health, but luckily their coat is easy to deal with and doesn’t require a professional hand. Consider investing in the necessary tools to groom your dog at home. With a little practice, you can save money and bond with your dog at the same time.
Homemade food – You can save money by making your own dog food at home. There’s no need to make all your food from scratch to see some savings or health benefits. You can scale back the amount of kibble you give and complement it with fresh, homemade ingredients. If you are hesitant to try homemade food, start with just making the treats at home and see how it goes.
Buy in bulk – Buying supplies such as food, toys, and treats in bulk will save you money in the long run. Plus, you’ll have a stockpile of supplies on hand, so you won’t spend the extra gas money running to the pet store every week.
Keep your Corso healthy – Apart from feeding them healthy food, you need to give your Corso plenty of exercise. Keeping your Corso active helps maintain their overall health, keeps them at a healthy weight, and perhaps most importantly, regular walks, runs, and playtime makes them happy and improves their mental health.
Training at home – Finding and hiring a reputable local trainer is all but impossible. The good ones are booked out for months! And even if you find one, the cost to hire them is beyond what most folks can afford. Our Book “Raising and Training the Perfect Cane Corso” provides the same level of training and knowledge found in an $8000 eight-week training boot camp.