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Cane Corso Fear Period(s)

Ksherm

New Member
Hello all,

My girlfriend and I recently got a Corso pup. We got her at about 8 weeks. She is almost 14 weeks now. Since then she has been extremely outgoing, confident and not scared of anything.

Over the last week or two she seems to be getting scared of everything. A saw at a construction site, sudden noises, people dropping things. She is apprehensive about strangers, but still wags her tail. When she gets comfortable she lets them pet her and wags her tail. We have been actively socializing her since we got her. There are a ton of dogs in our busy Los Angeles neighborhood, where she gets two walks a day. There is always someone who wants to stop and pet her. We've brought her to parks, the beach, she just started puppy kindergarten. We have one other dog and a cat. She has no issues at the vet. We are very proactive about making sure she turns out perfect due to the repercussions of having a misbehaving corso.

I've read that Mastiffs and other giant breeds mature at a slower rate. Is it possible that Skye is going through a late first fear period? She didn't show any signs of fear during what i've read a normal fear period to be (8-12 weeks). Have any other Mastiff owners noticed variations in the fear stage? We are EXTREMELY concerned about it because we obviously don't want any behavioral issues with such a potentially dangerous breed. The breeders other dogs had wonderful temperaments, so I don't think it is genetic.

Any information would be great! I'm happy to include any info I may have missed!
 

bellareea320

Well-Known Member
I have a 6 month old cc and she skipped the 8-12 week fear and started a around 16 weeks and we are still working on it now. She doesnt get agressive but rather pulls back away (flight) from the situation or just sits and shuts down. With our training slowly she is building confidence. Just continue to do what your doing and use positive reinforcements. Dont feel bad for her because this will reinforce the fearful behavior. If she has a fear episode try to stay calm and wait until it passes or she adjusts to it. Luna gets scared of cars going really fast or if there are alot of noises on our walks, so I put her in sit and wait until the hair on her back goes back down and then start walking and praise her while she walks. some CC like any dog mature slower or faster, some may never be very confident so you have to read your pup and help them along with out frustration. They are learning new things everyday so the first reaction isint as important as the way they can adjust to the actual situation if that makes sense. Good LUck and Welcome to the board!
 

Cody

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the world of the CC lol.
They go through a few of the fear stages, on and off until close to 1.5 years. They come and go. Just keep doing what you are doing, don't give in or try to console. Ignore the fear and praise he social. Hell we had to sit beside a cement mixer with a guy hosing the sidewalk for a good 5 minutes the other day until Dumdum (17 months) realized it wasn't scary after all. poor Aurora kept giving him the stink eye lol for being so goofy. Even worse was the guy cleaning the sidewalk I front of the mixer. Was pretty sure he was on the verge of crapping his pants lol.
It will go away soon enough.
 

Little Monster

Well-Known Member
8-12 weeks is a guide line, just like people, ever dog is different. Fear periods aren't just a time when your dog, Corso or not, is very fearful but also very impressionable. Typically, if something traumatic happens during a fear period, that can haunt the dog the rest of his or her life. For example- if a pup is bitten by or overly corrected by another dog during a fear period, that could cause the pup to fear dogs and react whenever he or she sees one. Continue to socialize, but I would keep it low key. Read her body language. If she is afraid of a person approaching, don't just throw her at the person. Ask the person to crouch down and turn sideways while being sure not to lean towards your pup. This is a very non threatening display. Give that person treats to offer your pup but don't push her. I am not suggesting anyone here is saying this- but putting a puppy who is socially fearful in a public park with running and screaming kids or a petstore with thousands of smells and tons of people oogling- that's asking for disaster. You have to go at her pace. Don't force her but certainly don't ignore it or feed it. Corsos are defensive by nature (genetics) and she will need work like this well past her adolesence. Good luck and be sure to reward the behaviors you want.
 

bellareea320

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the world of the CC lol.
They go through a few of the fear stages, on and off until close to 1.5 years. They come and go. Just keep doing what you are doing, don't give in or try to console. Ignore the fear and praise he social. Hell we had to sit beside a cement mixer with a guy hosing the sidewalk for a good 5 minutes the other day until Dumdum (17 months) realized it wasn't scary after all. poor Aurora kept giving him the stink eye lol for being so goofy. Even worse was the guy cleaning the sidewalk I front of the mixer. Was pretty sure he was on the verge of crapping his pants lol.
It will go away soon enough.

Some of the stories I read on here about CC are great. Aurora has some personality and you describe her actions great!!!
 

jersey girl

Well-Known Member
I agree with Little Monster...if something happens to your pup during a fear stage, or in my opinion, while she is a puppy, it can be a problem for the rest of her life. I have an 11 month old Corso and we took her to several classes at Petsmart. The instructors were very positive and nice, but not many of them don't understand dog behavior or the traits different breeds have. During our first puppy class my girl was 16 weeks and there was a female Pittbull rescue in the class as well. She was so sweet to humans, but not the puppies. She wanted to kill my girl...the instructors just kept laughing saying..."they are playing, they need to work it out." All the other puppies submitted to the Pittbull, but not my girl....and there is the issue...Corsos will not typically submitt to another dog, and this Pittbull wasn't going to stop. The owner had zero control over her. I scooped my girl up and left. The other owner ended up dropping out of the class after this incident and my girl went on to make lots of friends and is great with most dogs today. She even obtained her CGC. Remember, your pup is counting on you to protect them at this stage. Don't force dogs or people upon them. Best of luck with her...I am thrilled we went with this breed!
 

Cody

Well-Known Member
Absolutely ---^---- a CC may not start anything, but they will certainly finish it.
I am in between with dealing with fear periods. I won't necessarily force them into situations, but I will not remove them from them. I will force them to be near the object that is scaring them, I won't allow them to lean on me. I will ignore unwanted behavior but will make the dog stay until they relax and stop focusing on the fear. Then near the object of terror I start doing training exercises, rewarding the shift of focus to myself. An example, if a dog spooks near a shopping cart,I will get a shopping cart and walk with the dog with the cart around and around and yet around until he/she just doesn't care anymore. During this time we also stop, sit, play with toys it becomes fun. As for people approaching, I continue to go to busy areas, sit on patios and people watch with my dogs. If the dog is spooked I ask them to please not touch, eventually I find that the dog is pulling towards the people walking by. Also if you can find drop in groups for Rally or training in the area it helps build that confidence. as for sounds I am constantly throwing things on my tile floor at home, lol, my dogs just look at me like I am a lunatic. I am not worried if they startle, what I look for is the recovery, how fast they return to look at the object.
Some may not agree with what I do, but I expect my dogs to be rock solid when they mature. I want to be able to go anywhere, do anything and be prepared for any situation.
So far so good :)