New puppy Cane Corso questions please.

[Ryan6648]

Good morning! I have been browsing these forums for the past month or so in preparation for Atlas our 9 month old black Cane Corso. I absolutely love the breed after interacting with a friends and couldn't get enough. Well we finally brought this little guy home on Friday and it's been as blast and tiring haha!

I just had a few questions though.

First, I notice he drinks A LOT!! I could keep putting it down and he will drink till he's full, pee every 10 minutes then go back for more. I see lots of people saying this is normal but I wanted to know if limiting his water consumption was a good idea? Maybe at every feeding for sure and a little between? He knows where the water comes from and will whine but. Don't give in if he's whining. Any advice would be great.
Second, he seems to be a bit skidish even with simple tasks as going outside the door. Not to the point of whining but sometimes he just doesn't want to go. I'm very patient with her and coerce him with treats or kiddle and onice he gets down the steps he's fine and will go "potty". Once he does this he usually wants nothing to do with outside and sometimes sprints back up he stairs and waits at the door. I've been able to keep him out longer by being patient and praises. But, if he runs to far the leash tightens and he starts to buck a little till he can move. My question s should I be waitng till he stops bucking and causing him stress or letting go and taking him off the leash then?

Third and final question (for now) I promise haha. My wife was caring for him and my daughter while I slept before work (I work nights) and Atlas was laying near the shoes and nibbling on some slippers. She firmly went over there and tried to take them away and he got defensive and growled and showed a little teeth. What would be he proper way to deal with the behavior? She told him no in a stern voice and he seemed to acknowledge it but I don't want these small things happening with my daughter.

I have sat the family down well before and went over all th do's and dont's and everyone has been doing great minus the little one running around a bit too much around him.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for anyone that took the time to read this long rant. I just want to make sure I'm providing the best possible environment that I can. Feel free to give any helpful tips or advice.

-Ryan

 

[PrinceLorde13]

Hey first off congrats on your awesome new puppy, I'm sure you will wind up with lots of great advise on here, I'll offer my two cents and hopefully some helps. First with the water this was something my male did the first few months here, as long as it's not causing other problems, diarrhea, constant urination, I would not limit his water you'd be amazed what they can need while growing active pups. About the skiddishness, don't think that's a word, that is very common and can last anywhere from a month to six or more depending on many factors. With my guys I never force them physically, I give them a choice that becomes increasingly more limited. If they don't want to go out or go somewhere I just stand in front of them corralling them the direction I want, do not make it fun for them and just don't give up, I've only had to do this a couple times they seem to learn pretty good that it's just not worth the hassle for them. When on leash with the bucking or refusal to move, again don't force but do not give in, let them buck let them pull, you stay still, I've found a "choke collar" to be a big help here for me, once the pulling ends try to get them to go again, it might take a couple minuets patience is key here. Now with the growling, this is something I've never personally had to deal with, I'm gonna tell you why I think that is and hopefully it can help you. From day one I make it very clear to our dogs that the home and EVERYTHING in it is mine, they are allowed to use what I say and on my terms. I'm not mean about it but I regularly will just walk over and take a toy from my pups, I'll withhold it until they loses interest or I feel they had a good enough reaction to it being removed and then I return it, while eating I take the food away, give them commands to stop eating and make them wait a few min to start again, and I even reach my hand in the dish and take a handful out to gauge their reaction, I've yet to be growled at other then day 1 with my female when I was trying to get her to move so I could clean a mess she made. Hope any of this helped and good luck with your adorable dog!

 

[Ryan6648]

Thank you very much for the response and helpful advice I will definitely take it all into consideration. As for the water situation, that is all he ever seems to want and he does urinate like a mad man. Once he drinks he's ready to pee within 10 minutes so I'm not sure if by limiting him he will be fine or what. He whines a bit and looks towards the bowl of water but quickly gets over it and starts doing other things.

As for the growling I do currently hand feed hm at times and let the other family members do the same. I occasionally take his toys away and food and make him wait a little bit but not long. Still working on being scared of certain things soon hope that just comes with time.

I have puppy socialization every Saturday and Sunday scheduled and will be calling a trainer today for early classes.

 

[season]

Did you get it from a reputable breeder? Did you do your homework on the breeder? Did you check out their dogs/litter before purchase? Unfortunately there are a lot of "backyard" breeders popping up due to the popularity boom of this breed. It's sad and unfortunate....do you have a contract from your breeder?

 

[PrinceLorde13]

Oops I also forgot to mention time, time and patience. Corsos tend to be heavy bonders and want to give you all the love and obedience they have, but they can take time to form a full trust bond several months or more in some cases

 

[Ryan6648]

I asked myself all of these questions far in advance and have done plenty of research on it all. I had met the breeders ahead of time and sat down and was told a background and bloodline of the dogs. I have paperwork and have just sent my information into register him with ICCF. I was very cautious the entire way and feel I made a great choice with he breeder. Yes I have a contract as well. Everything seems legit as far as I can tell and I stary in contact with him regularly as does he asking how atlas is doing and if I have any questions.

 

[Ryan6648]

Oops I also forgot to mention time, time and patience. Corsos tend to be heavy bonders and want to give you all the love and obedience they have, but they can take time to form a full trust bond several months or more in some cases

Very good to know! I had read about this also but hearing it directly from someone just seems to assure myself. Doing my best to get as much info as I can! Thank you for all the advice.

 

[enzo_canecorso]

My little (okay maybe not) CC, Enzo is just over 4 months and he is still obsessed with drinking water. We constantly say "be ready to take Enzo out, he's camel-ing up" ha ha. The only time I limit his water is right before bed or if I know we are going to be gone for a while and he will be in his kennel. I've never had a dog drink like he does. We havent experianced any toy/food growling yet, although I am sure we will have to deal with it at some point.

 

[Ryan6648]

Exactly! I have never seen a puppy down this much water. I filled it up to see if he had a limit and he does haha. He's in a little puppy coma now from eating and getting a full belly of water with it. Glad to see I'm not alone! I Will continue to give him water like normal then and restrict it a bit before bed time.

 

[season]

I asked myself all of these questions far in advance and have done plenty of research on it all. I had met the breeders ahead of time and sat down and was told a background and bloodline of the dogs. I have paperwork and have just sent my information into register him with ICCF. I was very cautious the entire way and feel I made a great choice with he breeder. Yes I have a contract as well. Everything seems legit as far as I can tell and I stary in contact with him regularly as does he asking how atlas is doing and if I have any questions.

Ok, good, then that's one less thing you need to worry about. If you need any advice feel free to ask for help....I'd be happy to help. Just PM me.

 

[HeatherA]

I don't leave the water bowl for them to drink all they want, I put it down let them drink before we go do potty breaks if i left it out i would live outside LOL.
with the leash I would stop and wait until whomever i had on stopped jumping around and then we would move on if they started acting like a fool again I would stop again. learned to be on the leash is work for sure but they pick it up pretty fast and are great at paying attention to what their human wants.
I am a stay at home mom so I have all day to work on training my babies every minute is a leason and they are fast learners.

 

[HeatherA]

P.S. welcome to the forum your little guy is a cutie!! and Atlas is a great name!

 

[Ryan6648]

Thank you for all of the support and I am crazy happy to be apart of this community! I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to come! Just means I'm head over heels for this little fella. Thank you for all the kjnd words. Atlas seems to be doing great so so far.

 

[DennasMom]

Well... I posted on your other note in the raw food forum...

Is your pup 9 months or 9 weeks old??

He's a cutie, for sure!!

 

[Arivera1125]

Your puppy is adorable!!! You will surely get tons of great information from members of this forum. Atlas is adorable! PrinceLorde13 hit the nail on the head when saying everything in the house belongs to him. An entitled puppy will bring a lot more grief later on. I interrupt my boy Chief, 6 months, when he's eating all of the time. I also pet him often and remove toys he's extremely interested in so that he understands that he gets to play and do things ONLY when I allow him to. Another thing I would suggest is to get Atlas used to being pet on his paws, ears, and near his face. This will come in handy during future vet visits. I would also begin teaching him the commands of sit and leave it (get your mouth off of whatever it's on) ASAP. These two commands will be your best friends as he matures into a mischievous puppy. Lastly, Chief's leash has been such a great training tool and we use it indoors all of the time. My suggestion would be to limit how much freedom Atlas has within the house at least until he's fully potty trained. Plus, puppies need to be taught how to act when on a leash. Good luck and I look forward to watching Atlas grow through the forum. Ooopps, I almost forgot! What brand food is Atlas currently eating? Thanks to this forum, we have learned how important it is to choose the right food for our CC pup.

 

[Ryan6648]

I mistakenly made that other post in the wrong section sorry about that. Atlas is 9 weeks old. He is currently eating Acana Pacific and seems to be in love with it. I tend to have an easier time but when it's time for me to goto bed the wide and daughter stress out a bit. His mouthing gets overwhelming and he doesn't respond mich to "no". I make sure everyone plays with his paws and ears and pets him lots even while eating. I take his toys away and he's fine with it and also his food. My biggest concern is obviously the safety of my family and I think once we can push past the initial overwhelming surge everything will be fine.

He did very well today a big thank you to all who posted. He had 0 incidents with growling or any behavior related to that. No accidents in the house either. He amazes me as the days go by, Definitrly getting his own mischevoous personality haha. I just don't want my young daughter to be scared and his small mouthing does scare her. I correct him immediately and they are never left alone. Keep the advice coming pleqse. More the merrier!

And thank you, a lot. Means so much having people to talk to and ask questions.

 

[HeatherA]

my youngest just turned 6 and she was so scared of the puppies at first with their jumping and mouthing and all out overwhelming being around we had to train then all the kids and the puppies if one of the pups got to excited i.e. mouthing jumping chasing we put the pup in a sit and re directed with a rope or bone if that did not calm the pup from their wanting to chew i simply roll their bottem lip over their bottom teeth and press down then they see how hard they are being and stop. it works great for me after a few times no more mouthing, well let me take that back no more out of control mouthing Mystery still loves to chew on mommy but I am the only one she chews on and not hard. back to my 6 yr old she takes the leash she controls the pups she tells them down, out and sit when need be and they obey her. all 6 of my kids teach the pups right alongside me and have responibities with the pups. child interaction rather that sidelines is the best wat to teach the pup that those kids are their kids to listen to and protect.
how old is your daughter?

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Welcome to both you an Atlas!

Sorry guys some don't grow out of that irritating habit of being water buffalo, I have an almost 4 year old that still does it and you could keep a pool full of water and she would drink it all. She loves it swims while drinking, it honestly is a pain and requires constant watching as the house in back of ours dug a pond 2 years ago .

Puppies aren't always fun things when kids are small and if they are a more lets call them "stubborn" or "naughty" with those teeth or paws than it makes them less so. Correct the puppy gently and show him a more appropriate game to pay with your little girl. It will get better when your daughter understands and is older but it dos take time.

 

[Ryan6648]

My daughter is 2 1/2 and is absolutely in love with animals and Atlas but I can tell and she sometimes tells me she is scared of him because of the mouthing. I have tried to redirect him with chew toys and sometimes that works. Other times I will say ouch and stop playing with him for 10 seconds when his teeth hit my skin. It definitely puts a lot of strain in the house but I keep telling myself that things will get better. I just hope I didn't make a mistake and get the pup too soon for my young daughter. She's my number 1 no matter what. Anyways, off to work, gotta love nights. Then once I get off work it's back to puppy time till 4pm then a couple hours of sleep blahhhh. Tiring. Haha. Thanks for all the info still. Loving it.

 

[karennj]

2.5 is really little. If he is mouthing during play make a puppy ouch noise then immediately get up and walk to he closest room with a door and close it behind you. He should learn pretty quick that biting makes you disappear. Keep doing it EVERY time. Consistency is key. He wants your attention and if you leave he should learn fast. I would limit interactions with your daughter when he is overly playful or has too much energy. Any time he is able to mouth her it reinforces the behavior. Maybe put him on leash if he is not tired and she is around so you can control him. Before they interact try to tire him out with play/romping around. Try to teach your child to put a toy in his mouth when he comes to her.