News
BCCS Response to BBC's "Wonderland"
The British Cane Corso Society would like to address some of the issues raised in the BBC programme ‘Wonderland: Seven Puppies for Seven People’ screened on BBC2 on Thursday the 12th of November. A Corso was featured mid-programme and described by its owner as capable of biting both children and adults.
Firstly we would like to address the quality of research carried out by the programme’s team about the breed; starting with the mis-pronunciation of the breed name as ‘Corsa’. Whilst it may seem a small point, the breed name is pronounced ‘Kah-nay Corsoh’ (Cane being derived from the Latin ‘Canae’ meaning ‘dog’ and retaining that pronunciation) and Corso being credited as meaning many things, the most prevailing being ‘fence runner’. Not quite as romantic or awe-inspiring as the programmes version but true nonetheless.
The breed is not, nor has it ever been historically noted as a Mafia guard dog, even though it does hail from Southern Italy.
The breed has been utilised as a farmstead and flock guardian, as well as a family companion as far back as any records show.
The breed was near extinction as little as 40 years ago and only the dedicated and passionate work of Corso enthusiasts has brought it back from the brink to become the popular family pet and working dog it is today. The breed is no more used as a terrifying guardian breed by the majority of UK Corso owners than the majority of UK Hungarian Kuvasz owners use theirs for guarding sheep on a mountainside!
Like the Staffies featured in the programme, the breed is not by nature aggressive, but sadly a minority of owners seem determined to make them so.
We were disappointed to hear that Donna Patterson has problems with Kane’s behaviour in that she has no control over his aggression; the British Cane Corso Society and Friends of Cane Corso would like to offer the services of their behavioural team at no cost to Donna should she wish to address Kane’s problems and make him the ambassador for large dogs that all Corsos can, and indeed should be.
We have Corso PAT dogs, blood donors, sheep and cattle herders, tracking and field dogs, and are very much looking forward to our first Cane Corso police dog in 2010, as well as many much-loved family pets. We offer the widest range of expertise in the Corso in the UK and the entire BCCS is at Donna’s, and indeed any other owner’s, disposal at any time.
We were pleased as a group to see the programme showing the reality of breeding a litter in the UK, whilst many people are attracted by the many adverts showing puppies retailing at (in the case of the Corso) up to £1500, there are no adverts showing how incredibly hard it is to find the right homes, nor how many puppies remain unsold or are returned to their breeder. There are no adverts displaying the high costs of breeding a quality litter with all the appropriate health tests and knowledge required to really add something to the UK gene pool in health, temperament and type.
Should The BBC wish to include a Corso in its programming in future, or if anyone would like advice, information and the truth about this wonderful breed, and to see them in their family homes, then we would urge them to visit our websites at www.canecorso.org.uk (the BCCS official website with information and history of the breed) and www.thefocc.com (for our owners site featuring advice on everything from finding the right breeder to behaviour and training from people across the World who own a Cane Corso).
Yours sincerely,
Joanne Lueck
President of the British Cane Corso Society
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