key points for your New Corso Puppy

Food

It is important to keep new puppies on the same food as they were eating at the breeder’s house.  We recommend keeping them on the same puppy food until 4-6 months of age and then transitioning them to an appropriate adult formula of a brand you wish to use.  Keeping them on the same puppy food can reduce loose stools and minimize upsetting their gastrointestinal system during a time when they have a lot of other changes going on in their lives.

We use and recommend Inukshuk Marine 16 for growing puppies and older adults and Inukshuk Marine 25 formula for very active adults. Inukshuk is a family-owned and operated pet food company based in Canada that formulates their food line for professional sled dog teams and similar high energy working and performance dogs. You can order Inukshuk online at Chewy.com or other retailers.

Kennel

Each of our puppies is used to spending some time in a plastic Vari-Kennel.  We prefer to use the wire kennels with our dogs as it helps create a secure “den” like area.  Most of our dogs prefer sleeping in their enclosed kennels and willingly seek out alone time in their kennels if they are feeling overwhelmed with activity in the house.  We strongly encourage the use of a safe space for your dog to utilize during times of discomfort or stress throughout their lives.

Be sure to spend some time with your dog kenneled even while you are home so he/she can learn to spend time calmly and quietly in their kennel and reduce the possibility of separation anxiety as the pup ages.  Cane Corsos are VERY devoted to their owners so they need to learn to be confident, calm puppies/dogs when they do spend time alone.  This is something that tends to present during the young adult stage of the puppy’s life: 6-18 months of age.

Toys

Puppies are little chewing machines!  Puppies chew in part because they are learning about their environment and in part because they go through a few teething phases and chewing helps alleviate some of the pain of teething

We use and recommend a few durable brands as Corsos tend to be rather strong chewers!  Cheap, soft, plush toys are great at this young age, but remember they will eventually learn to destroy toys and it is beneficial to buy some good toys that will hold up to them!

Successful toys in our house:

  • Jolly Pets - great for outdoor play items: Jolly balls & Jolly eggs

  • Tuffy’s - great for a durable stuffed toy, watch for stuffing removal

  • Kong - have quite a variety of rubber toys: balls, bones, etc

  • Nylabone - great durable chew items: many, many sizes/varieties

  • Gorilla chews - REAL wood that lasts! Our favorite toy!

  • Benebone - great durable chew item: good flavors with a few shapes

  • Goughnuts - excellent rubber toys with a free replacement!

  • GoDog - chew resistant dragons/animals, excellent for younger dogs

  • Westpaw - pretty good rubber toys, jive ball especially good!

  • Buffalo Horns - all natural horns from water buffalos

Grooming

Bathing:

  • Bathing should be a regular routine that each puppy should be exposed to early on. It is best not to bath adult dogs more than every 6-8 weeks as bathing actually strips their coat of good oils.

  • Use a high quality puppy shampoo for the first few months then switch over to other formulas if you wish at an older age. Puppy shampoos are formulated to be easy on the eyes and other mucous membranes while a puppy is still exploring the world.

Nail Care:

  • We started the puppies off on a dremel at 2 weeks of age and used routinely as they grew.  Dremeling is an unusual feeling to adapt to but overall they have all tolerated it well.  It has the benefit of being easy to use and you don’t knick their quick. 

  • It is best used with quick, brief nail touches so the dremel doesn’t get too warm with continued contact.  Used routinely (every week or two is a good idea) helps keep nails short and comfortable.  You should not hear the nails click on the floor when the dog walks, that means they are too long.  Long nails can actually cause toe discomfort and affect their other joints as they try to compensate.

Ear Care:

  • Use a gentle ear cleaning formula to clean your pups ears on a regular basis. Most ear cleaners are an alcohol based formula that will evaporate shortly after use to help keep the ear canal dry.

  • Be cognizant of smelling or itchy ears as this is often an early sign of infection and should be checked out by a licensed veterinarian.