I was asked a question as to what my definition of this dog was the other day, now I guess the enthusiasts will have seen the old breed standard which is headed Mastino Napolitano/Cane da Presa/Cane Corso. Which would lead us to believe that in fact there is a good possibility of them being terms for the same dog.

Clearly the modern day show variety Mastino Napolitano has taken an extreme change to its former self as has the Cane Corso, both enthusiasts of each breed claiming to work harder to correct this type. Just how far they are prepared to go in the direction of the traditional variety remains to be seen.

So if we consider these were one of the same breed but of different varieties are we to assume MN, CDP & CC are to be distinguished in weight/size MN the larger heavier variety, the CC the lighter more agile type and the CDP somewhere inbetween the two?

In my time and travels spent in the south of Italy it could certainly appear that way as the finger would often be pointed in the direction of this type followed by the muttering of the words CDP
Or as in my personal opinion do we first consider the simple translation of the term Cane da Presa (Catch/hold/gripping dog) and apply this term to the type of dog functionally able to carry out this task. Yes all three varieties should physically be able to grip and hold but should there be clear visual aspects to the dog being structurally able to catch.

Keeping varieties of the breed to help me better learn and understand leaves me with no doubt which type I would choose for the task. However, I have noticed recently here in the UK that advertised were a litter of CDP and when I questioned on one of the pages linked to this litter how/why had a particular dog been labeled CDP my comments/question were deleted followed by a post advising experts to go else where and start there own FB page. I don’t consider my self an expert but if the comment was directed at me I guess I should take it as a compliment… I’m still confused that if they did consider me an expert why would they not contact and ask to discuss the breed with me.

I could only assume the response was one of an Internet educated breeder who thinks if they cross a MN with a CC hey presto we have a CDP… to my knowledge there are very few traditional types here in the UK to even try that successfully and if there were more I would love the opportunity to meet and discuss theories with owners in particular how they define the CDP opposed to using the term to draw attention to help sell a litter of pups.

This small article was written by Mr K James from Olive Retreat Molise.