COLORS & PATTERNS

Standard Colors:

1. Black

2. Grey (Blue)

3. Fawn - Blue Fawn: "Formentino" - Black Fawn: "Fulvo"

4. Brindle Pattern (of Black or Blue Color)

The Cane Corso's coat comes in a variety of colors, each with a rich history and significance.

During the breed's recovery in the '80s, it was decided not to prefer any particular color but to consider all the tones that history and tradition had given us. At that time, the colors mainly consisted of black, dark brindle, gray, and fawn.

The color often corresponded to the dog's function and the region it inhabited, with specific colors linked to particular attributes.

For example, black coats were preferred by pig and goat breeders, and they were also much used by cowboys.

Dark brindles were chosen for wild boar hunts and were much used for herding.

The gray coat color was the favorite of cowboys and herders, while a fawn color was preferred for badger and sometimes wild boar hunting, as well as by goatherds.

A white band or spot on the nose was much appreciated at that time.

In conclusion, we should remember that there are many straw-colored dogs immortalized in the iconography of the Cane Corso.

Non-Standard Colors:

Apart from the colors written in the standard, some colors do occur in the breed that are not accepted yet by dog shows, stating them as disqualifying, and they are not accepted in the Dog Show ring.

DQ colors can still win working titles and be registered with ICCF, AKC, and UKC.

These colors usually remain hidden in their genetics for decades and, with accidental or planned "right" pairing, these colors can come to life.

These colors are undoubtedly true Cane Corso, showing all the breed traits and being born from pedigreed parents, just like any other standard-colored puppies.

In most cases, a few tan pointed puppies are born out of a litter where most of them are standard colors.

So genetically, color and pattern do not make them any less purebred but surely unique and demanding, as not as many existing.

Unfortunately, for many years, and even today, we hear horror stories of some standard nazi-breeders throwing these puppies out at birth or hiding them from the public, believing that these colors may make people think they're mixed breeds or a breeding failure.

This D.Q. color-hating campaign was also present with other breeds like French Bulldogs and English bulldogs in 2012. Then, many breeders started rumors that it was destroying the breed or how unhealthy these colors were.

So much hating and misunderstanding were going around about the D.Q. colors.

Nowadays, we mainly see D.Q. colors from them too. And I personally know breeders who were the biggest haters of all while secretly breeding D.Q.'s. Some are open about it.

Facts that these diluted colors and patterns - compared to other basic colors - have more demand in any breeds which likely contain a psychological explanation as reason.

Neither of these colors will make them more unhealthy than standard colors! Without you being an expert and logically thinking through, how is it possible that one breed, let's say, for example, a Weimaraner, lilac, is a standard color or tan point in Dobermann is standard, but in another breed is unhealthy?

I bet you know the answer! However, it's often claimed that diluted dogs are less healthy than those with normal pigment.

This misconception has most likely come from the prevalence in some breeds of a condition known as Color Dilution Alopecia (CDA).

Color Dilution Alopecia affects the coat texture and length only, and NOT all breeds or dilute dogs are affected. The majority of blues and Isabella's (lilac/tawny) are completely healthy, and as testing is not currently available, the best way to avoid CDA is to only breed dilute dogs with normal coats.

Furthermore, some breeders claim that dilute dogs should never be bred together.

There is no genetic basis for this claim.  In fact, breeding healthy dilute to healthy dilute is the only way to reduce CDA in lines (until testing becomes available), and breeds that come only in dilute (e.g., Weimaraner) or have a very high incidence of dilute are far less likely to have CDA.

There is also some scientific research about life longevity in colors. The brindle patterned dogs live the longest on average. The possible relationship between median lifespan and hair color within one breed has so far not been examined.

This paper describes the relationship between median lifespan and hair color.

The median age at death of the examined group of Cane Corso Italiano breed dogs is 9.29 years. The median lifespan of black brindle-colored dogs (10.30 years) exceeded the overall median lifespan by 1.01 year. The median lifespan of brindle dogs (10.13 years) and grey brindle dogs (9.84 years) also exceeded the overall median lifespan (9.29 years). Source: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tripoli https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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The D.Q. colors and patterns that are most often met in the breed of the Cane Corso:

1. The TAN POINTS. They can be present in any clear color. - Black-and-tan: atatB-D-Em-kk - Gray-and-tan: atatB-ddEm-kk - Black and tan brindle: atatB-D-Em-kbr - Gray with tan brindle: atatB-ddEm-kbr

2. CHOCOLATE BROWN, "Marrone", this color can be found as a standard color in the Mastino Napolitano called

"mahogany" Ay-bbD-Em-K-.

3. The LILAC, "Isabella", is also a standard color in the Mastino Napolitano called "Tawny",

this color is lilac-pinkish cream color: Ay-bbddEm-K-

4. STRAW, it's a cream almost white color without a mask (recessive e-fawn). In "ee" cream variation, the dogs have no black hair at all on their body.

  There are 3 types of STRAW:

- Fawn color without a mask with black lips, eyes, and a black nose: B-D-ee

- Fawn color without a mask with brown lips, eyes, and a brown nose: G-bbD-ee

- Fawn color without a mask with gray lips, eyes, and a gray nose: B-ddee

PINK