The ABC’s of the Cane Corso world
Hello prospective Cane Corso owner, I hope we can provide the insights necessary for you
to navigate through the alphabet soup that is the world of the Cane Corso. When I first
got interested in this breed several years ago I was quite confused to say the least with
the different registry's, clubs and even standards. Let me try and explain some of the
differences. The International Cane Corso Federation (ICCF) is the recognized national
breed club for the Cane Corso in America. The foundation stock of the majority of the Cane
Corso's in America where brought here in the late 1980s by Michael Sottile. These dogs
where of unverifiable lineage. At the time of there importation this breed did not have a
functioning registry in Italy, thus no dogs of that era where verifiable. The Italian
equivalent to the AKC, the ENCI (Ente Nazionale Della Cinofilia Italiana) did not start to
verify or conduct breed certifications until 1990, these certifications where called Libro
Aperto or "Open Book." The Cane Corso was officially recognized as the 14 th
Italian breed by ENCI in January 21 1994. The American dogs had already been here for
quite some time prior to the start of the open book certifications. Upon there arrival the
Cane Corso was admitted into the Federation of International Canines (FIC) registry.
At that time the FIC was recognized, and to some extent still is
recognized as the primary rare breed registry. In America. Most Neapolitan Mastiffs,
Argentine Dogo's, Dogue De Bordeaux, etc., where registered with the FIC. The FIC should
not be confused with the Federation Cynologique International (FCI) The FCI governs the
rules of showing dogs in most parts of the world except the United States. The FCI is
basically an umbrella organization encompassing the individual breed clubs from member
countries i.e. ENCI, Federation Cynologique Puerto Rico (FCPR). Upon arrival and
registration in the United States the Cane Corso began to be shown in rare breed shows
throughout the United States. There conformation was judged based on a standard written by
Michael Sottile. It is possible to speculate that Sottile drafted his own standard for
this breed based on the subjects he imported, and those that he had seen on the farms of
old-timers like Umberto Leone who at the time had some of the oldest lines in Italy. I
would imagine that in 1988 it would be hard to acquire a copy of a standard for the Cane
Corso, ENCI one-year prior only ratified it in 1987. It would not be out of the realm of
possibility to speculate that in those early days of the Cane Corso's development not many
even knew of the existence of this new standard. I'm sure it took quite awhile for the
news of this standard to spread to the outlying provinces of Foggia, Bari, Puglia and
Molise. Whether the standard drafted by Sottile is an accurate description of what a Cane
Corso should be is open to much debate. In September of 1999 the ICCF comprised a
committee to explore whether changes need to be made to the existing standard (which was
basically derived from the Sottile standard) In March of 2000 a revised standard was
unveiled on the ICCF website (www.canecorso.org) this revised standard is more in
accordance with the FCI standard. There are still some differences however, the ICCF
standard has no maximum weight limit while the FCI standard allows a male to be no bigger
than 110lbs. The ICCF standard calls for a preferred level bite with scissors and reverse
scissors (light undershot) acceptable. FCI standard calls for a light undershot preferred
with a level bite being acceptable. It should be noted that if the Cane Corso where to be
recognized by the AKC that a standard would have to be drafted based on an AKC format,
hopefully the ICCF has already achieved that end. In the early 1990s Michael Sottile left
the FIC. Upon Sottile's departure from the FIC the Wilson's (Mark and Tracy) and Hodas's
(Ed and Kristy) being unhappy with the services provided by FIC broke away and formed the
ICCF club and registry. The ICCF was established as a breed specific organization
exclusively for the promotion of the Cane Corso. The ICCF soon became recognized as the
pre-eminent Cane Corso organization in this country. The American Rare Breed Association
(ARBA) Eastern Rare Breed Dog Club (ERBDC) Federation of Rare Breeds (FORB) Rare Heirs dog
club (RH) all recognizes the ICCF registry and utilize the ICCF standard for their shows.
The Wilson's and Hodas's' soon embarked on improving strained relations between Societa
Amatori Cane Corso in Italy (SACC) and the US. All told they made four trips to Italy,
while there they managed to video tape many shows and certifications. Many of the top Cane
Corso s in America owe their lineage to dogs brought back from Italy by the Wilson's and
Hodas's'. Then ICCF President Mark Wilson in particular developed an amiable relationship
with the SACC; in fact the ICCF even adopted the SACC/ENCI standard for a time. Soon
thereafter for personal reasons the Wilson's left the ICCF. After the departure of the
Wilson's the ICCF was reorganized. The club and registry where separated with the club
drafting new by-laws and code of ethics modeled after the AKC. Executive and Directors
board positions where established in addition to the naming of Regional Vice-presidents
throughout out the country. The ICCF functions under these guideline today and is enjoying
unprecedented popularity based on the strength of its membership and dedication of its
Board members. As of this writing the ICCF is the largest and most progressive Cane Corso
club in the world, with the recent editions of it's recommended breeders list, its active
role in breed rescue, and it's dedication to consumer education the ICCF is at the
forefront of the rare breed community in America. Recently a new club in Italy has been
formed, it is called A.I.C.C. (Association of Italian Cane Corso) this new club is chaired
by MR. Renzo Carosio . MR Carosio is a former SACC member who was ostracized for reporting
irregularities conducted by SACC, its founders and its current leadership. To date the
AICC boast many impressive accomplishments. The AICC with its allies the ICCF and the CCCN
(Cane Corso Club of the Netherlands, chaired by MR Eric De Vries) seem poised to take the
Cane Corso into the new millennium.