Cane Corso price: expensive, but worthy

How much does a Cane Corso puppy cost? Quick answer: Cane Corso price can vary anywhere from $1000 to $2000 depending on many factors, such as your geographic location, the quality of the puppy, the quality of the puppy’s parents, and many more.

How much will your Cane Corso cost? This is an important question for anyone considering adopting a Cane Corso. Of course, there is no simple answer, as the price will depend on several important factors.

Such factors may include the quality of the dog, its lineage, and whether it has champion parents or not. It will also depend on whether you are getting a pet or a show quality dog (there is a difference). It also depends on the age of the puppy and even your geographical location.

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Cane Corso price: quality of the pup
Cane Corso price and where to buy your Cane Corso
Cane Corso price and purchasing a puppy: what to avoid
Cane Corso price: transportation
Cane Corso price: other expenses

Cane Corso price will depend on several important factors

Cane Corso price: quality of the pup

Good breeding is an extremely important part of producing healthy, happy puppies. High-quality breeders only use the best parents to produce puppies from: often those dogs are champions of shows. They tend to produce the best, healthiest, and well-temperamented puppies.

All the puppies from such distinguished parents will be extraordinary. However, even within this group, there will be exceptional dogs that will qualify to participate in dog shows and win titles. Those are the puppies that best represent the breed, with all the character and appearance traits that a Cane Corso should have. These puppies are called show-quality puppies and will be more expensive than their littermates. You can expect to pay over $2000 for a puppy like that.

Some of the very best puppies are meant to be used for further breeding of new Cane Corso litters. These are usually also exceptional puppies with all the correct traits of the breed. In other words, they are “up to the breed standard”.

Some breeders will sell a few puppies with breeding rights, which means they allow the new owners to breed their puppies once they mature. Breeding puppies do not get spayed or neutered, whereas the rest of the litter is. 

Puppies with breeding rights may also be sold at higher prices than the rest of the litter. If you are getting a puppy with breeding rights, this will be stated in your contract. Not everyone needs puppies with breeding rights, but if you are planning on breeding Cane Corso in the future – this is your option. A puppy with breeding rights can cost anywhere from $1500 to $2000.

Puppies that are sold without breeding rights and aren’t of show quality are called “pet quality” puppies. This is the majority of the puppies sold. The prices for these puppies may still vary depending on the breeder, but, in general, they are less expensive than both show-quality dogs and pups with breeding rights.

Good breeding also involves a lot of genetic and health testing of both the parents and the puppies. This is what guarantees that the puppies will be born free of any genetic and other health issues. The more health testing the breeder does, the more expensive their puppies will be, which is only natural. Beware of breeders that offer puppies for prices that are much lower than the average on the market.

They may be skimping on important health testing or they may use lower quality parents to produce puppies (expensive dogs cost a lot to breed). You may save a few dollars at the moment of purchase, but you may end up spending much more if your puppy turns out to have some health issues down the road.

If the breeder uses the best parents to produce their puppies, it also guarantees that the puppies will have a good temperament. Character traits are passed genetically just as physical traits are. And temperament may be as important in Cane Corso as everything else.

You want a dog that’s naturally happy, outgoing, relaxed and non-aggressive. To get a puppy like that, you would need it to be bred from happy, relaxed and well-natured parents. This is another reason good breeding is so important, and that the price for a really good Cane Corso puppy can be quite high.

Cane Corso price and where to buy your Cane Corso

You will probably find plenty of breeders online

Despite the growing popularity of this breed, there aren’t that many *good* breeders out there yet. Of course, if you could go straight to Italy, you could find plenty of families that seem to have been breeding these dogs for centuries. But if you are not in Italy, you will have to d some research to find a trustworthy breeder.

You will probably find plenty of breeders online (although there may not be many in the very town you live in, there should be at least a few in or near your state). However, you will need to make sure to do enough research to make sure the breeder is trustworthy and that they put enough effort into selecting the best dogs for breeding.

They should also do all the necessary health testing to make sure their puppies are born healthy and free of disease. Read carefully through their website: bonus points if they have positive reviews from people who have already bought puppies from them.

If you deal with a good breeder, it is very likely that there will be others waiting for puppies, and that you will be put on a waiting list. Remember: a good breeder will not have multiple litters per year and too many puppies: this is very expensive and hard on the dogs! A good reputable breeder will likely only have a liter per year or so. Some don’t even have a litter every year.

A good breeder will likely not sell you puppies with breeding rights.

A good breeder will likely not sell you puppies with breeding rights. People that are passionate about this breed know that breeding healthy puppies is a lot of hard work. They don’t want amateurs to get into breeding with the purpose of making a quick buck. This is why almost all puppies are sold spayed and neutered.

Cane Corso price and purchasing a puppy: what to avoid

The fist sign of a bad breeder and a less than perfect puppy is too low of a price. Quality never comes cheap, and this is especially true when it comes to Cane Corso price.  Backyard breeding may be cheap and produce cheap puppies, but in this case, you are buying a lot of potential issues along with the puppy.

Kennel quality

If you have found your breeder and are thinking of buying a puppy from them, make sure you visit the kennel. Seeing the kennel with your own eyes is very important. The premises should be clean and well-kept, and the dogs that you get to meat need to look healthy, clean and happy.

If the kennel is crummy, dirty and unkempt, this is a sign of a bad breeder and possibly unhealthy dogs. Most of the breeders you will meet simply keep their dogs, along with the puppies, in their own homes. This is just fine – in fact, it’s best for the puppy’s socialization. However, hygiene still applies. The place needs to be clean and well-managed.

Puppies health papers and contract

A good breeder will always offer you a lot of paperwork along with the puppy.  They will always provide you with a contract that will state all the details of the purchase. A good breeder will always have papers detailing all the health checks that the puppies and their parents have had. This includes genetic testing, vet visits and vaccinations. Don’t buy a puppy without all the necessary papers! (Contract being the most important one!)

Cane Corso price: transportation

Transportation can also be a part of your Cane Corso price, if you are buying the puppy from out of state. Many breeders routinely ship their puppies via air travel to their new homes. However, don’t forget that it’s always best to meet the breeder and the puppies before deciding on buying.

Transportation can also be a part of your Cane Corso price

Since you are already investing a large sum of money into buying your puppy, you should be OK paying a little more to travel and actually meet your puppy (and their breeder) face to face.

Cane Corso price: other expenses

Unfortunately, your expenses won’t be limited by your Cane Corso puppy price. You will also need to invest in puppy supplies, food, crates and vet visits. Puppy supplies can include a crate, bedding, toys, blankets, and of course, leashes and collars. Believe me, this will cost a pretty penny!

Dog food will be a constant expense once you get your puppy.  Are you ready for that? Good nutrition is very important for a growing puppy as well as a mature dog.

And, finally, vet expenses. Hopefully, if you get a healthy puppy and take good care of them, you won’t need to have anything major done at the vet’s (Surgeries can be extremely expensive!). But you will still need to invest in regular vet checkups and vaccinations.

All in all, even though a Cane Corso puppy itself may cost quite a bit, this will not be the limit of your expenses. Dog ownership can be quite pricey. Even with a healthy dog, you will have to invest in quality dog food and occasional vet visits/ You need to be sure you can handle these expenses and that they won’t set you back considerably (so that you don’t end up regretting getting your dog!)

Don’t get a Cane Corso if you aren’t yet comfortable financially and if any extra expense will considerably set you back. This would be fair: neither for you, nor for your dog. A dog is really like a child: anything can happen o them at any moment, and it’s up to you as the owner to be ready in all sense of the word, including financial.

However, I hope that the Cane Corso price and other expenses associated with Cane Corso ownership, doesn’t stop you from owning one. After all, they are definitely worth it, no matter what they cost.

Sources:

Cane Corso AKC

Wikipedia