Griffin's Journey

Meet Kilo, my 2 year old, 100lb Cane Corso (kah-nay core-so) foster pup!  Kilo came to live with me on January 23rd, 5 days after Griffin’s birthday.  He was surrendered to a shelter on Long Island and the coordinator there reached out to Rescue City to ensure that he was adopted by a family that would be extensively vetted due to his breed and size.  We do not have a large pool (any size pool?) of fosters willing to take big dogs, so Kilo came home with me!  Kilo is a gorgeous brown brindle, with shades of espresso, mocha, and café au lait, and a white patch on his chest.  His head is enormous, and he has a solid, athletic body.

The first few weeks with Kilo were extremely challenging.  He is a powerful dog who had poor leash manners, which is quite an issue in New York City.  Due to his looks, many people were intimidated by Kilo and refused to allow their dogs to say hello, which caused a lot of frustration.  He became reactive on leash, regularly lunging at people and dogs.  Walking Kilo was unbelievably stressful, and both his walker and I were ready to give up because he was just so difficult to handle.  We adored him indoors – Kilo is sweet, silly, and smart – but we were at a loss as to how to improve his behavior outdoors.

On February 9th, Kilo and I had a session with a dog trainer who showed me that the prong collar I had been given was put on incorrectly and thus wasn’t working properly (I had stopped using it after 3 days when it didn’t seem to have any effect on his behavior outside and we have since upgraded to a better version).  The impact was immediate and that night I was walking a different dog.  The trainer also taught me how to use a bite pillow and explained that Cani Corsi (how cute is the plural version?!?) need the release of biting and playing tug of war as a means of giving a safe outlet for their protective, guardian instincts.

I now adore walking with Kilo.  I will always need to be vigilant because of his size and power, but he is very well mannered outdoors.  We walk 2 miles each morning, his walker takes him for a 45-minute stroll each afternoon, and I take him out again after work for 15-20 minutes to stretch his legs (and then a final pee break before bed).  We can greet people and their pups without incident, although he will throw a tantrum if he is not allowed to say hello to a dog that passes close by us (we are working on better handling our disappointments in life), but I’ll take that any day over the previous behaviors.  He is unfazed by loud noises, joggers, and bikes.  I took Kilo on a play date last Saturday, visiting Jody and Juniper.  He had a blast running around the huge yard and played so well with Juniper who is one-third his size.  I’ve played fetch with Kilo at our park, but always with a 50 foot lead, so it was heartwarming to see him running and playing without any restraints at all.

Despite his regal good looks, Kilo does have some faults.  When a side door to his crate wasn’t properly latched one day, Kilo ate a shoe, my Kindle, and unbeknownst to me, the fuzzy lining of a Croc that sat in his stomach for 8 days before making its way out the other end (that was a shock to wake up to on a Sunday morning!).  He also recently took a small bite out of an area rug (thankfully, a relatively inexpensive one that I had purchased to give Griffin traction after his surgery).  He counter surfs and thinks my dinner should be shared.  His version of indoor parkour (zoomies) moves furniture.  Kilo is currently blowing his winter coat and my house never seems to stay clean for longer than a day, but hopefully he’ll be done shedding soon.

I joke that Kilo should have been named 45-Kilo (how much he weighs), Goober, or Wiggle Butt.  While he is a LOT of work, he is totally worth it.  He is incredibly smart and eager to please.  Kilo loves people and dogs of all ages, genders, and sizes.  When met with aggression or fear from other dogs, Kilo keeps calm and does not react in turn.  He is a happy boy who loves being outdoors, playing fetch, and making new friends.  I have learned so much about the Cane Corso breed and how to better handle powerful dogs (and how to use a prong collar correctly!), and while I’ll never love the drool of the mastiffs, I wouldn’t shy away from fostering one again in the future.

The ideal adopter for Kilo has large/guardian dog breed experience, a backyard, is home for most of the day (Kilo is currently crated for 8 hours a day while I’m at work), and lives within driving distance of New York City.  Having another dog would be icing on the cake.  Please share about Kilo with anyone you may know who loves the Cane Corso/Mastiff breeds and would love to share their home with this special boy.  Kilo is available for adoption through Rescue City.

I hope the videos below convey the many facets of Kilo – sweet, goofy, and athletic!