Maybe We’ve Peaked: Are the Best Molosser Years Behind Us?

Recently on Facebook, some photographs were posted of a seminar by Christopher Habig, whose long-ago Molosser Magazin was one of the inspirations for me to begin writing on these magnificent breeds.

The post was by Federico Vinattieri of Fossombrone, a kennel that itself is the successor to the indescribably influential Ponzano kennel of Mario Querci — many of whose dogs were highlighted in Habig’s presentation.

There’s nothing new in that seminar: Habig has presented it many times before.

But perhaps now, in the wake of the shade being thrown at various breeders, breeding programs and judges for the dogs they are selecting, producing and rewarding, it’s time to heed his message:

The “good old days” were just that — good — in comparison to what we find today across many Molosser breeds: Dogs that are swollen with hypertype, breeders who can’t tell a stifle from a scapula, and fanciers who worship at the altar of “what I like” instead of “what is correct.”

Neapolitan Nightmare

Let’s start with the subject of Habig’s seminar, the Mastino Napoletano.

Of all the Molossers, the Mastino is the most extreme in terms of mass and wrinkle, so a degree of latitude can be extended when the occasional overdone, or hypertypical, dog is produced. But such dogs are a warning sign that the limits of breed type are being overrun, and the logical response would be to seek out some moderation in breeding choices for the next generation.

Again, that would be the logical approach. But in a classic example of more is more is more, instead the objective is to continue to shove the breed further in the direction of caricature. Some dogs are so draped in wrinkle that the dog underneath is completely enveloped. Instead of the dog wearing the wrinkle, the wrinkle wears the dog.

Thirty years ago, in the so-called golden age of the Mastino, it was still possible to believe that this breed could have a — gasp! — level back, and that movement could be both elastic and sound. After all, big cats, to use that well-worn analogy, have to be well made in order to eat.

Argo del Monte, born in 1981. Proof that a Neapolitan Mastiff can have soundness and type.

Part of the problem — and this is endemic in many breeds, not just Molossers — is that the last several generations of fanciers have decided that depth of knowledge is optional. Weaned on Google, they expect answers to come easily, instead of through hard-earned experience. Even listening to the advice of those who came before is too labor intensive. As a result, they do not know what they do not know, and Dunning-Kruger effect reigns supreme.

If they were to look back at the Neapolitan Mastiffs that Habig is drawing attention to — Caligola and Carnera and all the rest — they might learn something. If they studied successful breeding programs like that of Querci — including the use of a less-than-obvious stud dog like Toscano — they might be able to pick their way past the minefields of today’s pedigrees and restore a glimmer of that excellence to today’s dogs.

I ain’t holding my breath.

Corso Correction

If the Mastino had a decade or two of glory in the sun, that’s an eternity compared to the Cane Corso. I am not sure one can even say that the Corso even had an extended period of typey animals extending beyond a handful of generations. The Q litter of Vito Indiveri’s Dyrium comes to mind, but he stopped breeding soon after.

Quaron del Dyrium, whelped 1995.

There is no breed on the face of this planet that has been subjected to more cross-breeding than the Cane Corso, whether to make a buck, satisfy an ego, or both. You can run out of breath listing them all — Rottweiler, Neapolitan Mastiff, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Boerboel, Great Dane, Presa Canario and Dogue de Bordeaux. And those are just the ones commonly agreed on.

Beyond that, American exceptionalism has taken hold of the breed, in the sense that what many are breeding is everything but what a Cane Corso should be. I first encountered the breed in large numbers at its national specialty in Pennsylvania, just before AKC recognition. There were functional, sound-moving, acceptably headed animals present in the ring that day.

"If the quality of conformation and movement we saw are any indication of what we AKCers will be seeing in the very near future, hold onto your seats and pray you don't have to compete against them!" we wrote.

Sadly, the quality has only declined since then — precipitously.

ARBA champions at the last Cane Corso national before AKC recognition in 2009. Perfect? Of course not — no dog is. But ... overall higher quality than is found in the breed ring today? Without question. Photo: Theresa M. Lyons.

This breed is not and never was a watered-down Neo. It was an athletic, multi-functional trotting Molosser of, for and by the Italian South, where hard-working farmers had little tolerance for dogs that could not survive the heat, lack of food and daily challenges to their soundness, both mental and physical. This ridiculous description that I have heard for decades of “a dog that goes through an obstacle, not over it” in no way, shape or form describes the historical Cane Corso.

Now, did many Italian breeders burn their counterparts across the Atlantic by sending over ridiculously wallpapered pedigrees, not to mention some subjects that would have fared better in the rings of other breeds? I don’t think that’s even in question. But it is no excuse for dismissing the historical reality of this breed in the Italian south, of ignoring the incredibly detailed and rich original standard written by Dr. Antonio Morsiani.

Instead, the vast majority are in search of an American-made bandog. Great, if that’s what you want. Just don’t call it a Corso.

Sour Grapes?

To be sure, these complaints and concerns are not unique to Molossers. In almost every breed, new fanciers pay little attention to the great storehouses of knowledge amassed by senior breeders the old-fashioned way — by direct experience. Mentorship is not just optional, it’s irritating: Who wants to hear opinions that challenge their own?

Though it’s cliched to say, like most cliches, it’s also true: This is the direct result of social media. Flash sells, and shortcuts are tempting. Why torture yourself to breed a good one if you can just Photoshop the faults away? Why listen to long-winded explanations of successful breeders when you can just Google it — and take as gospel the first AI-generated response that pops up on screen?

I suppose all this superficiality bothers me all the more with Molossers because they were always considered breeds of connoisseurship. They are harder to breed, harder to master because they are so interrelated, and, not least of all, harder on the heart. They are our most ancient reflections, evoking long-held values like loyalty and courage. And like those values, they are eroding, slowly but surely.

To be sure, there are some bright spots. When I judged the Dogue de Bordeaux national two years ago, I was spoiled with a magnificent entry. My top males were sound and typey. I had a flock of specials bitches that were so even in quality that I could hardly make my mind up between them. I see their subsequent generations in the ring today, and I could almost cry — from happiness. They are building on their successes. They know who Professor Triquet is. They have somehow, some way, managed to hang on to their breed history.

2024 Dogue de Bourdeaux National Specialty winner Ch. Mount Sinai's Call Me Maximilian St Amand. No crying in my cornflakes over that one.

They are, however, the exception that proves the rule. One need only read some of the post-Westminster commentary to understand how far some breeds have fallen.

Hope Springs Eternal

Is all lost? Of course not. The amazing things about the canine genome is its elasticity. Just as quality in a breed can plummet in only a handful of years, through the promotion of an atypical dog, or the overuse of a poorly producing stud dog, so too can it be recovered.

What’s required is breeders who are willing to study, to ask that all-important question — WHY? — and to be as critical of their own dogs as they are of their competition, if not moreso.

I hope the pendulum swings, I really do. It’s why I keep adding to this website, laying out the concepts and comparisons and knowledge that are vital for those who love Molossers and hope to bring them into the future.

Never mind a golden age. At this point, I’d take even a copper one.