An Interview
While the hubby and I were in Florida visiting family we made contact with Walks with Rama and decided to try and meet up!
It was a bit of a mess at first. Poor Shannon was balancing kids schedules, hubby schedule, dogs, and Sassy's Eukanoba competition!
Thankfully we were able to make it work and decided to try and meet somewhere in the middle so that no one would have to spend all day driving.
I just gotta say... I have always wanted to meet a Cane Corso. Before we adopted Dante we looked at Mastiff breeds including Dogo's and Corso's but as we were looking at the different dogs available at the rescues we just weren't finding the perfect dog for us. Expanding our search to bully breeds in general, we found Dante! His story HERE.
Later when we were looking again - we actually met a giant Dogo Argentino named Lio, he was Ziva's best buddy at the rescue. But we decided he was the wrong personality to match with Dante, and that's how we found little miss Ziva. Her story HERE.
That's Ziva next to him!! |
Quick little trivia for you -
Cane Corso - pronounced "kah-nay korso". I'm guilty of just learning this...I've been pronouncing it wrong all this time!
Cane Corso's are also called Italian Mastiff's and are one of two native breeds to Italy that descended from the Roman Canis Pugnaces.
According to the AKC the breed's name derives from the Latin meaning "Cohors" which means "Guardian" and "Protector".
When I met up with Shannon she said that Cane Corso means "Dog (Cane) of the Courtyard (Corso)." They are a true Guardian Breed. Like most mastiff's they are great family dogs, loyal and loving, good with children. But THESE DOGS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE.
Like a true bully they are stubborn and not for the novice dog owner. These dogs require strong leadership and training. They are powerful guardian breeds - who require proper handling and ssocialization They can also be downright destructive at times - just see Walks with Rama's blog, Hurricane Cairo was appropriately nicknamed!
Hubby and I were thrilled to be able to meet Shannon and her gals Rama, and Cairo! We decided to meet at a coffee shop in Daytona, Florida. I knew she'd be easy to spot, she'd be sitting outside with the two giant dogs! And we were not disappointed, with her glorious mane of bright red hair and dogs that resemble bears from a distance we found them easy.
Sure enough the size of these dogs was impressive, but so was their demeanor. Cairo who is younger than Ziva was totally chill! She was happy to just lay at our feet while we visited. Rama on the other hand is a total Queen Baby. Brought out of her warm car, she shivered, and shivered in the shade the whole time we were outside.
These dogs were so much fun to hang out with! We even got to see them in action around a 2 year old toddler who couldn't get her hands on Cairo quick enough. Her poor mom's eye's nearly popped out when her daughter ran up to hug the giant black mass of muscle that is Cairo. But Cairo's big teddy bear eyes and squishable face quickly softened up mommy as she watched her toddler touching and gently being kissed by these giant dogs.
Rama was happy to just sleep the whole time the little girl was petting her.
It was wonderful to have coffee and hang out, the dogs were very relaxing to be around thanks to their docile and calm nature. Dante is either ON or OFF he doesn't really ever slow down, Ziva is a bit mellower than Dante but nothing like these two lovable lugs! And you definitely feel safe surrounded by giant dogs.
While visiting with Shannon I learned that Cairo is the smaller Corso of the bunch, apparently she was brought over from the Czech Republic with the intention of being a show dog but unfortunately had a joint issue, and now she is just a beloved family pet. Although her destructive behavior has her hubby sometimes near tears. But how could you not love this dog!
She kissed the sand!! |
As for Rama, she just turned 4. The blog is for her as she was Shannon's first Corso. Rama is a registered Therapy Dog, she likes to visit old folks homes, schools, hospitals, and hike/play with her family. She is also a gorgeous show dog.
Look at Rama's huge head! |
Sorry I didn't get any up close pics with Rama, she didn't want to be out of the car because it was too cold for her precious royal self. It was all we could do to keep her with us, when a giant lady like Rama wants to go back to the car their isn't much you can do to stop her.
I was laughing at my husband when Rama was dragging him down the road, I thought he was joking but it turns out he really was being dragged! And when she doesn't want to go somewhere she lays down and becomes a giant dead weight! We wanted to take some quick pics but Rama wasn't as cooperative about being outside as Cairo was.
We had to trick Rama out of the car, once she came out she changed her mind and went back in with Cairo following. We then bribed her out again and quickly closed the door so she couldn't hop back inside.
The dogs wanted to go back to the warm car. |
We decided that we are pretty sold on this breed, and a Corso might be definitely be in our future. Not immediately though! We have our hands full as it is, but maybe as a fun dog to go into retirement with.
Mischief Monday hosted by Snoopy's Dogblog, Alfies Blog, and My Brown Newfies.
We're also participating in Awww Mondays today! Click around to see pictures that make you say Awwww....
What beautiful dogs, but they are big aren't they. Way cool.
ReplyDeleteFlorida. I could use some of that warm today.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and thanks a million for joining in. You're always welcome. ☺
Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteVery cool that you were able to meet up! They really are beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteIt was soo much fun! I'm now thinking whenever we travel we should try to find a blogger near us to interview. :-)
DeleteOh wow!! That's so neat!! I love Shannon's blog!
ReplyDeleteWe had a blast! I loved meeting her, she's got a great story and is soo much fun to be around!
DeleteWelcome to Florida! I love Shannon's blog too. I'm so jealous you got to meet her -- especially since *I* live in the same freakin' state and I haven't yet!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that afterwards!! I wish I could have met you too, or had you meet us! It would have been a blast! If you ever make it to Oregon you're welcome over at my house!
DeleteNice blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI love hearing when bloggers meet up. What gorgeous dogs!
ReplyDelete--Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats.
It was fun!
DeleteWhat a fun visit! I love meeting fellow bloggers and their pups.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could visit you on your sailboat in the future! The hubby and I used to do competitive sailing, and we loved it! Now we live to far away from the lake to continue but we've joked about retiring to a boat. :-)
DeleteAw, you guys are too sweet! I had a great time meeting you guys. Hopefully I'll make it out your way and get to meet your pups, too. Oregon is on my To-Do List!!! Thanks for the great post! <3<3<3
ReplyDeleteYes please!! You are always welcome at our house! :-)
DeleteSo glad you guys were able to meet up! Makes me wish I lived in the states so travel was easier and everyone closer!
ReplyDeleteCanada right? That's somewhere I'd love to visit someday. :-) Let us know if you ever head our direction though!
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