What’s the Best Food for Your Cane Corso? A Complete Feeding Guide

Cane Corso dogs are large dogs originally bred to work as watch dogs and hunters. As a protective breed, they require early socialization and training but are loyal, intelligent, and eager to please. The Cane Corso requires significant exercise and mental stimulation.  

If you just got a new canine friend and are wondering, "What do Cane Corso dogs eat?", feeding Cane Corso puppies, or how much to feed your Cane Corso, keep reading to learn more!

Cane Corso Puppy Feeding

What should you feed a Cane Corso puppy? Focus on high-quality puppy foods that supply essential nutrients in the right amounts and proportions, with a special emphasis on calcium and phosphorus for growing bones. Beyond their initial puppy diet, it’s important to be aware of when puppies can eat adult dog food as they mature. Because Cani Corsi are large-breed dogs, puppies are at a higher risk of joint problems if they eat inappropriate diets and amounts while they are growing. It is important for Cane Corso puppies to eat foods made for large-breed puppies. To know what to feed a Cane Corso puppy, look for a statement on the food label that says animal feeding tests using AAFCO [Association of American Feed Control Officials] procedures substantiate that the dog food provides complete and balanced nutrition for growth of puppies, including growth of large sized dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult). When looking for the best food for Cane Corso puppies, you can also look for puppy food that includes DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid that helps with vision and brain development, and antioxidants to support puppies’ immune systems.  

Your Cane Corso puppy’s feeding schedule should change as they grow. If they are less than 5–6 months old, they should get three meals per day. After this, you can decrease the frequency to two meals per day. You should also pay attention to how much you feed your Cane Corso puppy. Feeding too many calories to large-breed puppies can cause them to grow too quickly, leading to bone and joint issues. Overfeeding your Cane Corso puppy can also make them overweight, which can then cause them to be overweight as an adult. Set up a consistent feeding schedule and offer your puppy food for limited amounts of time. Your veterinarian should monitor your puppy’s body condition score to make sure they aren’t becoming overweight and can teach you to do this at home. Your puppy’s growth can also be monitored on a growth chart. Cani Corsi finish growing around 18 months of age, after which they can be transitioned to an adult dog food.

Adult Cane Corso Feeding

When feeding a Cane Corso adult, first look for a high-quality large-breed dog food with digestible proteins; this will help your Cane Corso build and repair muscle after they work or do a lot of activity. Second, look for a food that is meant only for adult dogs. While puppy foods can be safely fed to adult dogs, they are often higher in calories and can make your adult Cane Corso prone to becoming overweight. Other features to look for in an adult Cane Corso diet include ingredients to support a healthy skin and coat and gut health.

So, how much should you feed your adult Cane Corso? It’s important not to overfeed them. Becoming overweight can lead to health problems, such as osteoarthritis, and even shorten their lifespan.1 The number of calories an adult Cane Corso needs each day to keep an ideal body weight and body condition varies from dog to dog, depending on their metabolism and activity level.

When working out how much to feed a Cane Corso, using a dog feeding calculator can help you figure out where to start. You can also use the food manufacturer’s instructions on the package or website to figure out how much food to start with. Once you’ve fed the suggested amount for 2–3 weeks, you should weigh your Cane Corso and ask your veterinarian to assess their body condition score and then adjust their feeding amount accordingly. Continue adjusting their daily feeding amount as needed throughout their life to make sure they maintain a healthy weight.

Senior Cane Corso Feeding

Cani Corsi are considered seniors at around 7 years of age. When deciding what to feed a Cane Corso at this age, be mindful that their activity level and metabolism may slow down, and they may need fewer calories each day to maintain a healthy body weight. Choosing diets containing highly digestible protein can help maintain their muscle mass, and foods that include glucosamine and high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, can support their joint health. Canine cognitive dysfunction, also known as dog dementia, is common in senior dogs, and early intervention with senior diets enriched with antioxidants and medium-chain triglycerides can help slow progression in your Cane Corso. Wet food or softening kibble with water can help increase hydration in senior dogs and can be easier to eat if they have worn teeth or dental disease.  

General Health Considerations

Coat Health Through Proper Nutrition

A coat that is dull-looking, fur that is thin or breaks easily, and dandruff can be some of the first signs of poor Cane Corso nutrition (that is, not eating enough of one or more essential nutrients). Gastrointestinal disease can also lead to these coat and skin changes due to poor absorption of nutrients. Several nutrients are important for skin and coat health, including protein, essential fatty acids, zinc, copper, and vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin E, and the B vitamins), and the best dog food for a Cane Corso will have appropriate amounts of all of them. If you are concerned about your Cane Corso’s skin or coat, it’s important to have them evaluated by your veterinarian who can help make sure your Cane Corso’s dog food is appropriate for their life stage and contains all the essential nutrients in the proper amounts and proportions.

Healthy Digestion Through Proper Nutrition

The best food for a Cane Corso is a high-quality, digestible diet that promotes nutrient absorption and gut health. If food is hard to digest, their body won’t absorb as many nutrients. Instead, more food reaches the large intestine, where it is broken down by gut bacteria. This can lead to bigger, softer feces and more gas.

Weight Management and Obesity Prevention Strategies

As mentioned above, maintaining a healthy weight for your Cane Corso to avoid obesity is very important. Here are a few steps you can take to help keep your Cane Corso from becoming overweight:

• After spaying or neutering, a dog’s metabolism slows down, so they need fewer calories to maintain a healthy weight. Reducing their daily amount of food at this time can prevent unhealthy weight gain. Talk to your veterinarian for guidance if needed.
• Limit treats to 10% of your Cane Corso’s daily calorie intake to make sure they get enough of all their essential nutrients and to reduce their risk of becoming overweight. Picking low-calorie treats can help you stay within this limit. Low-calorie fruits and vegetables, like carrots, cucumbers, green beans, blueberries, watermelon, and unsweetened applesauce, make good treats. You can also use low-calorie commercial dog treats. Some training treats have only a few calories per piece.
• Measure your Cane Corso’s food at every meal. It is easy to overfeed if you don’t measure. Kitchen scales are the most accurate and consistent way to measure dog food. If you use measuring cups instead, be sure to use a cup that is clearly marked at the correct level and measure level cups; do not heap them. To help avoid overfeeding your Cane Corso, feeding charts can be useful in determining the right portion size. Remember you are feeding to your Cane Corso’s energy need, not their bowl size. Because of their large heads, Cani Corsi will often be fed in large bowls, and research shows we tend to offer more food if served in a large vessel.
• Feeding a food that has fewer calories per cup or gram, such as foods designed for weight management, can help keep your Cane Corso’s calorie intake in check while helping them feel full. If your Cane Corso needs less food to maintain a healthy weight than the feeding guide on the food package says they should eat, they may not be getting enough essential nutrients. Talk to your veterinarian about whether changing their diet is appropriate.

Adequate Hydration for Overall Well-Being

Deciding whether to feed your Cane Corso dry food or wet food should take hydration into account, but whatever you choose, it’s important to have fresh, clean water always available for your Cane Corso. This is especially important on hot days and for senior dogs, active dogs, and those with certain medical conditions. Water is important for many functions in the body, such as digesting food and regulating body temperature. If your Cane Corso is struggling to stay hydrated, feeding wet food or adding water to their kibble can help.

Veterinary Allies

Your veterinarian can give you further guidance on picking the best food for your Cane Corso. It’s especially important to ask your veterinarian for diet recommendations if your Cane Corso has chronic medical conditions or new symptoms, such as unintentional weight changes or gastrointestinal signs like vomiting or diarrhea.

Feeding Schedules and Techniques

Here are a few additional tips for feeding Cane Corso dogs:

• Generally, feeding adult Cani Corsi one to two meals per day is fine. Cani Corsi with certain health conditions, such as gastrointestinal diseases, may do better with smaller, more frequent meals.  
• “Free feeding” (having dog food for your Cane Corso out all the time) is not recommended, because this increases the risk of overfeeding.  
• Place your Cane Corso’s food and water dishes at ground level. Using elevated food bowls may increase the risk of bloat, a life-threatening medical condition in large- and giant-breed dogs.²  
• Using puzzle feeders, lick mats, and other food-dispensing toys are great ways to provide enrichment for Cani Corsi. Feeding meals in slow feeders also reduces eating speed, which may reduce the risk of bloat.²
• When changing your Cane Corso’s food, do a gradual transition over at least 7–10 days to avoid any gastrointestinal upset. Keep in mind that not all dogs tolerate variety in their diet. If your Cane Corso is eating a high-quality food that is appropriate for their life stage and any medical conditions they may have, variety is not necessary.  
• It can take several tries of offering a new food before your Cane Corso decides to eat it, so don’t change your dog’s food just because they don’t eat it the first time you offer it. If you’re struggling to find a food that your dog will eat consistently, check in with their veterinarian to make sure there aren’t any health reasons for them not eating well.

For more expert tips on feeding your dog, explore our other dog feeding guides.

References

1. Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. JAVMA. 2002;220(9):1315-1320. doi:10.2460/javma.2002.220.1315  

2. Glickman LT, Glickman NW, Schellenberg DB, et al. Non-dietary risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in large and giant breed dogs. JAVMA. 2000;217(10):1492-1499. doi:10.2460/javma.2000.217.1492