Why does my Cane Corso jump on me?
When your Cane Corso jumps on you or your guests, it is not only annoying and frustrating. A Cane Corso that jumps on you or others can be dangerous and provoke accidents as it is a large, powerful breed of dog. In this post, I explain why your Cane Corso jumps on you and others and what you can do about it.
If your Cane Corso jumps on you or others, it can be for different reasons. It may be that he was raised unconsciously.. Other reasons are joy, stress, or your Cane Corso developing dominant behavior and trying to correct your behavior by jumping and barking.
Reasons why your Cane Corso jumps at you
If your Cane Corso jumps on you or your guests, this is a behavior that you should correct as soon as possible.
Cane Corsos are large and strong dogs that can provoke accidents and injuries just by “friendly” jumping.
Joy
If your Cane Corso had to stay alone for a long time, he is happy when you return home and jumps at you. In this case, it is simply an expression of pure joy. The whole body of your Cane Corso “wiggles,” and he is happy that you are back.
This is not a negative reaction, of course, but still, one that you need to contain. He may do the same with your children or guests.
The first rule of thumb when you come home is: to ignore your Cane Corso. Do not encourage his behavior by being overly happy. It is perfectly normal to leave and return to the house from time to time.
Getting used to it
If you are happy when your Cane Corso puppy jumps on you because it is so cute, and you pet him afterward and maybe even reward him with treats, he will quickly learn that jumping on you is beneficial. Cane Corsos are smart and learn quickly. Positive but also negative.
Welcome
Puppies jump up at larger dogs, such as their mother or other pack members, to get attention and lick their lips.
Licking the lips is a welcome sign. Dogs do not distinguish whether it is now people or other dogs. So it can be that your Cane Corso also licks your “lips”. Since he can’t reach your face, he jumps up at you.
Measure forces / sound out ranking / correct behavior
Especially with young dogs, this is often observed, who try to regulate you by jumping on you.
We also had this problem when Malou was a few months old. Our boys were playing and running around, calling loudly in the crop. Malou felt she needed to “correct” this situation and get our kids to stop running wild,
This is of course, a situation that we and you also can not accept. The behavior must be stopped immediately so that no dangerous dominance struggle develops. It is not their job in our garden to correct children. If you do not correct these situations from the beginning, Cane Corsos can become dangerous.

Lack of attention
Dogs need attention. They love to be near their owners. Cane Corsos are very cuddly and like to be petted. If they don’t get that, they may jump on you.
If you reward your Cane Corso by petting him, we are back to the point of “training”.
Fear
If your Cane Corso is scared, it can show itself in the fact that he jumps at you. Reasons can be, for example, a thunderstorm or fireworks.
Too little exercise and activity
Your Cane Corso has too little exercise and activity. Even though Cane Corsos are one of the Molossian breeds that tend to be calmer and more relaxed than most dogs, they need a certain amount of exercise and mental activity during the day.
If they don’t get that over a long period of time, they will exhibit undesirable behaviors such as “jumping up”.
To solve this problem, you must walk your Cane Corso more often and keep him mentally occupied.
Dominance
Especially pubescent Cane Corso between the ages of 6 and 18 months test their limits. They jump up at you, ignore commands, etc..
Here it is especially important to remain consistent, to stop the behavior, and not to reinforce it.
Hunger / Thirst
Did you forget to fill your dog’s water bowl or give him his food? Your Cane Corso may jump at you to tell you he is hungry or thirsty. In this article, I discuss whether it is possible to feed a Cane Corso once a day.
Why your Cane Corso shouldn’t jump on anyone!
If your Cane Corso jumps on you or visitors, especially children (for whatever reason), it can quickly lead to injury.
Cane Corso males quickly weigh 50 – 60 kg at 70 cm height at withers. Accidents are bound to happen when such a hunk jumps on a child, even for joy or greeting.
Most people, especially those who don’t have dogs, don’t like to be harassed by dogs.
How to stop your Cane Corso from jumping on you!
There are different methods to teach your dog or to stop unwanted behavior.
- Since I am not a professional dog trainer and can only report on my experience with 3 Mastiff breeds (1 x Cane Corso and 2 x Broholmer), I will show you how we did it so that our Cane Corso bitch no longer jumps at us and our children.
- Dog training (in my opinion) is primarily about your dog, no matter what breed, accepting you as the pack leader and following you, not doing tricks for treats.
- That means being consistent, especially with dominant breeds like the Cane Corso. If you send him to the blanket, he has to go there. If he doesn’t want to go, you take him to the blanket and don’t give in. Consistent but loving education is first the rule.
- As mentioned above, our Cane Corso and our Broholmer female tried to regulate our children running wild in the garden.
You can also observe this behavior when you have an adult dog and bring a puppy into the house. The adult dog will usually limit the puppy at first. He is the boss here and decides when and how the puppy can run wild. That is also ok. So the order of precedence is established directly. With children, this does not work, of course.
Stop Cane Corso from jumping.
If your Cane Corso jumps at you or someone else, you should get him out of the situation with a “correction”. What exactly the correction looks like always depends on the individual dog and how sensitive he reacts.
We started with a simple “Tzzzzz” which was often overheard. Then we increased to a clearer verbal noise. This can be a “no” or, in our case, an “AH”. (no idea how to describe it :-).
This was usually enough to get Malou (Cane Corso) and Sansa (Broholmer) from starting. So they learn that jumping is not acceptable and not wanted.
After that, we let them do a “sit” (or another command) and rewarded them for the new command. With treats, petting, with verbal praise. Whatever works for your Cane Corso.

Of course, this works in any situation. If your Cane Corso wants to greet someone joyfully on a walk and jump, you stop the unwanted behavior, get him to do a desired behavior, and reward him.
Conclusion: Why your Cane Corso jumps at you!
There can be several reasons why your Cane Corso jumps on you. It can be overjumping due to fear, stress, or insufficient exercise. It can also be budding dominance behavior. Either way, you need to stop jumping as a matter of urgency before accidents and injuries occur.
@ NataliSon-depositphotos.com (featured image)

Marco
I am Marco, and I am very lucky to live with 3 big Mastiff-type dogs. In this blog, I want to share all my experiences and knowledge about dogs.