Learn about the powerful XL Bully breed: How the Cane Corso, beloved by celebrities like Marcus Rashford, Vin Diesel, and Megan Thee Stallion, has become a trendy new pet choice. However, experts caution that they can be more hazardous than banned breeds.

Pet owners are turning to the Cane Corso as the new ‘status dog’ following the ban on XL Bullies, experts have warned.

An Italian mastiff breed known for its role as a guard dog, the Cane Corso can weigh up to 50kg. It has been described as an ‘XL Bully on steroids’, with the potential to ‘crush your bones’.

Celebrities such as Premier League stars Marcus Rashford and James Maddison, actor Vin Diesel, Love Island star Jack Fincham, and singer Megan Thee Stallion are counted among the fans of the Cane Corso. Despite its popularity, this breed remains legal in the UK.

It comes after XL Bullies were outlawed in the UK in February 2024, meaning owners must hold an exemption certificate and muzzle them in public. 

As Cane Corsos are not subject to the same restrictions, it appears they have become more attractive to owners looking for a new ‘status dog’.

Despite being legal in the UK, the Cane Corso is not officially recognized as a breed by the Kennel Club. As a consequence, many pet insurance companies do not offer coverage for this particular breed.

And while there are no official figures showing their numbers in the UK, dog experts say they have seen a rise in ownership.

Dog trainer Naomi Nicholson told MailOnline: ‘I’d definitely say that since XL Bullies have been banned, Cane Corsos have definitely come more into fashion.

‘They are used as status dogs now. So where a lot of people went out to get an XL Bully to look like the bad man, they’ve now go onto the Cane Corso, because an XL Bully doesn’t look that bad when it’s got to be muzzled and it’s on a lead.’

Last month, reality TV star Jack Fincham was charged with allowing his out-of-control Cane Corso Elvis (pictured together) to bite a man

Marcus Rashford is pictured with his Cane Corso Saint. Celebrities have come under fire for buying dogs with cropped ears

In a stark warning about the dangers of poorly trained Cane Corsos, Ms Nicholson added: ‘My opinion is that Cane Corsos are much more dangerous than XL Bullies because they have a huge, strong bite force. 

‘If a Cane Corso grabs all of your arm and it’s going to bite you, it will crush your bones… they can very quickly outpower you if they want to.’

Ms Nicholson, who runs the Woodland Whisperers dog training company in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, says she has had a number of Cane Corso owners contacting her with concerns over how their dogs are reacting around people.

She explained: ‘The common things that I’m contacted for in terms of the breed is obviously they’re an Italian mastiff, notoriously used for guarding, so they have quite strong guarding instincts, like the Rottweiler.

‘I’m getting a lot of calls saying that people can’t have other people coming to the house because of the way that the dog’s behaving.

‘It’s essentially guarding the house. I’ve had people who have contacted me with the breed, saying that people can’t get anywhere near them because the dog is guarding the owner.

‘A lot of it is stemming from the same areas. It’s stemming from not enough adequate training with with the breed.

‘I think a lot of people can almost have wool pulled over the eyes when it comes to Cane Corsos. They are extremely cute puppies. Their instincts haven’t been kicked in as puppies, and I think that people get lured into a false sense of security.

‘And then when the dog comes into maturity and its instincts start to kick in, a lot of people are realising they are actually quite out of my depth with this dog, because the guarding instinct is very, very strong.’

Megan Thee Stallion is pictured with her dogs, including her Cane Corso (left). Experts warn they are cute as puppies before they can turn deadly when mature

Tottenham and England midfielder James Maddison poses with his two dogs, including his Cane Corso Denzel (right)

Boyzone star Ronan Keating splashed out on a private jet to take his Cane Corso home to Australia for Christmas

Ronan Keating’s wife is seen cuddling up to the huge hound on the private jet back to Australia

Although they remain legal in the UK, the cane corso is not a breed recognised by the Kennel Club and many pet insurance companies will not provide cover for them. (File image)

Rob Alleyne, a canine behaviour specialist who runs the Canine Instructor Academy in Suffolk, told The Times: ‘The Cane Corso is like an XL bully on steroids. It’s a killing machine and they’ve become much more popular now. 

Mr Alleyne said the XL Bully ban ‘has just pushed people towards an even worse dog that doesn’t need to be registered’, adding: ‘God help us if they become too popular.’

He said that his trainees are seeing a rise in Cane Corsos in their classes and fears this could be ‘history repeating itself’.

Cane Corso puppies are currently being sold for between £600 and £1,600 on Pets4Homes, where there are more than 200 posts offering litters. But some fully grown ones are being sold for as little as £75.

Just last month, reality TV star Jack Fincham was charged with allowing his out-of-control Cane Corso Elvis to bite a man.

In one incident, in Grays, Essex, in June last year, the dog, a hulking black Cane Corso, caused no injury.

But on the second occasion, in Fincham’s hometown of Swanley, Kent, in September 2022, the dog is alleged to have injured a man named Robert Sudell, according to court documents.

He previously came under fire from his Instagram followers for purchasing the dog from Russia in 2021 because of its cropped ears.

Other stars that have come under fire for their Cane Corsos with cropped ears include Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford and Tottenham ace James Maddison.

It came amid a rise in England stars investing in protection dogs to safeguard their homes during the Qatar World Cup in 2018 following a spate of burglaries targeting high-profile footballers.

Boyzone star Ronan Keating splashed out on a private jet to take his new Cane Corso home to Australia over Christmas. 

Speaking about his decision to buy the huge hound, an insider told The Sun: ‘Ronan wants to keep his family safe and you can’t put a price on that. He’s known other celebs who’ve used the same company so they came highly recommended.’

Speaking about the impact that celebrities can have on owners buying Cane Corsos, Ms Nicholson added: ‘All a celebrity has to do is wear a bag, and then everybody wants that bag, don’t they? Because certain celebrities wore it. So the same goes for dogs as well.

‘I think with celebrities having these big dogs and these guard dogs again, if you put a dog into protection training you can have a loyal, great pet that has got that ability to be able to identify where there’s a threat, what’s an actual threat and have that control over that dog. 

‘And I think that’s what the majority of celebrities will do.

‘They will have those dogs in the home in order to protect the home and in order to protect them, but they will invest the money that is needed to get them dogs to a high quality standard to be able to do that job, whereas your average person, the dog will bark at someone, and they’ll be like, “Oh, yeah, it’s protecting me”.

Since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate

New data has revealed top ten XL Bully hotspots, unveiling the areas with the highest numbers of the ‘dangerous’ dog

‘But when a dog hasn’t been through protection training, and it’s looking like it’s barking at everything around you. That’s just a reactive dog. And I think that people are really failing to see the difference.’

But it’s not just celebrities who are turning to Cane Corsos.

In October, 55-year-old Gary Stevens, from Derby, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he admitted being in charge of a Cane Corso that killed his brother.

The 50kg corso cross, named Ace, was repeatedly tasered by police but eventually had to be shot dead by officers.

It comes after the Government cracked down on dangerous dog breeds following a spate of XL Bully attacks in the UK.

In February, it became illegal to own an XL Bully dog without an exemption.

Breeding, selling, advertising, rehoming, abandoning and allowing an XL Bully dog to stray is also illegal.