The Cane Corso (pronounced ) is a large dog breed of Southern Italian origins that is used for personal protection, tracking, law enforcement, and as a guard dog. A 2017 study of 232 Cane Corso dogs across 25 countries found an average life span of 9.3 years, varying with different coat colours. The longest living were black brindle dogs (10.3 years) followed by brindle dogs (10.1 years), grey brindle dogs (9.8 years), fawn dogs (9.0 years), black dogs (9.0 years), grey dogs (9.0 years) and other colour dogs (8.1 years). The FCI provisionally accepted the Corso in 1997, and ten years later was fully recognised internationally. In the US, the American Kennel Club first recognized the Cane Corso in 2010. The popularity of the breed continues to grow, ranking in 40th place in the United States in 2016, a jump from 50th place in 2013 and 60th in 2012  Today the breed is used as a guardian, protection, tracking and police dog.