On May 15, 2024, our 2024 AKC Champion, Battalion Milania, a beautiful black brindled Cane Corso, produced a litter of 12 healthy puppies—5 males and 7 females—with a wide variety of color variations. Four of the pups are formentinos: 2 males and 2 females. The gene that gives a Cane Corso a formentino coat is dilute and recessive. This means that both of the puppies' parents must carry the gene for there to be a chance of producing formentino offspring, which is evident in the 4 formentinos in our litter of 12. The fact that neither parent is formentino shows the “superiority” of the genetic pairing between our sire and dam. This further affirms that our sire, General Luka, and our dam, Battalion Milania, are genetically superior matches. The word “formentino” is Italian for “fermented wheat”, and describes a light golden-tan variation of the Cane Corso breed. Our formentino Cane Corso pups feature a carbon-toned coat, blue nose and mask, and gray patches on their backs and shoulders—standard characteristics for this rare coat. This litter, affectionately known as the Big 12, just recently celebrated their one-year birthday, marking a full year of health, growth, and excellence.