I've never had the honor of interacting with a dog de Boudreaux. One of my previous interactions with an English mastiff almost cost me a few fingers trying to flick a few pieces of kibble into its cage.
Normal dogs respond to people. Mastiffs will, eventually, maybe, after they think about it, when they are are ready, if they feel like it, maybe, if they know the person, sometimes
I swear somebody bred the insolent TYSAT (take your sweet ass time) passive aggressive gene into them. They know what you are saying and they'll get back to you when they feel like they are good and ready for it.
I'll be having an awesome training session with mine, then all of a sudden this well behaved dog suddenly goes screw you to the simplest command. They know what you want, they've done it six times already in the last 10 minutes , but all of a sudden it becomes a hell no. Lay down, nope, Lay down, nope, lay down or else, hell no. The problem is you have to always win as the human because they know exactly what you are asking of them and they are just refusing to do it.
I've owned an Australian Shepard before and think they are close to one of the smartest breeds around. I think the cane corso may just about tie with them but it's hard to tell because the passive aggressive nature kicks in and they do what they think is best vs what you, as the mere owner are over there yelling and screaming about. It almost feels as useless as trying to train a cat sometimes.