The Italian Bracco: historical dog of the Italian hunting breeds. Very useful in hunting trials and in hunting any type of game, the Italian Bracco has a strong instinct for firmness and highly developed natural retrieve.
Hunting dog with excellent character, very docile, demonstrates a very spontaneous ease of learning. Its trainability is good, especially if requested gently. The Italian bracco is a breed known since Ancient Greece, to the point that it was also mentioned by Xenophon in one of his works. Dante Alighieri also immortalizes him in a beautiful Sonar sonnet bracchetti and hunters aide ...
The Italian Bracco was selected and appreciated for its hunting qualities as early as the XNUMXth century and was exported from Italy to the court of the French kings.
After a period in which it seemed that the breed could disappear between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, in the last fifty years the Bracco Italiano has known a new diffusion and has come back today fully regenerated, after many careful selections that have saved the original characteristics of the breed.
In the 30s it was Paolo Ciceri, President and founder of SABI (the Italian Bracco Amateurs Society), considered the "father" of the Italian Bracco, who began the work of recovering the breed. Many books have been written by Ciceri and the dogs of his breeding, the Ronchi, have been considered the best for the breed standard. In fact, some of these specimens were also introduced in America by his son Giancarlo.
The coat comes in two types of colors, White-Orange and Roan-Brown, but it is also possible to find White-Brown or Honeycomb coats. The latter two are quite rare and the subjects of these categories are very delicate from the point of view of the constitution.
The Italian Bracco proves to be a very versatile dog, adapting itself extraordinarily to any type of hunting, having a very high sense of firmness. Together with the Spinone Italiano they are the only two pointing breeds of Italian hunting dogs existing today. Endowed with excellent character, it is considered a particularly easy breed to train, especially if with gentleness.
Excellent working dog, it can also be an ideal companion even for those who want to use it only as a guard dog or companion. The excellent behavior and morphological typicality have allowed this Italian breed to reach the highest participation in the tests compared to the existing dog park. In this regard, the Italian Bracco has also distinguished itself in exhibitions for its beauty and elegance.
The Italian Bracco is a rod that does not present particular health problems or hereditary defects. In addition to the seductive aspect and the captivating sweetness of its expression, the breed differs in its predisposition to the trot gait with which it develops surprising speed, the result of a spectacular push from the rear.
Unlike some English standing breeds, which have greater chances of great hunting and quickly notice the presence of prey, the Italian Bracco is slower, but on the other hand it can be used in any type of terrain and area. It is a very intelligent and affectionate breed with an amazing learning ability. One of the unique qualities, in addition to the physical appearance, is inherent in the behavior and therefore should be valued and advertised more and more all over the world.
The morphology of the breed is as follows. The trunk: its length is equal to the height at the withers and in some cases slightly higher. The height is between 55 and 67 cm at the withers, with a wide and deep chest. The head is narrow in the zygomatic arches and measures 4/10 of the height at the withers. The craniofacial axes are divergent, while the muzzle measures half the total length of the head and its height is equal to 4/5 of its length. Its lateral faces, seen from the front, are slightly converging.
The main feature of the skull is to have diverging craniofacial axes while the chisel is important because it is synonymous with distinction. The nose is voluminous and visibly extended over the front line of the lips.
The teeth have a scissor bite, with the dental arches that come together. The neck, necessarily, must be at least 2/3 of the total length of the head, with the detachment of the nape which must be well marked. The skin should be supple but firm and there should be no black spots.
The limbs have correct aplombs and the tendons appear strong and detached, while the pasterns must be of the right proportions, of fair length and lean. The shoulder, which must be long and sufficiently inclined, testifies to the massive and evident musculature. The top line consists of two lines. The first is inclined almost in a straight line, from the withers to the eleventh dorsal vertebra. The second, on the other hand, is slightly convex and joins the rump.
The straight tail and sturdy at the root, according to current regulations, can be amputated up to a maximum of four / five vertebrae, in order to allow the animal not to get injured during hunting, in case it should chase a prey. in brambles for example. The coat is short, bristly, dense and shiny.
In conclusion, the Italian Bracco, since it is our home breed, but also due to its objective characteristics, cannot fail to be considered a very reliable and robust breed, suitable for solving all questions in the hunting field.
As in any article concerning dogs, this article also and above all aims to highlight the importance of education and affection essential for the correct growth of the dog. There are no bad dogs (in every sense), but only and always bad owners.