Monday, November 14, 2011

Breed Profile: Spinone Italiano

The Spinone Italiano originated in the Piedmont region of Italy.  Spinone is derived from pino, an Italian thorn bush.  As you may guess, birds and small furry animals often hide in Pino bushes trying to avoid detection by gun dogs.  



The Spinone is a versatile hunting dog, he can point, set and retrieve.  He is solidly built with plenty of muscle and stamina to trot all day.  His thick skin and rugged hair protects him from cold and difficult terrain. 

The coat colors are:  solid white, white and orange, orange roan with or without orange markings, white with brown markings, brown roan with or without brown markings, and chestnut roan with or without chestnut markings.   

The eyebrows and beard are of longer and stiffer hair, this protects the face from rough brush and briers .


The Spinone is affectionate, playful, energetic, cheerful and mischievous.  He loves to be with his family and is friendly to everybody.  He is gentle and easy going, making him a fine friend to children and frail folks.  Spinoni are good with other dogs and pets but beware of small pets, as his prey drive is strong.


The average life span of the Spinone is 12-14 years.  The breed is believed to have been developed using Italian Setter, French Griffons and White Mastiff.  The Spinone is 22-27 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs 62-82 pounds.






In World War II, Spinoni Italiani tracked German patrols.  Italian art from the 15th and 16th century depicts dogs looking very much like the Spinone of today. 









 
Spinone Manifesto

- I can point as well as a Pointer, only I do sans hyper

- I'm happy to find game for you but when we are through, I want to sleep inside with you 

-  I'm not stubborn, just intelligent

-  if you don't have a sense of humor, I might annoy you  (LOL)






Next Breed Profile:  Shiba Inu!


sources:  akc.org, Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D., Dog Fancy, March 2011 issue,  The Shooting Man's Dog, by David Hudson 

4 comments:

  1. I grew up going to dog shows with my mom, but you've still shown me a lot of breeds I didn't know existed.

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  2. Norma: Didn't know about Chinese Crested until I met Sir Poops.

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  3. All this time I thought Spumoni was ice cream!Thanks Lynn for clearing things up!:)

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  4. Looks like a striking fellow! Thanks for introducing us to the breed!

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