Bracco Italiano

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Bracco Italiano
Procula dei Sanchi.jpg
Adult Bracco Italiano
Other names Italian Pointer
Italian Pointing Dog
Common nicknames Bracco
Origin Italy
Weight 25–40 kg (55–88 lb)
Height Male 58–67 cm (23–26 in)
Female 55–62 cm (22–24 in)
Coat Short, dense and glossy.
Colour White or white with orange, amber or chestnut markings.
Life span Over 10 years
Classification / standards
FCI Group 7, Section 1 #202 standard
AKC FSS standard
ANKC Group 3 (Gundogs) standard
KC (UK) Gundogs standard
NZKC Gundog standard
UKC Gun dogs standard
Notes The AKC does not have its own standard and instead links to that of the FCI
Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Bracco Italiano [ˈbrakko itaˈljaːno] is a breed of dog developed in Italy as a versatile gun dog.



Coat and colour[edit]

Brown roan.
Brown roan.
Orange white.
Orange white.
Coat colors in Bracco Italiano puppies.
The Bracco Italiano has a distinctive solemn facial expression.

The coat is short, dense, and glossy. The texture should be fairly hard, though somewhat shorter and softer on the head, throat, ears, legs, and feet. Shedding happens a couple of times a year, and a hound glove really helps in removing dead coat.

The most common colours are Bianco-Arancio - White-Orange and Roano-Marrone - Roano-Brown, chestnut, or amber coloured patches on the face, ears, base of tail, and body.

Black on the coat is a fault, as are "three-color" dogs, such as orange/white with chestnut spottings above the eyes, on the muzzle and legs, such as the pattern of a Doberman or Rottweiler. weight is 25–40 kilograms (55–88 lb).



The gait, when hunting, starts out as a gallop, but slows to a long trot as the dog comes into scent. This trot should be long and fluid, with plenty of reach and drive (the 'almost square' body contributes to this). As a Bracco comes closer and closer to scent, the gait slows to a creep, and settles into a "point", with a front leg usually held up in the classic pointing dog position. The point may be held (no movement) or the dog can "creep" along with the bird's movement - especially convenient with birds that run, like the pheasant. Either is acceptable in Italy. The head should be held above the topline, which facilitates the air scenting for which this breed is known. A well-built Bracco, with a full and developed musculature covering, is an attractive mover and covers a lot of ground.



The breed loves to hunt, and they excel at it - in fact, a non-hunting Bracco is not a happy Bracco, and will act out in various other ways. Hunting without a gun (as in NAVHDA - this group does not even allow a handler to carry a gun during trials) is an area in which the Bracco can excel and this can be a great opportunity for training the dog to connect with the owner. They are an active breed, but require more mental exercise than physical exercise to keep them happy. A Bracco owner can teach games like hide-and-seek (an object or person) which fits into the breed's original and current usage, and keeps them mentally active.


The Bracco Italiano originated in Italy, and there are writings[which?] concerning the breed that date back to the 4th and 5th centuries BC. It is believed[by whom?] to be a cross between a Segugio Italiano (a coursing hound) and the Asiatic Mastiff. Others[who?] claim the breed goes back to the St. Hubert Hound. Undoubtedly, both hounds and gundogs are in the breed's ancestry for there was an old practice of mating these together to produce a dog capable of pointing, but with more stamina.[citation needed]

There are two variations of the breed. The first originated in Piedmont, and was for that reason known as the Piedmontese Pointer. The other originated in Lombardy, and was known as the Lombard Pointer. The Bracco from Piedmont is lighter in color and build than the Lombard variety, probably due to the mountainous terrain there. It was well established by the Middle Ages. The Bracco thrived during the Renaissance and was bred by both the Medici and Gonzaga families.

They were sought out by the aristocracy and used to hunt feathered game. At the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century the breed nearly became extinct. Later, it was saved primarily by the combined efforts of the Italian breeder Ferdinando Delor de Ferrabouc[citation needed] and - during the later World Wars - of a few staunch Italian breeders[who?] whose families had already dedicated themselves to the Bracco over several centuries.[citation needed]

The Italian standard for the breed was released in 1949 from the S.A.B.I. (Societá Amatori Bracco Italiano) in Lodi, Lombardy. It came to England in 1989.

See also[edit]

Pointing breed
Spinone Italiano

External links[edit]

Bracco Italiano Club of America