An orange roan Spinone Italiano.
Italian Wire-haired Pointer
Italian Coarsehaired Pointer
Italian Griffon
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From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, by MultiMedia |
| Spinone Italiano | |
|---|---|
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An orange roan Spinone Italiano.
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| Alternative names | |
| Italian Spinone Italian Wire-haired Pointer Italian Coarsehaired Pointer Italian Griffon |
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| Country of origin | |
| Italy | |
| Common nicknames | |
| Spinone | |
| Classification and breed standards | |
| FCI: | Group 7 Section 1 #165 |
| AKC: | Sporting |
| ANKC: | Group 3 (GunDogs) |
| CKC: | Miscellaneous Class |
| KC (UK): | GunDog |
| NZKC: | GunDog |
| UKC: | Gun Dog Breeds |
| Not recognized by any major kennel club | |
| This breed of Dog is extinct | |
| Notes | |
The Spinone Italiano is an Italian Dog breed. Its original purpose was as a hunting Dog, which the breed is still a master of today. The Spinone is a loyal, friendly and alert Dog with a close lying, tough, wiry coat that is hard to the touch. It is an ancient breed that can be traced back to approximately 500 BC.
It is often used for hunting, pointing, and retrieving game (HPR), but the intelligent and strong Spinone can be used for practically anything ranging from companion pet to seeing eye Dog for the blind. The name of the breed is pronounced spin-own-ay (singular) and spin-own-ee for plural.
The Spinone has a square build (the length of the body is approximately equal to
the height at the
withers). It is a solidly built Dog with a strong, well-muscled body and
limbs that are suited to almost any kind of terrain. The Spinone can sometimes
be confused with a
German Wirehaired Pointer by someone not familiar with the breeds. He has an
expression that shows intelligence and understanding and is often described as
having human-like eyes. The tail of the Spinone is customarily
docked at
half its length (approx 5.5 to 8 inches or 140 to 200 mm from the base of the
tail), and it sports
dewclaws on
all four feet, giving its hind legs an overly large appearance.
The coat is tough, slightly wiry, and close fitting. The preferred length is 1½–2½ inches (4–6 cm) on the body; however, the ears, head, muzzle, and parts of the legs and feet are covered with shorter hair. Eyebrows have longer and stiffer hair; longer but softer hair covers cheeks and muzzle, creating a moustache and beard.
The Spinone should not have an undercoat. A long, soft or silky coat is undesired and is a sign of excessive grooming.
Acceptable variants (UK and US) are solid white, white with orange markings, orange roan with or without orange markings, white with brown markings, and brown roan with or without brown markings. Pigment of skin, nose, lips, and the pads on their feet should be a fleshy red-orange in white Dogs, slightly darker in orange and brown roan Dogs.
Height at withers:
Weight should be in the correct proportion to size and structure:
The Spinone is easy going, docile, and affectionate towards both people and Dogs. It is well known for being loving and gentle with children. Its extremely patient nature also helps with this, but children should be taught not to take advantage of this trait. It is loyal to those it knows and still friendly to those it doesn't. The breed is not known for any aggression and is therefore not a wise choice for somebody looking for an aggressive guard Dog, although it will protect its family when under direct threat.
Centuries of working with man as a hunting companion has created a loyal, intelligent Dog that is easily trained, although some can be stubborn about performing a learned task if they see no point in it. Because they are sensitive, motivational training works best for this breed, as this gentle creature's feelings can easily be hurt when handled incorrectly.
The Spinone can be a very active breed, but it is not a racy Dog like most other hunting breeds. The Spinone has a slow, relaxed trot that is characteristic of the breed. It has often been called the perfect Dog to jog with, because it will not run off in front and leave its human companion struggling to keep up as it prefers the slower pace itself. It can be more than happy in a small yard and does not necessarily need acres of land. The small garden combined with regular walks would suit a Spinone well.
Like all purebred Dogs, it has its share of health problems, but careful breeding is helping the situation cease.
Spinone can live up to and sometimes beyond 12 years and generally keep their health through the senior years.
As the Spinone is a very ancient breed (it is believed to be one of the oldest gunDogs in existence), it is not known exactly what the origins of the breed are; there are many different theories. Some of these claim that the Spinone could have originated in Italy, France, Spain, Russia, Greece, or Celtic Ireland.
Some people familiar with the history of the breed claim that the Spinone descended from the now-extinct Spanish Pointer, whilst others claim that it was the ancient Russian Setter that is responsible for the breed we know today. An even more popular theory is that Greek traders brought coarse-haired setters to Italy during the height of the Roman empire, where the Dogs were then crossed with various others and the modern Spinone eventually emerged.
The French claim that the Spinone has descended from crosses of several French pointing breeds, whilst the Italians believe the Spinone is the ancestor of the Wireheaired Pointing Griffon, the German Wirehaired Pointer, and the Pudelpointer. Any one of these claims could be true; perhaps several of them are correct.
During the Second World War, the Spinone became close to extinct. Both the war and the fact that Italian hunters had begun using other breeds (such as setters, pointers, and spaniels) in the hunt, whereas before it was almost primarily the Spinone. Many breeders had to resort to crossing the Spinone with other wire-haired breeds, such as the Boulet, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon and German Wirehair.
The breed was not officially known as "Spinone" until the early nineteenth century. Before then, some areas knew the breed as the "Spinoso". The breed was named after an Italian thorn bush, the pino, which was a favorite hiding place for small game because for larger animals it was practically impenetrable. Only thick-skinned, coarse-haired animals could fight through the branches unharmed to locate the game. The Spinone was the breed most capable of doing so, and therefore the name was formed.
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