🦮 Large · Italy
The Italian Spinone is a sturdy, good-natured pointing dog with a rough coat and calm temperament that needs plenty of exercise but responds better to gentle than harsh training.
The Italian Spinone is good-natured, patient, and less frantic than many other pointing breeds, yet enduring at work. He is gentle with children and generally sociable with other dogs. He responds sensitively to harsh training methods and tends to withdraw.
This breed needs extensive daily exercise, ideally involving scent work and retrieving, since it was originally bred to hunt a wide range of game. Spinoni work at a steady, enduring pace rather than in short, fast bursts. Water work and swimming are readily embraced by many of the breed.
The rough, wiry coat needs trimming several times a year and regular brushing to remove loose undercoat. The prominent beard should be cleaned after meals. The drop ears require regular checks for signs of infection.
The Spinone is conditionally suited to beginners, since although good-natured, as a hunting breed he depends on plenty of exercise and activity. Gentle, motivation-based training brings better results with this sensitive breed than strictness. Active families with access to fields or water are well suited.
Breed-typical conditions include hip and elbow dysplasia and, in some lines, cerebellar ataxia. There is also an increased tendency toward gastric torsion due to the deep chest. X-ray screening of the joints before breeding is recommended.
← Back to the full dog-breed overview (156 breeds)
This information is for general guidance and does not replace veterinary or breeder advice. Temperament and health vary individually within every breed.
Souldog