The Spinone Italiano[lower-alpha 1] is an Italian breed of hunting dog, traditionally used for tracking, for pointing and for retrieving game.[1][3][4][5]
Spinone Italiano | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Brown roan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names |
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Origin | Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dog (domestic dog) |
History
![Thumb](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Andrea_mantegna%2C_camera_degli_sposi%2C_1465-74%2C_parete_nord%2C_detta_della_corte_08_ludovico_gonzaga_e_servitore%2C_particolare_del_cane.jpg/640px-Andrea_mantegna%2C_camera_degli_sposi%2C_1465-74%2C_parete_nord%2C_detta_della_corte_08_ludovico_gonzaga_e_servitore%2C_particolare_del_cane.jpg)
The origins of the Spinone are unknown.[1]: 250 Rough-haired dogs of pointer type have been present in the Italian peninsula at least since the Renaissance. In a fresco painted by Andrea Mantegna in about 1470 in the Camera degli Sposi of the Ducal Palace of Mantua, in Lombardy, in northern Italy, a dog of this kind is shown lying under the chair of the duke, Ludovico III Gonzaga.[1]: 250 Jacques Espée de Sélincourt, in his Le Parfait Chasseur of 1683, says of griffon dogs that "the best come from Italy and from Piedmont".[6][7]: xxviii
The modern Spinone originated in Piedmont, in north-western Italy, in the nineteenth century and was for some time the most important hunting breed of that region.[1]: 250 During the Second World War it was much used by the partisans, both to track enemies and to carry food.[1]: 250 After the War, breed numbers were much reduced; a breed society, the Famiglia dello Spinone, was formed in 1949,[8] and the breed was reconstituted from about 1950 onwards.[9] The Spinone was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1955.[10] A second breed society, the Club Italiano Spinoni, was established in 1973.[8]
In the period from 2010 to 2018, new registrations in Italy varied from about 400 to about 650 per year; in every year, the orange-and-white colouring represented slightly over half of the total.[3]
Characteristics
The Spinone is roughly square in outline when seen from the side – the length of the body is approximately equal to the height at the withers. It is a strong, well-muscled and solidly-built dog suitable for hunting over any kind of ground. It swims well and enters cold or deep water without hesitation.[9]
The coat is rough, thick and flat, with little undercoat; it is about 4 to 6 cm (1.5 to 2.5 in) long, rather shorter on the head, feet and front of the legs. Hair on the eyebrows and lips is longer and stiffer, thus forming a thick moustache and beard.[6] It may be: solid white; white with orange speckling or markings; white with chestnut brown markings; or brown or orange roan.[6]
A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 11.9 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.[11] Neurological disorders that have been identified in the breed include cerebellar abiotrophy[12]: 308 and idiopathic epilepsy.[13]
- Solid white
- Orange roan with orange markings
Notes
- Italian pronunciation: [spiˈnoːne itaˈljaːno]; plural Spinoni Italiani, pronounced [spiˈnoːni itaˈljaːni]
References
Further reading
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