Breeds / Large
Bracco Italiano puppies
Gentle, affectionate and steady, the Bracco Italiano is an ancient Italian pointing breed that hunts at a methodical trot and settles quietly at home. It is strongly people oriented and trains willingly.
The facts
- Size class Large
- Country of origin Italy
- Adult weight 24.9 to 40.8 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 55 to 90 lb
- Adult height 53 to 69 cm
- Energy level High
- Grooming Low
- Coat type Short smooth
- Typical lifespan 10 to 14 years
- Good with children Usually good
- Good with other dogs Usually good
Where these come from:
About the Bracco Italiano
The Bracco Italiano is one of the oldest pointing breeds, used in Italy since the Renaissance to find and point game birds first for the net and later for the gun. It is a large, houndlike gundog with heavy bone, long pendulous ears, loose skin about the head and a short dense coat, and it works at a steady trot rather than a gallop. At home it is gentle and rather solemn, affectionate with its family and tolerant with children and other dogs.
It needs at least thirty minutes of exercise a day and preferably a good deal more, either free running in a safe enclosure or steady work alongside a jogger, plus training to occupy a quick mind. Grooming is minimal, though the long ears want cleaning once or twice a week to head off infection. What new owners get wrong is the first year: the breed grows fast and heavy, and puppies should not be run on concrete or asked to jump repeatedly.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Bracco Italiano puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Hip and elbow dysplasia, screened by radiographic evaluation of breeding stock
- Entropion and ectropion, eyelid faults found on an ophthalmologist evaluation
- Cataracts, screened by an ophthalmologist evaluation
- Renal amyloidosis and other kidney disorders, picked up on blood and urine testing
- Ear infections in the long pendulous ears, found by regular checks and cleaning
- Bloat and gastric torsion, a surgical emergency in deep chested dogs
From Bracco Italiano breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/bracco-italiano/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Your Bracco Italiano puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a Bracco Italiano.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 24.9 to 40.8 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Other large breeds
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Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.