Spinone

Hard-coated pointing dogs are described by Xenophon (4th century BC), Aristotle (4th century BC) and Seneca (1st century). The Spinone is said to descend from these dogs which were brought by the Etruscans and Greeks to Italy during Roman antiquity and which were crossed with the white Molossus. The Spinone is not the result of deliberate selection but adapted over the centuries to hunting conditions in Piedmont and Lombardy. It is derived from various varieties of Italian griffons, named spinoso, cravin and restoso. The breed is very poorly represented, even in its country of origin.

The Spinone is described in the FCI standard as a sociable, docile and patient dog. It is endowed with great learning capacity, courage and little aggressiveness. The Spinone can adapt to city life, but needs daily physical exercise.

The Spinone is a griffon of large size and rustic appearance. Inscribed in a square, the body is endowed with powerful bones and well-developed musculature. The thick tail is carried horizontal or drooping; it is docked when legislation allows, leaving a stump 15 to 25 cm long. The skull is oval in shape when viewed in profile. The occipital protuberance is very developed and the interparietal crest is very marked. The muzzle is as long as the skull. The large eyes, well open and spaced, are round and ocre in color. Practically triangular in shape with the tip rounded, the hanging ears exceed the lower line of the throat by a maximum of 5 cm. The coat is stiff, hard, tightly fitting and rather lying on the body, without undercoat. It is 4 to 6 cm long on the trunk. It never forms fringes. The face is furnished with prominent eyebrows, mustache and thick beard. The coat is shorter on the muzzle, head, ears, anterior surfaces of the limbs and feet. Coat colors are pure white, white with orange patches, orange and white ticking, white with brown patches, roan and roan-brown. The Spinone drools heavily and its coat retains odors.

Growth is slow and the owner must provide it with balanced food to allow good bone development. It is prone to gastric dilatation-volvulus and it is therefore advisable to divide the daily ration into two meals. Maintenance is easy, its coat simply needs to be brushed regularly and vigorously.