Bracco Italiano
An old Italian pointer that was finding birds long before firearms were common. The short coat makes grooming easy, but the dog needs an hour or more of daily work and those long, heavy ears never stop asking for attention.
- Weight
- 25–40 kg
- Lifespan
- 10–14 years
Weight and lifespan are reference ranges from the breed guide. They vary by sex, lineage and individual dog and do not predict your dog’s ideal weight or lifespan. Read the care descriptions alongside the individual dog’s history.
Background and characteristics
The Bracco Italiano is one of Europe's older pointing breeds, used in Italy to locate game birds back when hunters worked with nets and falcons. Numbers collapsed in the late nineteenth century and the breed was rebuilt by a small group of enthusiasts, so it remains uncommon outside Italy. It is easy to recognise: a big angular head, loose flews, long low-set ears, and a distinctive extended trot that a good Bracco can hold for hours.
Exercise and play
Plan for an hour to ninety minutes a day. This is a gentler-tempered gundog than most, but it is still built to work, and walking alone will not cover it. Long-line running, retrieving, and scent games that make the dog think all suit the breed.
Once the day's work is done, a Bracco is happy to melt onto the nearest sofa next to you.
Coat and everyday care
Grooming is genuinely simple. The short, dense coat needs a rubber curry once a week and no trimming at all. The maintenance load lives at the head end instead: those heavy ears cover the canal and block airflow, so check them weekly and dry them thoroughly after swimming or bathing.
The loose lips also mean water gets carried away from the bowl and dropped on the floor, so a mat under the bowl is worth having.
Before bringing this dog home
What catches new owners is the sensitivity. For a dog this big, the Bracco is soft. Sharp corrections shut it down, and it bonds so tightly that long days alone turn into anxiety.
Health topics worth raising with a breeder include hip and elbow dysplasia, eyelid conditions such as entropion and ectropion, kidney amyloidosis, which has been reported in the breed, and gastric dilatation-volvulus given the deep chest. Split the daily ration into two or three meals.
Home environment and care planning
A fenced yard and reliable access to open ground make this breed far easier to own. In a hot, humid summer, check inside the ears more often than you think you need to, because that closed environment is where trouble starts.