A spectacular sight in action, the Bracco Italiano is a native Italian hunting breed that is prized for its well-rounded abilities in all aspects of the field.

The Bracco Italiano is the Italian Pointer, and one of only two native Italian gundog breeds, both of which are known as Hunt, Point and Retrieve dogs, familiarly known as HPR. The other such breed is the Italian Spinone, and both are held in high esteem in their country of origin.

The Bracco is an elegant and athletic dog, a classic and ancient pointer whose origins, many say, can be traced back to the fourth and fifth centuries BC. There are various theories about the breed’s origin, but it appears most likely that it developed from the Molossus and the Egyptian Hound, and that it is an antecedent of many modern sporting dogs today.

In Italy, the Bracco is accepted as having been a distinct breed since the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance period, the breed became widespread, being held in especially high regard by the nobility. This was due to the fact that hunting feathered game was an exclusive sport of Italy’s aristocracy. The Gonzaga and Medici families bred the Bracco Italiano, and dogs from their kennels were eagerly sought by nobility and those of royal rank.

There are frescoes from the 14th century that depict the breed’s existence at that time. It is believed that the white and orange variety originated in Piedmont, with the white and chestnut dog hailing from Lombardy. The type from Piedmont was generally lighter in construction than the other and, because of its lighter build, was better suited for work in the mountains. Indeed, the two types were at one time referred to as the “Piedmontese Pointer” and the “Lombard Pointer,” but, as time passed, breeders amalgamated the two types so that now the breed is more uniform in size.

Some people, however, believe that the Bracco Italiano came into being only as recently as the 17th century, arising from hound and gundog breeds. People of this belief rightly point out that the Bracco has the head of a hound and the body of a gundog, and they also consider the Bracco’s temperament to be a mixture of the two.

BRED TO WORK, AND KEPT THAT WAY

In Italy, the breed was developed specifically to work. The Bracco’s role was to drive game into the hunters’ nets. Only with the invention of the gun did the breed’s role change to that of HPR, and the breed developed further to accommodate the needs of the hunters.

At the close of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the Bracco Italiano almost disappeared into oblivion. However, thanks to the enthusiastic Italian breeder, Ferdinando Delor de Ferrabouc (1838–1913), the breed was saved from extinction and has survived until this day. Ferdinando Delor not only was a fancier of the breed but also was a hunter, show judge and field-trial judge. Furthermore, he served as editor of specialized magazines, including that of the Italian Kennel Club, of which he was an important founder. We owe the very first drafts of the standard for the Bracco Italiano to this man.

Particularly involved with the Bracco, Spinone and Pointer breeds, Ferdinando Delor was highly prominent in dogs in the years leading up to and following the turn of the 20th century. In his memory, a trophy is still awarded for pointing dogs; competition for this award is among the best Italian, English and other European dogs.

In Italy, the definitive breed standard for the Bracco Italiano was issued by the Italian Kennel Club (ENCI) on February 19, 1949, and it should be noted that this standard allows for both the heavier and lighter types. In November of that same year, the Società Amatori Bracco Italiano (SABI) was founded. To this day, SABI has striven to maintain the high quality of the breed, maintaining good health and type without losing any of the Bracco’s instinctive hunting ability. SABI is now essentially the custodian of the Bracco Italiano in Italy and has worked extremely hard to revi