General parameters of the appearance of the Italian marriage, history, the impact of industrialization on the development of the breed, popularization and internationalization. An Italian Braque or Bracco Italiano must have a sporty and powerful appearance. He is most similar to a cross between a German Shorthaired Pointer and a Bloodhound, but in terms of the manifestations of his character, the dog is completely different. The breed has drooping wings (lips) and elongated low ears, which give their muzzle a serious look.
The dog is almost square in shape, which means that its height at the shoulder is almost the same length as its body. But, at such rates, the parameters should not be too square, otherwise it will lead to incorrect proportions and the loss of most of its powerful grace.
The tail of the breed is allowed to be docked to avoid injury, as the Italian landscape is quite tough and rough. But, now tail trimming is optional. The most common colors in the breed are spotted. There are chestnut or amber markings on the head, ears, base of the tail, and body. There are white dogs with brown spots.
When did the progenitors of the Italian marriage appear?
The breed is one of the oldest gun dogs in the world, and is arguably the oldest canine of its kind. Since this species was already developed for many centuries before the first written notes about dog breeding (or something else of that kind) began, then almost nothing is known about it and it is impossible to speak with confidence and accuracy about its pedigree.
Dozens of different breeds have been considered as potential alleged progenitors of the Italian marriage. And, here the estimates of the dating of the breeding of this cop vary from the 5th century BC to the 1200s of our era.
There are several fragmentary written and artistic evidence that the Bracco Italiano or its progenitors were already present in Italy as early as the 4th and 5th centuries BC. If this evidence is reliable, the variety was first contained by the Romans, or the Etruscans or Celts, who preceded them in northern Italy.
However, this assumption is far from definitive, and most researchers believe that the Italian marriage is much younger. There is overwhelming evidence that the breed existed and was in good demand during the early Renaissance or Renaissance. Experts universally acknowledge that Bracco Italiano was selected during that period, or shortly before its beginning, in the late Middle Ages.
Hypotheses of the history of the pedigree of the Bracco Italiano breed
Experts put forward a large number of different versions regarding how the Italian cop was bred, and what species of canines were used for its development. One of the most popular theories states that the breed was the result of crossing a greyhound-type canine with a variety of Malos or Mastiff-like dogs.
By far the most commonly suggested variety is the Sergugio Italiano, which originated in Italian lands and has probably been present in the region for at least three hundred years. These dogs are very similar to the Italian marriage and it is quite possible to hope that they are her closest relatives. It has also been suggested that the Bracco Italiano descended from the progenitors of the Segugio Italiano, who are believed to have been imported from Egypt and Mesopotamia by the Phoenicians or Greeks.
Various Malossian or Mastiff-like breeds were used for breeding the Italian Braque. The most likely candidates are powerful boar or other big game hunters, Cane Corso, ancient Malossians, Neapolitan mastiff, English mastiff, Dogue de Bordeaux and Great Dane. In recent years, a number of hobbyists have begun to doubt that Bracco Italiano comes from a mixture of Greyhound and Malossa. Instead, a version is put forward about the emergence of these dogs from the crossing of hounds with greyhounds or mastiffs, but there are assumptions that the breed arose from all three types.
The Pointing Saint Hubert, known in English circles as the Bloodhound, is by far the more likely candidate, as this variety was the oldest and most popular in creating new European breeds. Saint Hubert's dog, especially its older types, is also extremely similar to the Italian Pointing Dog, and probably even more so than any other Pointing Dog species. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that another cop was used in the selection, and most likely several types.
What were bracco italiano used for?
However, every time they turn to Bracco Italiano, experts come to the conclusion that these are very old canines, and possibly the oldest species in the world. The ancient origins of the Italian bracque go back a century before hunting rifles were invented. These canines were originally used by falconers.
Such cops, using their keen sense of smell, very quickly knew how to find the location or shelter of the game. Then, freezing in a certain stance, the pets warned of their discovery and scared the birds. On the birds raised in the air, a falcon was released to catch and kill them. From the very beginning of its career, the Bracco Italiano has also been used by hunters armed with nets. The beginning of the process of such a hunt was exactly the same, only instead of a falcon, nets were pounced on the birds.
Falconry in particular, and bird hunting in general, were extremely popular with the nobility and were popular among the upper classes of the Italian population of the Renaissance. They provided not only a kind of sports entertainment, but also delicacies to the table of the noble class.
Most of the famous, wealthy families in the north of Italy of that period kept bracks, and the most prominent were very keen on breeding this breed. Perhaps the most famous and famous of these are the Gonzaga family of Mantua and the Medici family of Tuscany, Florence. These dogs became famous and popular for their docile nature of behavior and extreme hunting talents. After a short period of time, they began to be called "noble".
The Italian bracque was so virtuoso in hunting birds that he became a very popular and desired pet throughout Europe. The fame of his abilities and character traits spread very quickly thanks to certain segments of the population of diplomacy and influential, wealthy dynasties. It has become a widespread habit among Italian wealthy families to offer marriages as gifts or part of a dowry to nobility from other European countries. Italy's most successful traders have also included the breed in their valuable cargo.
Influence of the Italian marriage on other types of dogs
The Bracco Italiano was also extremely influential in the development of other gun dogs. In fact, the pedigree of every European pedigree dog, in large part or in part, stems from the Italian bracque, with the possible exception of a few very old varieties such as the Portuguese Pointing Pointer, Weimoraner, Vizsla and possibly several types of spaniels. Some of the many breeds that carry the blood of these cops from Italy include the now extinct Spanish Pointer, the English Pointer, all types of French brace, and most German brakes.
The impact of industrialization on bracco italiano
The Bracco Italiano began its rapid expansion even before the invention of hunting weapons. However, its international popularity has grown in the process and as a result of the development of the breed. Hunting weapons made hunting much cheaper and made it easier to hunt birds, especially those that built their homes on the ground. Game hunting was very popular, especially among the European upper classes. This type of hunting has become even more in demand, because Europe has developed rapidly, and birds need much less land area for their survival than most species of mammals, such as deer and wild boar.
The development of weapons production meant that falcons and nets were no longer needed to capture game. However, the falcon and nets served as a way to capture the birds and bring them to the hunter. The rejection of their use meant that hunters needed to find and bring up dead birds. The Bracco Italiano was most often used for serving game, locating and scaring the game. Over the course of a long time, the breed has become one of the oldest (probably the oldest) versatile gun dog in the world. Such abilities were inherited by the descendants of the Italian marriage, which may explain the popularity of the versatile gun dog in continental Europe.
The Bracco Italiano eventually developed into two unique species, each of which originated in the neighboring region of Northern Italy. The Piedmontese Pointer was a native of Piedmont, a mountainous region located in the far northwest of Italy. These dogs are said to be lighter and slimmer than the Lombard Pointer, both of which are considered to have been bred in the highlands of their homeland. The Lombard Pointer originated in Lombardy, a populous and wealthy region of north-central Italy. Experts say the Lombard Pointer was darker and thicker than the Piedmont Pointer. It is widely believed that the Piedmontese Pointer has grafted orange and white into modern Italian Braque, while the Lombard Pointer has developed brown and white.
Over the centuries, the territory of Italy was divided into hundreds of separate independent states, many of which did not exceed one settlement. This situation created tremendous instability and repeated foreign interference from outside. This meant that the Italian Brack did not have a large unified kennel club to preserve and promote the breed. As in other countries, more and more gun dogs were imported into Italy in the 19th century, mainly from Great Britain, France and Germany. Italian hunters began to favor these varieties, while the stock of the native Bracco Italiano became increasingly scarce.
Development and preservation of the Italian marriage
Fortunately for the breed, many individual Italian families have bred these dogs for generations, and in some isolated cases for centuries. These "dedicated" amateurs began to resolutely keep the Italian cops. Such efforts were greatly aided by the unification of Italy, which led to an increase in nationalism and an increase in the organizational capacity of the population. The Soiceta Amatori de Bracco Italiano (SABI) organization was founded to protect and develop the breed. A group of dedicated breeders and hobbyists were led by Federico Delor Ferrabuc, who is widely regarded as the father of modern Italian marriage.
As the breed numbers were greatly diminished by this time period, SABI made efforts to combine both Piedmontese and Lombard Pointers into a single breed with two color options rather than two different varieties. In 1949, the Soiceta Amatori de Bracco Italiano club published the first written standard for Italian marriage in Lodi, Lombardy region.
The breed subsequently received full recognition from both the Italian Kennel (ENCI) and the International Federation of Cynologists (FCI). The recognition of the FCI did not bring a high level of international popularity to the Italian Pointing Dog, as it has many companion breeds in other countries. The Bracco Italiano remains almost exclusively an Italian dog.
At the moment, the situation with the breed in its homeland is quite safe and stable. According to statistical estimates of experts, at present, in Italy, there are at least four thousand five hundred breed representatives and about seven hundred puppies are registered annually.
Popularization of bracco italiano
This variety is now considered one of the most common working, gun-dogs in Italy and appears regularly in Italian sled dog racing trials. In recent years, they have also been increasingly seen in the show ring. Bracco Italiano has recently been presented at exhibitions in other European countries, and the largest number of them are located in the Netherlands. In 1989, the first specimen of the breed was imported to the UK.
Over the past few decades, Italian bracque has been most commonly imported into the Western Hemisphere of the world. A number of these cops were brought to Latin America, where these natives of soft Italy are much better at adapting to the local climate than to the harsher northern European conditions. However, the variety has become the most famous in the United States of America.
Although the number of owners of the Bracco Italiano USA is quite small, many of them are extremely loyal to this breed, and it has become something of a cult of American bird hunting. There are currently two active breed clubs in the United States: the Italian Bracco Italiano Club (BISA) and the North American Bracco Italiano Club (NABIC). Subsequently, the breed received full recognition from the North American General Purpose Hunting Dog Association (NAVDHA), which dedicated its activities to the work of universal hunting dogs.
The entry of the Italian marriage to the international level
One of the main goals of BISA is to obtain full recognition of the variety from the American International Association (AKC). In 2001, Bracco Italiano was added to the AKC International Foundation (AKC-FSS), the first step towards full recognition. Once the BISA breed meets certain international criteria, it will be promoted to the AKC Miscellaneous class and will eventually gain full recognition in the “sporting group” or in the Pointing and Setter group.
In 2006, the United Kennel Club, the first largest English speaking dog organization, the second largest register of purebred dogs in both the United States of America and the world, gave its full recognition to the Italian marriage as a member of the "gun dog" group. There is a growing population of Italian cops in America today and it is expected that the Bracco Italiano will receive full recognition from the AKC in the not too distant future.
Unlike most modern breeds, Pointing Dogs from Italy are still mostly kept as working gun dogs. The overwhelming majority of breed representatives are active or "retired" hunters and almost all of their offspring are selected and reproduced purely based on their hunting abilities and character. Every day, an increasing number of breeders appear who prefer to keep the Italian Bracca only as a companion dog. The variety does an excellent job with this task, provided it provides the necessary amount of physical activity.
