Introducing the Bracco Italiano: Photo-Standard #1

Where would you look to find tan markings?
Where would you locate an entropion?
What is a dewlap?
You have no idea, do you?
Welcome to the club, then!

I started working at this project because I was tired of people talking about braccos in a language I could not understand.
Missing the point, I kept wondering what’s the matter with those skull-muzzle axes? Why arguing about dewclaws?
Why all these weird terms?
Because of the Standard!
The difference between an ordinary beautiful bracco and a remarkably beautiful bracco, depends on how much they conform to the guidelines set by the breed standard.

Unfortunately, reading a standard is not easy at all, I tried and failed several times, but I desperately needed to find out what a fine example of bracco italiano should look like.
Searching for the answers, I started studying and asking a lot of questions to the breeders I appreciate the most: Antonio Casamassima and Antonio Ficarelli (di Casamassima and di Montericco kennels). They were always there for me and wisely lightened my way through the Standarkness
This gave me the idea: every bracco-owner should get to know his 4-legged pal better.
So I put my camera, a cheap photo editor and Ulisse di Casamassima (Italian Champion of Beauty and Best Brown Male at the World Meeting 2014) in the same room and…here we are.

More episodes will follow, then you will find the complete series in the PhotoStandard section.

I am not going to take any credit for the english translation – Google saved my life, once again – you can easily find it online.
You are very welcome to leave a comment or share it if you like.
Enjoy!

Brief Historical Summary
This dog of ancient Italian origin used for bird hunting has modelled itself and developed over the ages; from the hunting of yester years by means of hunt and shooting. Frescoes from the 14th century are proof of the indisputable timelessness of the Italian pointer over the centuries, regarding the morphology or his hunting aptitudes in hunting as a pointing dog.

Behaviour & Temperament
Tough and adapted to all types of hunting, reliable, endowed with an excellent ability to understand, docile and easy to train.

General Appearance
Of strong and harmonious construction, powerful appearance. The preferred subjects are those with lean limbs, well developed muscles, well defined lines with a markedly sculpted head and a very obvious lower orbital chiselling, elements which all contribute to give distinction to this breed.

Important proportions
Length of the body is the same or a little more than the height at the withers. Length of head is equal to 4/1O of the height at the withers, its width, measured at the level of the zygomatic arches, is less than half its length. Skull and muzzle are of equal length.

Head
Angular and narrow at the level of the zygomatic arches, the length of the skull equals the length of the muzzle.

the upper longitudinal axes of the skull ad muzzle are divergent, i.e. if extended the top line of the muzzle, emerges in front of the occipital protuberance, ideally at mid-length of the skull.

CRANIAL REGION

Skull
Seen in profile, the skull shape is in the shape of a very open arch. Stop not pronounced.

Seen from above, it forms lengthwise an elongated ellipse.

The width of the skull, measured at the level of the zygomatic arches should not exceed half of the length of the head. The bulge of the forehead and the supraorbital ridges are perceptible. The frontal groove is visible and ends at mid-length of the skull. The interparietal crest is short and not very prominent. The occipital protuberance is pronounced.

FACIAL REGION

Nose
Voluminous, with large well opened nostrils, protruding slightly over the lips with which it forms an angle.

Colour
More or less pink – to flesh-coloured or brown, depending on the colour of the coat.

Muzzle
Either straight or slightly arched. Its length is equal to half of the length of the head and its depth measures 4/5 of its length.

Seen from the front, the lateral sides of the muzzle converge slightly, still presenting a foreface of good width. The chin not very apparent.

Lips
Upper lips well developed, thin and floppy without being flaccid, covering the jaw; seen in profile, they overlap the lower jaw slightly, seen from the front, they form an inverted “V” below the nose; the corner of the lips must be marked without being droopy.

Jaws/Teeth
Dental arches well adapted, with the teeth square set to the jaw; scissor bite – pincer bite is also acceptable.

Cheeks
Lean

Eyes
Semi-lateral position with a soft and submissive expression neither deep set nor prominent. Eyes fairly large, eyelids ovalshaped and close fitting (no entropion or ectropion).

The iris is of a more or less dark ochre or brown colour depending on the coat colour.

Ears
Long, they should reach the tip of the nose without being stretched.

Their width is at least equal to half their length;

raised only very slightly; base rather narrow, set rather backwards at level of zygomatic arches: a supple ear with a front rim well turned inwards and really close to the cheek is appreciated; the tips are slightly rounded.

Neck
Powerful, in truncated cone shape,

length not less than 2/3 of the length of the head, well detached from the nape.

The throat shows a soft double dewlap.

BODY

Topline
The topline presents two lines: one, almost straight slopes from the withers to the 11th dorsal vertebra; the other is slightly arched*, joining with the line of the rump.