Bracco Italiano
The Bracco Italiano is one of the oldest pointing breeds in Europe, worked across Italy since the Renaissance and painted onto walls long before the shotgun arrived. It hunts at a…
About the Bracco Italiano
The Bracco Italiano is one of the oldest pointing breeds in Europe, worked across Italy since the Renaissance and painted onto walls long before the shotgun arrived. It hunts at a driving trot rather than a gallop, which is why its outline looks so different from the racy English bird dogs.
The head is the signature: long and lean, with divergent planes, a faintly roman nose, heavy flews and a long, low-set ear. Dogs stand 58 to 67 cm and are substantial animals, in white, white with orange, or white with chestnut, frequently roan. Loose lower eyelids travel with that head, and a stud whose eyes sit clean and dry without droop is doing the breed a real favour.
Hip and elbow scoring under the BVA/KC schemes is the first thing to put to a Bracco stud owner, followed by an eye examination that takes proper account of eyelid conformation, since entropion and ectropion both appear here. This is a deep-chested breed, so a question about bloat among its relatives is fair. Ask what the breed club currently recommends, as the British population is young and its testing advice is still settling.
Health & breeding
We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Breed Right’s summary — under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard
Health tests for the Bracco Italiano
This panel is Breed Right’s summary of the testing that matters for the breed under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard. The Health Standard is the Royal Kennel Club’s guidance for breeders, not a registration rule. It describes tests to ask about — it is not a report on any individual dog. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Best Practice — further tests it recommends
Completing these as well as the Good Practice tests is what the Royal Kennel Club calls Best Practice.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip score (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Total of both hips, 0–106. Lower is better. |
| Elbow grading (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Grade 0–3. The dog is graded on the worse of the two elbows. |
Breed hip median
Breed median 9 (BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme breed statistics 2025 — 5 years, 71 dogs scored). Lower is better. Source · How hip scores work
At stud now
Bracco Italiano stud dogs
No Bracco Italiano studs are listed right now
When a Bracco Italiano on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register is listed at stud, it will appear here.
Also available
Bracco Italiano litters
No Bracco Italiano litters are listed right now
Litters appear here as breeders list them. Check back soon, or browse other breeds.
