Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Spinone Italiano

Anyone have experience with the breed? Starting to look at replacing my beloved Chocolate lab. Have done some reading and am interested. Have two boys 6 & 8 years old that want/need a dog. Have to confess that I miss having a good dog around.

Thanks

A friend of mine who visits Italy often as part of his importing business has had Spinone for many years. He does NOT hunt them,tho; they are strictly pets. They seem to be very good pets and watch dogs and very obedient. They live inside with his family and are leash trained for exercise. He lives in Portland, OR in a fairly large house.

Hard to replace a Lab, tho. Good people.

If you like, I can find out where Pete gets his Spinone; don't know if it's in the Portland area or not. He may have brought the first one back from Italy.

I have seen some discussion of them as hunters on the website www.doublegunshop.com/BBS You might try a thread search there.

Thanks Mesa. There are a couple of breeders here in Wisconsin. One close to home and one near where we vacation up north. Seem like a nice breed. Probably stick with a lab but never know.

Personally I think it is impossible to beat a Lab for an all around friend/hunting buddy. They even tolerate blatant rookie misses!

I favor the lemon flavor, myself, but in snowy country, I'd go for chocolate or licorice.

Stick with a lab.
You know the breed and what to expect.
Why change?
If i had known labs were like this years ago, id have owned no other breed.

I like yellers too. Natural camouflage for where i hunt.

Yeah,you guys are right about labs. Prolly go that way again. Saw Spinones on TV and just liked the breed. Also considering breeds with less shedding.

If I go with a lab, I want one geared a bit lower than my last. She came from field trial stock and barely touched the ground. Loved her to death but, dang, she was a ball of fire.

I'm a bit late finding this.

I have two Spins and love them. If there's a breeder near enough I recommend calling and going to meet their dog/s. They may also be able to direct you to an owner nearer to you that you could visit.
Since the Spinone is relatively new to the states you're less likely to encounter a less than dedicated breeder than you are with most other breeds.

Thanks Cowboy. There was a breeder near where I live but their website is gone. Not sure if they're around any more. I plan on visiting a breeder near where we spend a summer vacation up north.

Any tips when looking at the Spins?

If you want to hunt at all with it find the nearest NAVHDA club. Most of the ones I have seen (an admittedly small sample) have not been hunting dogs. I know they are out there but....

Thats what I would do. Find your local, or closest, NAVHDA chapter.

Sorry, Im jumping into the game late also...

I recently met four Spinone. They are large dogs. Their coats vary. One of them had sleek but messy wiry hair (picture a lab on a bad hair day). One other one had very thick, very wavy wiry hair. These were both older. One of the pups (four months old) was pretty slick also, not as dense and thick as the older one, however it had already developed the characteristic beard and other facial features. They have very human like eyes. They are kind of goofy in their movements, and are interesting to watch. They have a noise which sounds like a growl, but with these four, it was just their way of talking, not a display of anger.

The temperament seemed great on all of them. I have spoke with three different breeders since I am considering one myself. Some of them are droolers, some of them not so much. They all get wet beards. Some people shave them off, but that's blasphemy to some owners. I have not heard a single person really say a bad thing about Spinone. A few people dont like the messiness of them, or think they are too big/slow, but I am very interested in getting one due to all the positive attributes they possess. I wont belabor those traits here as they are all over the web.

They dont come cheap however. This is probably why most people dont get them. Two different breeders have quoted me 1800, and 2000 a piece! I have to admit, I love the look and the personalities. I also like the fact that not everyone on the block has one.

I would love to hear some first hand accounts from owners or others who have been around them. I still am learning.

Oh, crap, I totally lost track of this.

The Spinone is a very social dog. They want to meet, greet and get to know everyone. Friendly is an understatement.

Since the Spin is relatively new to the US (they weren't even AKC recognized until 2000) they are few and far between. Unfortunately there are a few, very few, actually damn few, careless breeders so the chances of getting a quality dog are rather high.
A vast majority of breeders are truly dedicated to maintaining breed standards, and that includes the natural hunting abilities of their dogs/pups.

If/when you go to meet a breeder (they're going to insist on it), take the whole family. The misses, and children especially, will enjoy getting to meet the dogs.

Now, when I first started researching sporting breeds, for my first one, I had certain criteria that needed met. The most important being I can't go charging off across a section behind a fast and far ranging dog such as a GSP. The Spin was the only breed I found that works close by nature. I also wanted a breed that is not known for biting just anyone who comes inside the fence such as a meter reader or arrant child. I found only one instance of biting, and those two dogs deterred an attempted mugging/rape. Are they a good watch dog that will bark? Yes, just don't expect one to rip a burglars face off as he comes through a window. And last, I wanted a dog good with other household pets since we have cats.



Don't let that pic fool you, they have a very intense prey drive. They simply learn that some small animals aren't prey.

I guess the most important tip I could give is. When you first contact a breeder ask if their dog/s are on the DNA registry. They will either know what you are referring to, or they won't. I'll explain in a moment, but you don't want a breeder who's dogs aren't on the registry. Most all conscientious breeders will have had their dogs DNA run and will, to the best of their ability, avoid breeding carriers.

The registry will tell whether or not their blood lines are CA clear or not.
CA is cerebellar ataxia.
http://www.akcchf.org/news-events/library/articles/cerebellar-ataxia-ca-in-the.html
Do Not let this scare you off the Spinone. It is Not a breed specific condition. Any breed of dog can be clear, carrier or affected. It becomes a problem with the Spinone because there are so few of them compared to the more popular breeds like Wiem's or GSP's. With such a small gene pool, careless breeders pose a major risk.

To start off, if you have moles in your yard, get rid of them.

Their prey drive is that intense.
And yes, you are correct, they can be big. My white boy Leonard is a trim 96 pounds and still a big teddy bear around children. He and PeeWee both adore children and even try their best not to step on them when playing on the floor.

Oh, and the growl you spoke of, is a Spinone Woo Hoo. Lenny sounds more like a growl, but Peewee's is a very pronounced Aarooohrrooooo hoo.


They are also strongly people oriented, their people. They'll be darn certain to help break in a new recliner.


These are very intelligent dogs and they have a memory like a steel trap.
Your training technique must be up to par and consistent to the n'th degree. They will learn exactly what you teach them and if there is any variation they will pick up what they receive the most of whether it's what you intend or not. Likewise with your SO if you have one. Both of you need to be on the same wave length before you even start with the pup.

Thanks everyone! I will ask about the DNA. I also like the slower paced close working nature the Spins have. Also, on the friendy to kids comment, we have lots of neighbor boys coming and going all the time to play with my two boys. Social is a must.

Another breed that seems very similar that seems to be a little easier to find, would be a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. If I lived up north in thick cover, one of those dogs would make my short list of breeds for sure.

Okay, after all that talk of Spinones, I went and got another Chocolate lab pup.
I wasn't going to get a dog until next year. I was planning on doing lots of research on breeders and visiting with them over time.
Then, a co-worker asked me if I knew someone who was looking for a Chocolate male. I figured my wife put him up to it (my wife and I work together). Nope. He thought I might know someone. We decided to go look and see the sire and the pups. After seeing the sire, I was hooked. He was exactly what I was looking for.

So, meet Chief! He's been nothing short of amazing so far. Working on some basic commands and just being a puupy so far.

[URL=http://s172.photobucket.com/user/Moosedoggg/media/Chief_zps57d75844.jpg.html]Photobucket[/url]

Nice looking boy.
Looks big.
How old?

He was 7 weeks in that photo. He came home with us weighing 17lbs. Sire is 80lbs.

He's 9 weeks today. Already looks bigger.

It don't take long!
Mine is weigh about 85 now at almost 3. Hope he doesn't get any bigger. He is still filling out tho. Still looks like a lanky teenager.

Good choice. Congratulations. Now you don't have to wait a year to have a great dog around the place.

Thanks guys! toltecgriz, I was aksing my wife last night how come we waited so long to replace our last Chocolate. Should've done it long time ago. My almost 9 year old son had been the biggest surprise. He's been so helpful! I am very proud of him. The 6 year old, still has some growing up to do...but he will do it and having Chief to help take care of will help that.

I'll put some more pics up tonight hopefully.

Kids and dogs, a match made in heaven.

Great lookin' hound ya got!

Congrats!

Look at the dome/forehead on that boy! Hes going to get big and I guarantee he will turn into a Rottweiler around your bots with anyone who threatens to do them harm. Gotta love labs!

Here's Chief now. He's just a fantastic dog. He's a retrieving, swimming fool. Going through a phase where he's running by me briefly before delivering to hand but we're working through it.;)

I have had quite a bit of experience with one Spinone both in the field and as a trainer. Rocco belongs to a friend of mine and I get him for a waterfowl tune up after he has hunted upland for 2 months. Here's my opinion of 1 Spinone. Rocko is a 4 yr old and I have worked with him since he was 18 months he is huge 115 lbs, He has a great nose but I find him painfully slow in everything he does. He retrieves well from land and water BUT when the birds are dropping in to the deeks fast and furious the last thing I want in a retriever is one that makes all his retrieves with blistering glacial speed and that's Rocco. I have help steady him on point and again he does well but in Rocco time. He does have a great personality and id a big clown. Not my type of dog at all, you can always slow a dog down but it's hard to speed it up when they only have low gear.