My first meeting with an Italian Spinone was on the beach at Bellagio in Italy.
Every time we visit our Milanese cousins we travel to Bellagio to eat lake fish at Ristorante Bar “Mella”. The fish is fresh caught and delicious and as you eat overlooking the water you can see there is a special connection between the restaurant and the fish caught from the lake.
After several glasses of spumante and eating through most of the menu we walk down to the lake to see the fishing boats and here it was was that I first met the Spinone. This most agreeable breed of Italian sporting dogs seemed to love the water and was pestering the fisherman to join them in their boats.
The Spinone’s ruff appearance looks like an old Italian nonno with shaggy arched eyebrows and a tufted beard. His disposition matches his appearance; playful and anxious to please. I asked the fisherman why they called the breed “Spinone”. They explained that in Italian, spinone means “prickly” referring to the dense, wiry coat and the breed’s adaptability as a hunting dog to repel brambles while running through thickets in search of game.
Averaging 60-85 lbs the Italian Spinone is known to have a people pleasing personality with a touch of “la bella vita” making the breed a engaging companion or family dog that is ready to enjoy life. Active or relaxing the Spinone Italiano is an adaptable, affectionate, accessible dog who thrives on companionship. His bearded face, insightful expression and inbred loyalty gave the breed a place lounging around the court of the Gonzaga, an Italian royal family that ruled Mantua from the early 1300’s to 1708.
During World War II, because of their loyalty, intelligence, and endurance Spinoni were often used by the Italian military as messenger dogs and search and rescue dogs and the breed was almost lost but saved by the efforts of enthusiasts in Italy who brought the breed back from the edge of extinction. Solidly built, an all-around hunter, Spinoni are muscular and powerful with more endurance than speed. Their dense coat has a natural unclipped look and comes in various colors and patterns. The face conveys the breed’s Old World charm. Those soft, sweetly expressive eyes set off by shaggy eyebrows and a tufted beard have won many a heart.
Cositutti 
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