| THE BRACCO ITALIANO | LINKS & CLUBS | PHOTOS | NICCO | GINA | PUPPIES | ABOUT US | HOME |
NEWS
4.11.2011 - Spring is finally here and the little band of Bracco Italiano we have are ruling the yard. They love to dig and get dirty! The puppies are also starting to get their teeth so they find a lot of fun things in their environment to teethe on (including the wooden barstools eek!). We still have two lovely puppies we are looking to place, Cocoa, a brown/white female, and Brody and orange/white male. Cocoa is only available as a pet with a spay agreement. Brody is available as a show prospect or a pet. If you're interested in adding a Bracco Italiano to your household, please go to our puppy page to learn more.
2.25.2011 - I have been remiss in making my updates to this blog! We have been busy getting ready for the largest AKC show in Colorado, Plum Creek Kennel Club and Colorado Kennel Club shows. The puppies are 13 weeks old now and through their second set of shots. The weather has been hit-and-miss but we have been able to start house and crate training them with some mixed successes. We have been doing a lot of "wing on a string", sit and down, and some play retrieving, as much as we can with the weather and lots of puppies. We do still have a nice male left to place. We have temporarily named him Brody but he has been the "blue-collared" boy in the litter. We also have a female available to the right home. On a slightly different note, we are now entered in the International FCI competition in Loveland next month. It is a European style show where you receive write-ups from the judges and winning a championship is based on the breed standard and not on dogs defeated. Both Gina and Nicco are entered! We competed a few years ago with Nicco and it is a smaller venue than AKC shows but there are usually 400 +/- dogs there attending. We may also take a Weimaraner or two with us. Stay tuned. 2.2.2011 - There are some new photos posted to our Flickr page. We had two nice days of weather and the puppies had some fun outside. Click here to view the photos! We still have a boy puppy to place!
I went to the doctor and was glad he decided not to hospitalize me for dehydration. The moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for! I wanted to drop 5 post-holiday pounds. I ended up losing 12 in pretty unpleasant way. Nevertheless, we made it through and so did our very bored dogs. The puppies turned eight weeks old yesterday. We had a busy weekend with them, putting them through the paces. Our friend George came to help with the bird and temperament tests. We drove out to Rocky Mountain Roosters and picked up two very beefy chukar for the puppies. RMR is a great facility and if you find yourself in Colorado at some point you should check it out. Their web site is http://www.rmroosters.com. They also allow the use of their grounds for AKC hunt tests and other events.
The other bird was sufficient though we had some comical moments when it made it under the porch and I had to belly-crawl like a seal to get it out. Note to self: Fix the lattice work on the front of the porch. Most of the puppies were very excited about their first bird. We have been playing with them using a pheasant wing the last few weeks but there is nothing like a real bird. The chukar was almost as big as some of the puppies but they attacked it, pointed it and pounced on it. This bird was pretty tough. It survived all of the puppies, Logan (5 months), my 14 month old monster-for-a-Weimaraner Sully, Gina who found it totally on scent and not sight, and then Babs who is ready for JH. Fare thee birdie is now frozen for retrieving training when our weather turns around again. I hope the coyote or marten who ended up with the other chukar had a hearty and easy winter meal! We have three males still available to qualified homes in the United States. Big Red, Aqua and Blue. A lot of people are hesitant about bringing a male dog into their household. Nicco has been a wonderful dog to have around and even though he is not neutered, he has no aggressive tendencies. This breed is very loving with other dogs. Nicco has to put up with my male Weimaraners and he always does so with patience.
There are many new photos and a few videos posted on Flickr, just click here! We still have a few males to place.
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS! 11.19.2010 - Gina is getting very close to her due date. I have been taking her temperature every 12 hours and it is slowly dropping. She could have the puppies reasonably as early as Nov.21. We had three natural matings which makes it a little more difficult to predict exactly when she conceived. Nonetheless, she is tired and cranky and no one can blame her! 11.8.2010 - I went away for three days and when I retured, Gina looked a lot bigger. She is hiding the puppies up under her ribs so she looks more well-sprung than usual. She is starting to feel some pressure and needs to go "out" a lot. She is maintaining a healthy pregnancy. We have a follow up vet check next week but everything is progressing just fine. Thanks so much to everyone for their positive thoughts... 11.2.2010 - Gina is doing great! She is looking large and in charge. Her progesterone levels have come back normal and it seems her pregnancy is progessing as it should. 10.27.2010 - Gina was confirmed pregnant on Oct.23. We figured she was about thirty days along. She has had some pregnancy complications. Thankfully we have a team of experienced veterinarians who are assisting us through the process. Gina is healthy and doing well! We will post any additional news as we learn more.
|
1.19.2011 - The last two weeks ended up being more challenging than we expected. Both my Mom and I were sick at the same time. Not "head-cold" sick - but the kind of sick where you barely want to move, or barely can move. A house full of dogs and a litter of very bored puppies don't understand when their people are slogging through the day. 
The chukar ended up being very strong and the first one got away from me before I could tether it or clip its wings. This made me a little mad because I really wanted two birds. As it flew over the hill and into the neighbors pasture, George and I just stood there quietly. "Well, that's that I guess". Sorry George. Next time I'll take the birds out in the garage. 
12.15.2010 - I am finally home from two weeks working at the rodeo in Las Vegas. The puppies are officially little doggies upon my return. They have open eyes and are toddling/walking and scampering. We introduced them to stuffed toys, squished up dog food with milk replacer and field trips around the house. Gina is a good mom but with the appearance of their teeth, she is considerably less thrilled with them. They are taking on more Bracco Italiano features - big ears, droopy jowels and a healthy appetite. I will be trying to get in touch with everyone who has contacted me recently, stay tuned. More photos on our 
11.25.2010 - Gina had her puppies on Tuesday, Nov.23! There are 3 girls and 5 boys. They are all orange/white except for one of the girls. We were wondering what color would be prepotent in the litter. Three of the four grandparents are orange/white. The litter could be up to 50% brown though because Nicco is red-brown/white ("Monk's Frock brown"). All of the puppies were 13-16oz. which explains why Gina was so huge. She is a great Mom and the puppies are all gaining weight. We are very excited!