Aww that picture just speaks volumes about ‘gentle & sweet’.
I meant to ask you, now that they are recognized by AKC what class are they in?
What is their history?
They are in the sporting group. They are a pointer (wire coated) from Italy. They are an ancient breed, and were originally bred as a versatile hunting dog, they will point, flush and retrieve.
They have excellent noses and are very close working (which make them unsuitable for hunting with jeeps or horses, but they are GREAT for foot hunters who just like to be out there in the field and don’t want to miss any birds).
They are good watch dogs, but terrible guard dogs because they are very non aggressive. Because of this they are excellent family dogs, however they tend to bond closely with their people. They are sensitive and harsh training methods don’t work well on them. None of the ones I ever had were extremely high energy, altho they were good working dogs.
I only bred 3 litters, so I haven’t had extensive experience. The breed is a little more popular in the US now than it was when we first got involved (in 1989), but they are still rather uncommon.