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In 2005 we were privileged to be able to attend a Bracco judging seminar in Holland

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Cerca Trova's Bracco Italiano Dogs

Our Bracco Italianos are a marvelous rare Italian pointing breed. They are a tremendously versatile bird hunting dog - being able to hunt, point, retrieve, track and swim. When we first started our search in 1998, we wanted to find and promote a breed of dog that has not been made popular in the U.S; statistics show that a breed's popularity here is often its downfall. After a 2-year quest, we found Jaap Muller and Tina Steffens, well-known Bracco breeders in the Netherlands. Their dogs have won hunting trials and breed shows all over Europe, and the dogs are raised in Tina and Jaap's home, as are all the puppies. Dino, our brown/white male, was born the day before our wedding, in May 2000; (we lost him in 2006.) When we told Tina and Jaap that we wanted to breed really good Braccos, they were so pleased to help us that Jaap went to Italy and selected Alba, the orange/white female, out of 7 litters.

The puppies arrived in the U.S. on July 5, 2000 and have been charming everyone since then. We got our 3rd Bracco, an orange and white female named Mari, from Tina and Jaap and she fit right in - as charming as the other two. She never did become pregnant, so we spayed and placed her.We then kept Lovely Flora, a brown and white bitch from our November, 2002 litter. She is a wonderful combination of both Dino's and Alba's attitudes - she was pointing beautifully at an early age. In 2005 we obtained Astor, a white and orange male, from GianPaolo Poggio, a breeder in Italy, through the help of Tina and Jaap, who are his good friends. Astor added an entirely new bloodline to the United States. Alba and Astor had Giana in October, 2006, and we lost Astor to cancer at 3 years old.

In April, 2007, Dan went to Italy and brought back Dixie and Apollo. When we did PennHip testing on Dixie, Giana and Apollo's hips, he got good results, but both bitches failed .... so after much anguish, we spayed them and placed them in great hunting homes. On Dan's next trip to Italy, he brought back Eros, the pick of the litter bred by Dr. Giovanni Grecchi, past president of SABI. He also brought back Leila and Bionda, two beautiful orange bitches bred by Luigi Forcati. We will co-own Bionda with Amy Fast, who also owns a male, Nicco, from our October, 2006 litter.

Current News

Mid-June - Leila had two beautiful pups - one orange and one brown. It's not unusual for a first-time litter to be smaller - hopefully more next time. We''ll keep the orange bitch and the brown male has been placed. We have been given a lovely brown/white bitch renamed "Ziva" from Brandon Rutledge, of Texas. She's just 2 years old, and has passed her PennHip testing, so we'll be breeding her to Eros as soon as she comes into heat, probably in August or September. She's extremely sweet, calm and birdy,

Late Mid-May 2010 - Good news - Leila's definitely pregnant! She's due about June 7 - we'll keep you all posted as things progress.

Late April, 2010 - We are now awaiting the results of an Apollo x Leila breeding! We should know within about 30 days. Dan is recovering from a SECOND left shoulder surgery... we really hope that this one fixes the problem.

Late February, 2010 - Well - a bit more bad news - Flora got a bad uterine infection and had to be spayed, losing the litter at the same time. Luckily she's fine, and that's the important thing. So - our next move (hopefully! ) is to breed Leila, who should be coming into heat within the next month, to Apollo.

November 2009 - We apologize for not updating this website in the last while... life happened, and the time just got away from us! In addition, Dan has had surgeries on his left shoulder and hand, so couldn't type for some time.... he has to have the right side done next, but the good news is that the left side is much less painful.

So -to give you the short run-down, our last litter of puppies (Astor x Flora) was placed in January, 2008. We lost Astor (Draco) in April, '08 due to osteosarcoma of the hard palate of the mouth. This was a terribly fast-growing tumor.... but we understand that it is probable that his puppies will not have the same problem . He was a terrific dog, and we weren't ready to let him go.

We also tested Giana and Dixie for hip dysplasia and found, to our shock, that neither had hips that were good enough to breed. Dixie's hips could, maybe, be due to her insane habit, at a very young age, of jumping off anything, no matter how high or dangerous. Giana, however, was completely unexpected, since both her parents had good hips. This result, however, illustrates how dysplasia can come out with no warning.... since none of her grandparents, and before that, had been x-rayed, there could have been a problem as recent as 5-10 years ago, which would influence her. Needless to say, we spayed them both, and placed them in wonderful hunting homes.

In September, 2008, Dan went back to Italy to get more Braccos, since we were getting low on breedable dogs! He met Mr Luigi Forcati, and his daughter Chiara, who breed a litter every year or two. The Forcatis have a great deal of knowedge about the Bracco and its use and history, and we are so happy that they have allowed us to own 2 of their dogs! We hope to remain good friends and co-breeders in the long-term future. From the Forcatis, we were lucky enough to obtain Leila and Bionda, who Dan had to leave in Italy when at the airport, despite all prior arrangements, he was told he could only bring back 2 Braccos, rather than 3. Just recently Chiara was able to make a short visit to Colorado, and she brought Bionda back for us. Amy Fast, of Foxfire Kennels near Colorado Springs, will co-own Bionda with us, and also has Nicco, from our 2007 litter. Dan also brought back our new prince, Eros in September '08. Eros was bred by Dr. Giovanni Grecchi, the recent past president of SABI, the Italian Bracco Society, and is looking just great - masculine, but extremely sensitive and birdy as well.

We didn't want to breed Flora during 2008, since it would have been a bit soon after her 2007 litter, so In January, '09 we did an artificial insemination with Flora, using Astor's semen, but it didn't take. We also obtained Belle (Sabella) from Will Flick, of Ontario, Canada, a brown/white 1 1/2 year old female. She's extremely energetic, intelligent and has tremendous drive, That brings us up to June, 2009.

Recent Hip results:

Leila: better than 90% of all other Braccos in the US,

Eros: Better than 70%

Apollo: Better than 70%

Our plan for the short future is to have a litter in late December/early January with Flora and Belle, Leila, Eros and Apollo will all be old enough to breed in 2010. We will have no more than 2 litters during the year, since it takes so much time and effort to do it right! Please feel free to call for further info - photos will follow asap, but will also be happy to send them by request.

Here is a short slideshow of my trip toItaly in 2007. QuickTime

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If you own a Bracco Italiano please visit the GUESTMAP below and place your pin and leave a note

Feel free to stop by and sign our Guest Book and view my Guest Map to find the Bracco Italiano nearest you,

This breed has a marvelous temperament - the puppies are laid back, energetic, mellow, intelligent, connected and very cute!Our intent is to breed good, healthy, well-rounded dogs and to make them available to selected individuals who also wish to promote the high standards of this breed, whether as breeders or as owners of a great pet.

We look forward to talking with anyone interested in Braccos, and we will be updating our pages as the puppies arrive and as they grow.

Dan 970 729 1281 -Lane 970 729 3243 - Home 970 864 7626

Our fond memories of those who have passed thru our lives