We now have a beautiful male Bracco Italiano puppy from Italy!

On May 7, we went to the Netherlands and got a male puppy out of GianPaolo Poccio's Rivana, one of the winningest Bracco Italiano bitches in Europe. (see link on Astor's page to Rivana's website.) Tina Steffens and Jaap Muller, our breeders in Holland, made this possible, since Jaap knows GianPaolo well. Among her many accomplishments, Rivana won the World Dog Show twice, and is a gorgeous bitch and an awsome hunter. This new puppy will bring an entirely new bloodline to the United States. He is laid-back, beautiful, and is already pointing his toys !

We also had the opportunity to attend a seminar at the estate of Marcel and Marina Van Beetz put on by Tina Steffens and Jaap Muller, our Dutch breeders. Three well-known Italian Bracco experts, Mr. Evangelisti, a judge, Mr. Grecchi, the president of SABI (Societa Amatori Bracco Italiano), and Mr. Fusetti, the secretary of SABI, came from Italy to give a presentation to 10 Dutch judges on the standard of the Bracco Italiano. Many dogs were critiqued and their stronger and weaker points made clear. This was an invaluable chance for us to learn so much more about the Bracco! The next day we attended Tina and Jaap's Family Day, during which many of the dogs they have bred were critiqued by the Italian judges, and an all-around fun day was had by all. It was wonderful to meet our dogs' fathers, mothers and littermates, and see the similarities in quality. It was also such fun to find that many Europeans have been following our website, and already felt that they knew us well! We were also invited to visit Italy, meet many Bracco Italiano breeders and attend field trials so that we can see the Italian Bracco in action.

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