The 2023 I.S.C.G.B Spinone Health survey is now available for people to complete for all dogs born after 01/01/2010 whether or not they have any health conditions. Click this message to go to the survey.
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Thinking of owing a Spinone, we can offer you advice and support to decide if they are the breed for you. Remember they are a working gundog and need plenty of mental and physical exercise. Things to consider before you take the plunge.

About The Breed

Taken the plunge? You now have your bundle of joy at home. What next. We can help you care for your dog throughout what we hope will be a happy and healthy long life. Grooming, feeding, exercise, first aid, teething, insurance, heights and weights, to neuter or not, you name it, we will have experience of it.

Caring for your Spinone

The Italian Spinone is an intelligent, tireless, and thorough gundog. As a member of the Hunt, Point, Retrieve group he is best suited to rough shooting but can adapt to beating or picking up. His training will be long and require patience! However, a working Spinoni is a much happier and fulfilled dog. Fostering this natural instinct will give you a keen, eager-to-please gundog, and a calm and content companion in the family home.

Working Your Spinone

Join the Club, here you will find the official stuff. How to become a member, our rules & regs, code of ethics, judges lists, club events, who's on the committees, how we operate.

Why not join our Spinone Club

We are very pro-active about Spinone health and work closely with the Animal Health Trust clinical and genetics teams to provide information for breeders and owners. We have a comprehensive database containing pedigrees and health information about Spinoni worldwide.

Health & Welfare

There are lots of things you can do with your Spinone, an active dog is a happy dog and a more healthy you. They love to be with you doing what you are doing. Work, show, agility, pets as therapy, reading, cani cross, guide dog, hearing dog, assistance for the disabled, obedience, heelwork to music, companion, the list is endless.

Spinone Activities

What's going on in the Spinone world, here you will find all the latest news, announcements and reminders. Browse our Spinone gifts and photo gallery. Here you will also find links to our Google Events calendar and other sites of interest.

What's Going On

ISCGB Rehome & Rescue is a totally voluntary service offering assistance and support for pure bred Spinoni nationwide who, for whatever reason, cannot stay in their current home. We are a not for profit operation and rely on donations and fund raising.

Adoption and Rehome

Here is the AHT's current advice for breeding from dogs who are related to confirmed idiopathic epileptics.

The over-enthusiastic removal of too many dogs from our gene pool could reduce the diversity of the breed and bring other inherited diseases to the fore. Relations of confirmed idiopathic epileptics (siblings, offspring, parents) that are used for breeding, should be mated to a dog that has no common ancestors within 3 generations. Click on Read More for the full AHT article.

The ISCGB and AHT are delighted to announce that samples for a second GWAS (genome scan) for Idiopathic Epilepsy in the Italian Spinone have been sent off for genotyping. This set of samples includes 24 affected and 24 unaffected dogs, and we will use a brand new genotyping array. This exciting new tool means that instead of comparing 174,000 markers across the genome, which were used for the first GWAS, we will be able to compare over 710,000 markers. This will allow us to compare the regions of the genome in a much higher resolution when we are looking for areas associated with idiopathic epilepsy. We will also be able to combine the new data from these 48 dogs with the data from the original GWAS of 59 dogs, and perform an analysis of the complete set of 107 dogs.

We look forward to being able to give you an update later this year once we have received the data and have been able to do some analysis.

A huge thank you for all of you who have provided samples for this research.

The AHT is pleased to confirm that by the end of 2017 they will have sequenced the entire genomes of four Italian Spinone, all of which will be dogs with a confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy.  Three of these are being funded by the Italian Spinone Club of Great Britain as part of the Give a Dog a Genome project.  Two of the genomes were among the first genomes to be sequenced by the AHT and the remaining two will be completed later this year.  Analysis of the genome sequence data will commence shortly, although it will be a significant undertaking as each genome contains an equivalent number of letters as 440 complete sets of the complete Harry Potter series.

Calling all Spinone owners and breeders past and present.
 
If you have ever owned or bred a Spinone that has had one or more seizures please support the ISCGB Spinone Health Database and epilepsy research project by completing a short survey for us. We will soon be undertaking a 2nd Genome Wide Association Study to try and identify the genes involved in causing seizures.  We need to make sure that every dog possible is included in the research so even if you have already taken part, please spare us a few seconds to complete a very short questionnaire. Thank you very much for your continued support.
 
 

The ISCGB are delighted to announce that since being assigned a confirmed position on the Animal Health Trust's Give a Dog a Genome 50 list, the ISCGB are also funding the sequencing of 3 further dogs which will be chosen by the AHT as being the most beneficial to the breed at present.

We have expanded the online Spinone health database to include additional conditions that have been reported by owners and/or breeders.   Currently we include the following list of conditions which will be added to from time to time. Bloat, Cancer, Seizures, Thyroid, Auto Immune, Skeletal conditions

Information regarding your dogs health is welcomed from any spinone owner. You do not have to be a Club member to report a health matter.

With the AHT currently researching epilepsy, we would particularly appreciate details from any owner, both from the UK and abroad, who has experienced this.

If your Spinone has suffered from a health problem, it would be very helpful if you could complete our 'Report Health' google form which can be found by clicking on the link. 

The ISCGB are delighted to announce that we have been assigned a confirmed position on the Animal Health Trust's Give a Dog a Genome 50 list to have the entire genome for a Spinone to be sequenced.

As part of BARC (Bio-Acquisition Research Collaboration), the Kennel Club would like to inform you of the current study by the Royal Veterinary College, investigating the effects of the anti-epileptic drug Pexion (Imepitoin) on behaviour of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy.

For further information, please click here. You can also visit our BARC page

The genetics work is currently waiting for more samples so we can do a second round of genetic analysis. We urgently need a further 11 samples from affected dogs (FROM ANY COUNTRY) so if your dog has suffered from seizures and you would like to help with the research, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and request a DNA sample kit for Italian Spinone Epilepsy research.  These kits are free of charge for dogs taking part in the research.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far.

What stage are we at with this research?

Scientists at the AHT have conducted a genome-wide association study (genome scan) in the Italian Spinone in an attempt to identify regions of the DNA that might be involved in idiopathic epilepsy, as currently the mode of inheritance or genetic complexity of idiopathic epilepsy in this breed is unknown.  This report summarises the results of our investigations and suggests future directions.

If you wish to share any of the information in this article, please link directly to the page.  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is required to copy or reproduce the content in part or in full by any other method. 

Copyright © 2014 by The Italian Spinone Club of Great Britain.

On Friday 7th November, the Animal Health Trust hosted a Spinone Open Day at their premises near Newmarket, Suffolk. Our Speakers for the day were Dr Luisa De Risio, Head of Neurology, Dr Cathryn Mellersh, Head of Canine Genetics and Dr Davide Berlato, Head of Oncology.