The coat of a Spinone Italiano is tough, thick, slightly wiry and close fitting with no undercoat. It is about 1.5 to 2 inches (4 to 6 cm) on the body, shorter on the nasal bridge, ears and head. It is even shorter on the front of the legs and feet. The eyebrows consist of longer, stiffer hair. Even longer, softer hairs cover the cheeks and upper lips, forming a mustache and beard.The color is white; white with orange or brown markings; white speckled with orange (orange roan) with or without orange markings; white speckled with brown (brown roan) with or without brown markings.

Grooming the Coat

This is not a glamorous breed. The Spinone Italiano is a rustic, functional dog and part of its attraction is its slightly disheveled look. Care must be taken not to over present this breed. Too frequent bathing softens the coat, and show dogs are best hosed down and dried naturally. Regular brushing with a slicker will remove burrs and seeds. A comb should be used on the head.

Beards need constant attention and regular washing. These dogs are very prone to ear infections — therefore, ears should be checked every day and cleaned twice a week. Hair inside the ear should be removed with a finger and thumb. Ear powder will help.

A Spinone Italiano born with the unique and very desirable “pigskin-like” skin will have the correct single coat, which needs little stripping other than to enhance the shape of the head. However, many dogs are born with longer, softer coats, and regular stripping will help to improve the coat and encourage a harsher texture.

Strictly speaking, this task is undertaken by hand, although most owners use a stripping comb. A  stripping block is useful for finishing and removing stray hairs.

Dogs born with soft double coats always have thin skin and these coats are almost impossible to strip. Rather than cause the dog distress, it is better to bathe and clip it.

Equipment needed: Slicker brush, bristle brush and comb.

Breed tip: Strip the coat out several weeks before a show, paying particular attention to the head and legs. Brush the body coat regularly as the coat grows in. Heads may be tidied a couple of days before a show.

• Comb with a medium-toothed comb. Comb through beard and mustache to ensure no mats or debris are present.
• Body: Strip the body and legs before the head. When stripping for the show ring, the golden rule is to strip the side nearest the judge. Dead hair should be stripped out by hand. Start at the top of the neck and strip out the hair following the direction of the lie of the coat. Chalk powder will help.
• Work down the neck along the body and down the legs, removing all fringing. Softer hair in the anal and genital region can be shortened with scissors. Strip the feet and, if necessary, trim to enhance the shape. Strip the tail, removing all fringing.
• Head: the aim of stripping the head is to make it appear long and narrow, and to reveal the correct divergent side profiles of the skull and muzzle. The golden rule is never to strip the coat forward of a line vertical to the outside of the eye. Stripping in front of the eye gives a highly undesirable Schnauzer-like appearance.
• Starting behind the eyebrows, strip out the coat on top of the skull, over the occiput, and blend into the neck. Then strip out the sides of the skull from the corner of the eye backwards. Strip down the ears to give a clean outline. If the ears are too short, leave a little hair toward the lower part of the ear flap and trim the edges with scissors to give the illusion of slightly longer ears.
• Comb the beard and, using thinning scissors, shorten the beard to enhance the squareness and length of the muzzle. “Goat beards” should always be shortened.
• Finally, using thinning scissors, shorten the eyebrows to about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Care must be taken to avoid a hard line. The eyebrows must always look natural and must never be so long as to fall forward and obscure the characteristic “peeping expression.” Spinone eyebrows should always be brushed backwards, never forwards like a German Wirehaired Pointer. Some Spinoni (said to be of ancient lineage) have a fan of hair growing from the stop in front of their eyes. If this obscures the eyes, it should be shortened, using thinning scissors.
• Bathe the dog in a natural-ingredient shampoo, such as tea tree and lavender.
• Rinse thoroughly, making sure all the suds are removed.
• Remove excess moisture from the coat with super absorbent towels.
• Comb the coat through and finish in warm air, a cage or with a gentle blower.
• Check the dog’s nails, ears and teeth. Spinoni have dewclaws on both front and rear feet. These must be clipped more frequently than the other nails.
• Check between the pads and remove excess hair, or this will knot and become uncomfortable for the dog to walk on.
• Lightly spray with a finish conditioner to enhance the coat, and replenish natural oils where necessary.
• If the dog is to be clipped instead of hand‑stripped, demat the coat, bathe and condition. Using an Oster No. 5 blade, starting from the top of the neck, clip the body and legs. Scissor the tail, around the dewclaws, and the hair between the pads, and trim the feet to show the shape. Trim the anal and genital region. Trim off the very long hair from the outside of the ears. Using an Oster No. 8 blade, clip the top and side of the skull backwards from the eyebrows, over the occiput, and blend into the neck. Clip down the ears, and finish the head as described above.
• Sometimes, the breed is stripped to enhance its outline (where necessary) and, occasionally, pet dogs are seen trimmed down shorter.
• However, the hair is relatively easy to maintain and should not require clipping short except for health reasons, or where the skin is thin and a double coat exists, as stripping here would be difficult and miserable for the dog to endure. In such instances, demat the coat, bathe and dry, then clip the entire body with a medium blade, leaving the coat about one to 3/4 inch (2 cm) in length.
• From the eyebrows back, clip the ears and the top of the side of the skull shorter (about 3/4 inch / 2 cm). Finish the head as detailed above.