Ardenstorm

The above photo was the winner of the" Portrait Section " for The Kennel Club's Dog Photographer of the Year 2007 . Eileen was presented with an oil painting at Discover Dogs by Rosemary Smart ,Chief Executive of the KC , who went on to say in the Clumber Spaniel newsletter"This is a striking image, beautifully shot and in the judges view,particularly captures the quality of the breed". We have owned Bracchi for over 11 years, Pia being our oldest, she is now retired from all showing & working but still enjoys her long walks with the rest of our dogs.Her wins are to numerous to mention , but she gained her first BB at only 12 mnths old & she was top Bracco show dog in 1999. Rosa is our second Bracco and once again has many wins,gaining her first RBB at only 8 mnths & her second RBB at 9 mnths old! Her son Brac is our first home bred boy & he gained a RBD at only 12 mnths , & his first BD at 17 mnths ,we are absolutely over the moon with his progress in both the field & show ring.Brac passed the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Puppy Foundation Assessment Award at 17 weeks old and his KC Good Citizen Bronze Award at 6months old . His gundog training is coming along very well ,and we introduced him on his first shoot November 2007 He was very excited at first but soon realised what was expected of him, he had a very successful day. In the show ring he is following in his mum's footsteps Gunstrux Rosa Caro at Ardenstorm (Rosa).
Since coming off the Import Register in January 2008 Brac has achieved so much .We are very proud that we bred this wonderful boy.A BIG THANK YOU must go to our very special friend Doctor Ros Roden for allowing us to use that very special boy Yogi (Olympos Castagnaccio) on our lovely bitch Rosa (Gunstrux Rosa Caro at Ardenstorm) bred by our friend Jo Norman. The judges comments have been absolutely positive and we thank them all. Most judges seem to be reading the breed standard & that can only be a positive move in the right direction ,having said that it worries us that some comments made by "breed specialists" eg Heads are a worry in the breed"when in fact there are a number of very typical heads out there that are being overlooked,(this is only one important part of this wonderful breed) what seems to be forgotten is,this is a working gundog ,powerful on the move with an untiring extended trot .To watch these dogs working in their homeland (Italy) which we both have experienced is absolutely breathtaking, so please take this on board when judging/ or owning these magnificant dogs .

Hazel & I have owned dogs all of our lives.
We are a kennel of Weimaraners & Bracchi in North Northumberland, our interest in Weimaraners began 30 years ago , we didn't acquire our beautiful girl Helga (who was obedienced trained )until 1989 , this was because we had two small children to raise. Over the years Helga's offspring have been shown & worked with success.
Our interest in Bracchi began in 1995 after reading an article written by Jonathan Shaw, breeder of our first Bracco, acquired in 1997. Pia was Top Import Gundog in 1999.We have loved & owned this breed for over 11 years and only one litter to date, taking our time to find in our opinion the best stud dog ,Our aim is to breed quality and so far we have achieved this . After travelling to Denmark,we brought NEW BLOODLINES into the UK in 2000 by importing the semen of World Champion Olympos Felice Anno Nouvo (Diesel) Grand sire of Brac. This semen is still available . Unfortunately Pia suffered a Pyometra & was spayed. We have since travelled to Italy & Finland researching the breed. 4 years after Pia was spayed ,we heard that the beautiful bitch Heinaaron Tuo Tulipano (Lyyli) whom we had admired over the years, was coming to the U.K. to be mated, we immediately booked a puppy. The result is:
Gunstrux Rosa Caro at Ardenstorm (Rosa).
Rosa's hip score 4 : 7. Eye tested clear. ROSA like BRAC will be working on the local shoot in November.Rosa will be lightly campaigned in the show ring from now as we want to concentrate on her working ability.
Thanks must go to Teija for allowing Lyyli to come to the UK , but most important a big thank you to Joanne Norman for breeding our beautiful girl. We are very fortunate to live on a Sporting Estate where Rosa & now Brac will be worked every season. Brac (Ardenstorm Luciano Bosis) named after an Italian Shotgun Maker, is Rosa's very handsome son.
The working abilities of the Bracco are PARAMOUNT, we feel that this area needs more focus from U.K. BREEDERS. This will become a 'LAZY' breed if more care is not taken.
We do enjoy our hobby of showing but the working ability of the breed comes first.

John has The Judging Diploma & Breeding Certificate from the Animal Care College & judges gundogs. He is on the B list of the Weimaraner Club of Scotland, also the B specialist list of the Bracco Italiano Society.We have been members of The Weimaraner Club of Great Britain since 1990, we are also members of the North of England H.P.R. Club, founder members of both Cheviot Canine Society & The Bracco Italiano Society. All of our dogs make us proud with their achievements in the showring , but there is nothing like the feeling of excitement watching them work in the field ,something they were bred to do. The Bracco must not be allowed to lose this. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS, therefore to make sure we are doing the best we can to eliminate the problems that have arisen in some Bracchi , pedigrees will be studied and all of our stock will be hip scored, elbow scored & eye tested. We also require both stud dog & bitch to be strep tested. Brac has a satisfactory hip score of 5:10 & his elbows are 0:0. If you feel this is the breed for you do your homework ,get as much information as possible from breeders etc who have a vast amount of knowledge & not people who have been in the breed five minutes & may give you wrong information ,this breed is not for everyone, they have a brain which must be kept occupied or you will be heading for trouble. Remember this is a Hunting dog & must be allowed to do what it was bred for! Please feel free to contact us & we will help as much as we can.