Laid back best describes this Italian hunter. At first glance this could lead the novice trainer into believing the Spinone is a dumb animal, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Spinone is an intelligent, responsive dog, capable of learning complex tasks very quickly. Basic obedience comes very naturally to the Spinone and is best learned early on in the pup's first year of experience. Like many other sporting class breeds, the Spinone does well in the obedience ring, as a tracking dog, and as a therapy dog as well as the many other areas of training available to the dog fancier.
The Spinone is a social animal, bonding very closely with its family. Most Spinoni love playing with other dogs and children as well as other smaller animals (they seem to like to point cats). For the most part, the Spinone is docile and affectionate, often clownish at times. It is, however, wise to keep an eye on your Spinone when it is playing with small children or animals. Because of its size, weight and powerful gait the Spinone can cause unintentional harm to smaller animals and children by knocking them over. The Spinone does not do well in a kennel situation unless it has regular daily attention. It is by far better to keep your Spinone in the house, if possible, as it thrives on human contact. There is absolutely no truth to the myth that keeping a hunting dog in the house ruins or severely limits its hunting ability. In many cases the opposite is true.
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