About Italian Greyhounds
Italian Greyhounds are members of the Toy Group, however there is much
discussion about this as they are very much a sighthound by nature and
opinions differ as to which group they should be in. Some people feel
they would be better placed in the Hound Group. Italian Greyhounds (or
iggies) are often described by their owners as perpetual puppies as most
retain that puppy playfulness well into maturity.
Italian Greyhounds
need love and affection and can be very demanding of their owners, often
wanting to be close and cuddled up on a lap. They are not suited to live
outdoors the climate in the UK is far too cold and most Italians would
be unhappy to be that far away from their family. Italian Greyhounds are
happiest if they can share the family members beds as well! However a
nice warm snuggle bed will suffice.
Iggies are not great fans of rain,
wind etc.. and this can lead to problems with toilet training if
routines are not established when young. This also means that (due to
their short coat) they will need appropriate coats/or fleeces to wear
when the weather begins to get chilly. As well as being very fast
runners some iggies can jump very high and good fencing is required to
keep them secure, and, in the house, very tall dog gates!
Iggies can have
a very high prey drive and some will chase anything that moves! It is
essential that a good recall is established very early. At Shadedmoon we
believe reward based training methods produce the best results, Iggies
are sensitive dogs and do not respond well to some of the training
methods that are used with other breeds. All the dogs here are trained
to return to a blast on a gundog whistle so that they can be recalled
when they are out of earshot of a voiced recall. This is especially
useful when they have run off after prey maybe into woods etc.
Even though the iggies at Shadedmoon are trained to recall we are
cautious and do not generally let them off anywhere near roads, Because
of their speed they can get quite a distance away from their owner in a
very short space of time. Iggies need wide collars to protect their
tracheas and this also prevents the collar from slipping off over their
head.
This is a very brief general description and additional
information can be gained through contacting the Italian Greyhound Club
of Great Britain.
We do hope to add to this site and the information available.
We welcome feedback through our guestbook
Italian Greyhounds are inquisitive, fun, infuriating, sensitive, loving, stubborn,
intelligent, gentle, naughty, sweet and mischievous, but in the wrong
environment can be miserable and lonely.
Please read our Think Twice page