Italian Greyhound

Coat and looks how to spot one

Short, fine, glossy single coat

A true sighthound shrunk to toy size: fine-boned and slender, with a long neck, a small narrow head, a deep chest and a strongly tucked-up belly, all fitting roughly into a square outline. The coat is very short, soft and satin-like with no fringes, lying over thin, close-fitting skin. It moves with a springy, high-stepping trot and can switch into a fast gallop.2376

Personality what they are like

Sweet, lively and very attached to its people, the Italian Greyhound loves to curl up close and often follows its owner from room to room. The FCI standard describes it as lively, affectionate and docile. It is clever and playful at home but can be sensitive and a little reserved with strangers. It responds best to gentle, reward-based training, and like other sighthounds it may give chase to small moving animals.2385

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Moderate. The Royal Kennel Club suggests up to an hour of exercise a day; a daily walk plus play usually suits it. It enjoys short bursts of running in a safely fenced area and can reach high speeds, so off-lead running is best kept to secure spaces.657

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Very easy coat care: a weekly wipe or soft brush, occasional baths, regular nail trims and routine ear and tooth care. With its thin coat and lean body it feels the cold, so a sweater or coat is useful in chilly or wet weather.65

Home where they are happiest

Adapts well to smaller homes and flats. A small to medium, securely fenced garden is enough. Needs a warm indoor space and soft bedding, and benefits from a coat outdoors in cold climates.65

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A complete, good-quality small-breed dog food. Adults do well on two meals a day and puppies on three, with small portions (roughly half to one cup a day for an adult, depending on food and activity). Keep an eye on body condition to keep it lean.5

Company who they like around

A people-focused companion that likes to be with its family most of the day and seeks plenty of attention and cuddles. Best with adults or older, calm children who handle it gently. Often enjoys the company of another Italian Greyhound or similar dog.53

The story where it all began

The Italian Greyhound comes from small sighthounds that already lived in ancient Egypt and around the Mediterranean, and dogs of this type reached the Italian peninsula around the 5th century BC. The Romans kept them as house companions, and remains of small sighthounds have been found in Pompeii, buried in AD 79. The breed reached a high point during the Italian Renaissance, when noble families such as the Medici, Visconti and d'Este kept them and painters including Giotto and Tiepolo put them in their work. From Italy the dogs spread to royal courts across Europe, owned by Anne of Denmark, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria. In Britain, 40 were listed in the first Kennel Club Stud Book of 1874, and a breed club followed in 1900. The two World Wars left numbers in Europe very low, and breeders in Italy and elsewhere rebuilt the breed with imported dogs from the 1950s. The FCI accepted it in 1956, and today it is kept mainly as a companion.2374

Recognised by the official bits

FCI

Standard No. 200 (Piccolo Levriero Italiano / Italian Sighthound), Group 10 (Sighthounds), Section 3 (Short-haired Sighthounds); definitive acceptance 22 Oct 1956; current standard published 13 Nov 2015; no working trial1

The Royal Kennel Club

Toy Group; Breed Watch Category 16

UKC

Companion Dog Group; recognised 19483

AKC

Toy Group; sources differ on the recognition year: 1886 (Wikipedia, first AKC registrations) or 1896 (AKC history article)4

Popularity AKC rank 53 of registered breeds in 20259