Italian Greyhound
Temperament:
Frederick the Great loved them, so did the Roman ladies: wind chimes. The Italian Greyhound or simply 'Greyhound' is the smallest breed of greyhound. In Italy it is also called 'Piccolo Leviero Italiano'. You just have to like these cute little bundles of temperament.
Characteristics
The Italian Greyhound is a breed recognized by the FCI. It belongs to the FCI group 10, which are the sighthounds. On average, the Italian Greyhound lives from 12 to 15 years. The sighthound does not shed at all and is therefore ideal for allergy sufferers.
The Italian Greyhound grows 32 to 38 cm tall and weighs up to 5 kg. Its coat is short and soft. It has no undercoat. The colors allowed are black, gray, slate gray and isabelline. White markings on the paws or chest are permitted.
The Greyhound has triangular ears that point forward. The eyes are dark and almond-shaped. They look lively and intelligent to the world. The body of the wind chime is elongated. It has a narrow and also elongated head.
The Italian Greyhound looks fragile and at the same time noble. It has hardly any fat under the skin. Therefore, it does not tolerate cold and moisture. If it is much lighter than 5 kg, it tends to constant trembling and weak health.
The Greyhound is an intelligent and cheerful dog. It is cuddly and very affectionate to its owner. It just likes the body contact with its owner and loves to cuddle.
The Italian Greyhound wants to be with you always and everywhere. You should not leave it alone. Can you not be at home so often and not take your wind chime with you? Then maybe you can buy several wind chimes.
The Italian Greyhound is intelligent and eager to learn. You can train it easily because it always wants to please. Most of the time the wind chimes behave well. You can also train several wind chimes so that you can easily take them everywhere.
Actually, the greyhound has been bred as a hunting dog. It hunts hares on sight. Therefore, it has a strong hunting instinct. Like all sighthounds, it also has a strong racing instinct. Therefore, when you take a sighthound for a walk, you must always be careful. It becomes incredibly fast on short distances.
Coat care:
Shedding:
Energy level:
Trainability:
Children suitable:
The right food
Greyhounds need a lot of energy for their sprints. In addition, their body needs extra energy to protect themselves from cooling down. Therefore, they should get high-energy food. However, food that contains fat is not converted into energy very quickly. A food that is too meat-heavy can easily lead to kidney problems in wind chimes. Therefore, it is best to provide the extra energy in the form of carbohydrates.
Wind chimes tartar easily. Give your wind chime baked food. This will help a little with cleaning teeth. The hard edges clean the teeth as well as chewing. Other chews also help keep or rid the teeth of tartar.
Otherwise, the Italian Greyhound is not very demanding in terms of nutrition. You can prepare the diet yourself or buy ready-made special food for sighthounds. In any case, you should make sure that your Italian Greyhound has enough to chew. Especially if it normally gets wet food.
Many Italian Greyhounds have kidney problems or suffer from allergies. In these cases, you need to switch to special food. Food for a dog with kidney disease must not contain too much protein, but also little sodium and phosphorus. Dogs with kidney disease must drink enough. In any case, consult your veterinarian.
Italian Greyhound care
Greyhounds are somewhat demanding to keep. You can keep them in the countryside or in a city apartment. But they need a lot of movement, several hours a day. At the same time they are very sensitive to rain and cold.
You should put protective clothing on your wind chime for the walk. As an alternative, use ways that your dog can move around inside. The German Sighthound Breeding and Racing Association has racing tracks. If you are a member, you can use them with your sighthound.
The Italian Greyhound often has dental problems. It is best to brush his teeth every day. Also, give him dog cookies or other nibbles. These will help prevent tartar buildup.
Relatively many Italian Greyhounds do not tolerate medications such as vaccinations and anesthetics well. In addition, the kidneys are rather sensitive. You will have to pay more attention to the health of your wind chime.
The thin legs and delicate tail of the wind chime break relatively easily. When romping around, especially with children, you must be very careful that your Greyhound does not hurt itself. In general, the Greyhound is rather susceptible to injury. You have to expect relatively high veterinary costs if you buy an Italian Greyhound.
The short coat of your Greyhound is low maintenance. You brush it regularly or massage it with a nap glove. This is sufficient for the fur and your wind chime is happy about the strokes.
Your Italian Greyhound looks so cute. Nevertheless, you have to educate it consistently. He loves to learn and wants to be good. But you have to tell him exactly what you want from him, otherwise he can't learn good manners.
Suitable accessories
For your Italian Greyhound, first of all, you need a special wind chime collar. You can also use a suitable dog harness. The narrow head slips out of a normal dog collar much too easily.
What you probably also need is clothing for your Greyhound. It is very sensitive to wetness and cold. In the trade there are various coats, sweaters and rompers.
You will need a dog toothbrush or fingerstall for daily dental care. You will also need dog toothpaste. There is now even mouthwash for dogs and tons of chew toys. It's best to ask your vet for advice on what he thinks is best.
Other than that, all you need for your Greyhound is the same equipment you would need for any other dog. A brush or a nap glove for the short coat, bowls, leash, toys, treats, poop bags.
Origin & History
In any case, the Italian Greyhound is a very old and noble breed. Probably it descends from the Egyptian greyhound Tesem or Tjesem. There is a picture of a Tesem from a tomb from 2065 BC. The famous Cleopatra probably also kept the small greyhounds.
Later they were introduced to Rome via Greece and are said to have become fashionable among the noble Roman women. In the Vatican there is a statue of a wind chime that is more than 2000 years old. From Laconia in Greece there are various ancient images of the wind chimes on cups and drinking bowls.
In the 14th century, Greyhounds gradually conquered Europe. Many nobles owned wind chimes at that time. The nobles were allowed to hunt unlike the non-noble people. The Greyhounds were used to hunt hares on sight. Frederick II of Prussia had some wind chimes, which he loved very much. He even wanted to be buried next to them.
Later, the Greyhound was bred smaller and smaller and more delicate. This led to an increase in diseases and sensitivities. Only in the last century one began purposefully to breed back the older models. The current breed standard dates from 2015.
Nowadays, the Greyhound is kept as a sensitive family dog and companion. It suits people who spend a lot of time with it and give it enough exercise. It also likes to run a little race behind an artificial rabbit.
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