Family-friendly: | 5/5 |
Exercise needs: | 4/5 |
Easy to train: | 3/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 1/5 |
Likes other pets: | 4/5 |
Energy level: | 4/5 |
Grooming needs: | 3/5 |
Shedding: | 2/5 |
Lifespan
14–15 years
Weight
3.5–4.5kg
Height
32–38cm
Colours
Black, fawn, blue fawn, chocolate, sable, tan, red fawn, blue, slate grey, grey, yellow and red
Size
Small
Kennel Club group
Toy
The need-to-know
- Dog suitable for owners with some experience
- Basic training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys active walks
- Needs under an hour of walking a day
- Small dog
- Minimum drool
- Requires grooming once a week
- Quiet dog
- Welcomes everyone happily
- Generally friendly with other dogs
- Gets along with other pets with training
- May need additional supervision to live with children
- Needs a small garden
- Can happily live in the city
- Can be left occasionally with training
Generally healthy breed
The Italian Greyhound dog is generally a healthy breed but can suffer from:
- Patellar luxation
- Dental problems including decay and tooth loss.
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
None but there are several recommended schemes that the Kennel Club recommends which can be found here.
Personality
This is a clean, shy, gentle dog that loves to snuggle, partly out of affection and partly due to their need to keep warm! The Italian Greyhound does better with early socialisation so they will accept new people and situations more readily but they are nearly always a one-person dog. Once they have bonded to their owner, they will be inseparable and often are disinterested in other people or dogs.
Did You Know?
- Despite the name, the Italian Greyhound comes originally from ancient Egypt (where their mummified remains could be found entombed with pharaohs) as well as Greece and Rome.
- They are probably the very first breed to be developed purely as a companion and have been around between 4,000 – 7,000 years.
- Italian Greyhounds are known to chase cars, bikes, people and cats – they are a sighthound after all!
Found your perfect breed?
Have a read through these articles selected by our in-house vet.