Facts About Italian Greyhounds

Size

The IG technically falls into the toy dog category due to it’s low weight. However it is much larger than other toy dogs due to it’s slender nature. It is typically the smallest variation of the greyhound family.

It isn’t correct to call them minature greyhounds as they are their own breed whose bloodline dates back thousands of years and their size is not a direct result of specific breeding as in minature variations in other dogs! Though the breed does have problems with crossbreeding by breeders, this dates back hundreds of years ago and results in the breed we know today.

Origin

The Italian Greyhound recieved it’s name because of it’s popularity in Italy in the 16th century. Speculated to be on the oldest dog breeds, it likely originated in either Greece or Turkey. Mummified remains have also been found buried alongside their owners in as far as Egypt.

Royalty

The Italian Greyhound has always been popular with royalty, likely due to it being one of the best companion dogs. Queen Victoria, Queen Anne and Catherine the Great amongst others hae all had IG companions!