Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Italian Greyhound Breed Overview
- History of the Italian Greyhound Breed. Where Italian Greyhounds came from
- What the Italian Greyhound Looks Like
- How Much is the Italian Greyhound Puppy?
- Best Italian Greyhound Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Italian Greyhound
- Italian Greyhound Growth
- What Colors do Italian Greyhounds Have?
- Italian Greyhound Litter Size
- How Fast Italian Greyhounds Can Run
- Good Names for Italian Greyhounds
- How Intelligent are Italian Greyhounds?
- How Popular are Italian Greyhounds with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Italian Greyhounds and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Italian Greyhound
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Italian Greyhounds
- Other Things to Know About Italian Greyhounds
Italian Greyhound Breed Overview
The Italian Greyhound is a small-sized dog.
The adult Italian Greyhound stands 13 to 15 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Italian Greyhound belongs to the Companion Dogs group.
Dogs in the Companion Dogs group, like the Italian Greyhound, were bred to be companions for humans. Their main goal in life is to be with people, and they will be very sad if left to themselves for long hours day after day.
The fact that Italian Greyhounds belong to the Companion Dogs group is one of the reasons why Italian Greyhounds have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Italian Greyhound is generally described as:
- Affectionate
- Agile
- Athletic
- Companionable
- Intelligent
- Mischievous
History of the Italian Greyhound Breed. Where Italian Greyhounds came from
Greyhound is thought to be derived from the Old English grighund.
The word Greyhound appears in the Bible.
According to some, the English word does not refer to the actual grey color but rather to a “fair dog.
” The exact origin of the Italian Greyhound is unknown; however, we do have artwork depicting the breed dating back 2,000 years.
The Italian Greyhound is thought to have been brought to Europe by the Phoenicians, where it was developed solely as a companion animal.
The Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all adored dogs; in fact, the Romans were instrumental in developing the Italian Greyhound.
Many royals were devoted to their dogs of this breed, and Frederick the Great of Prussia is said to have been buried with one.
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What the Italian Greyhound Looks Like
The Italian Greyhound is a small-boned, short-statured dog.
It has a long, narrow head with a muzzle that tapers to a point.
In a scissors bite, the teeth come together.
It has medium-sized eyes and ears that fold back along its head.
The dog has dewclaws that can be removed at the owner`s discretion.
The Italian Greyhound comes in various colors: gray, slate gray, red, fawn, blue, black, white, and cream.
Italian Greyhounds can be white with markings or another color with white on the chest and feet.
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How Much is the Italian Greyhound Puppy?
The average price of a Italian Greyhound puppy is $1930. The price of a Italian Greyhound puppy ranges from $1500 to $2250.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Italian Greyhound. These factors include what health records the Italian Greyhound puppy has, the lineage of the Italian Greyhound puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Italian Greyhound based on the many factors that determine the price of the Italian Greyhound puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Italian Greyhound puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Italian Greyhound breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Italian Greyhound Breeders
We have researched reputable Italian Greyhound breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Italian Greyhound breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Jenson Broadbent
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Marlord Italian Greyhounds
Puppy Price: $3000
Jason and Christine Poynter
Puppy Price: $3000
Miller`s Iggies
Puppy Price: $1200
Celtic Sighthounds
Puppy Price: $2000 gorgeous male
Adopting or Rescuing the Italian Greyhound
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Italian Greyhounds included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Italian Greyhound named Bean that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Italian Greyhounds like Bean on pefinder.com.
Tito is the name of another Italian Greyhound (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Italian Greyhounds that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Italian Greyhound Growth
New Italian Greyhound owners need to know about the growth of their Italian Greyhounds. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Italian Greyhound will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Italian Greyhound early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Italian Greyhound puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Italian Greyhound at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Italian Greyhound
What Colors do Italian Greyhounds Have?
Italian Greyhounds come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- Sable
- Black
- Red / Chestnut / Orange
- Brown / Chocolate
- Gray / Blue / Silver
- Yellow / Tan / Blond / Fawn
- Bicolor
- White / Cream
- Brindle
Italian Greyhound Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 34 different Italian Greyhound birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Italian Greyhounds can have is 3 puppies. Also, the Italian Greyhound can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 6 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Italian Greyhound will have depends on factors such as the age of the Italian Greyhound, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Italian Greyhound will have and how the litter size of the Italian Greyhound compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Italian Greyhounds Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 93 different Italian Greyhounds, the average speed of the Italian Greyhound is 24.4 mph (39.2 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Italian Greyhound ran in a race is 35.78 mph (57.6 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Italian Greyhound is 2.54 mph (4.1 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Italian Greyhound compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Italian Greyhounds
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Italian Greyhound ranked by popularity:
- Pippen
- Charlie
- Molly
- Boomer
- Brazos
- Jack
- Smokey
- Hugh
- Oakley
- Leo
How Intelligent are Italian Greyhounds?
| Italian Greyhound | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 60 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 40 To 80 Repetitions! |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Italian Greyhound has an obedience intelligence rank of 60 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Italian Greyhounds in the `Fair Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Italian Greyhounds tend to learn new commands after 40 to 80 repetitions!.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| English Springer Spaniel | 13 |
| Belgian Tervuren | 14 |
| Irish Water Spaniel | 24 |
| Cardigan Welsh Corgi | 26 |
| Airedale Terrier | 29 |
| American Staffordshire Terrier | 34 |
| Dalmatian | 39 |
| Finnish Spitz | 43 |
| Boxer | 48 |
| Alaskan Malamute | 50 |
| Ibizan Hound | 53 |
| Italian Greyhound | 60 |
| Old English Sheepdog | 63 |
| Lhasa Apso | 68 |
| Bullmastiff | 69 |
| Shih Tzu | 70 |
| Beagle | 72 |
| Borzoi | 75 |
| American Bulldog | 77 |
| Afghan Hound | 79 |
How Popular are Italian Greyhounds with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Italian Greyhound.
The popularity of the Italian Greyhound averaged over the years is Number 71 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Italian Greyhounds and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Italian Greyhound is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Italian Greyhound puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Italian Greyhound breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Italian Greyhounds for:
- Autoimmune thyroiditis
- Eye Examination at 36 months, recommend annual testing to age 10
- Hip Dysplasia/Legg-Calve-Perthes
- Patellar Luxation
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Italian Greyhounds here.
How to Take Care of Italian Greyhound
To take good care of your Italian Greyhound, you need to make sure that you groom your Italian Greyhound regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Italian Greyhound regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Italian Greyhound`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Italian Greyhound daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Italian Greyhound.
Also, you need to feed your Italian Greyhound high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Italian Greyhound from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Italian Greyhound and how much food to feed the Italian Greyhound at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Italian Greyhound has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Italian Greyhound needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Italian Greyhounds
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Italian Greyhound.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Italian Greyhound:
- Tibetan Spaniel (77 percent match with Italian Greyhound). Learn more about the Tibetan Spaniel here.
- Whippet (78 percent match with Italian Greyhound). Learn more about the Whippet here.
Other Things to Know About Italian Greyhounds
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Italian Greyhound that you need to know about the Italian Greyhound breed:
