THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND

Through this lecture, I hope to show you that it is easy for each of you to become a competent judge of Italian Greyhounds.
You can be comfortable and confident with the breed, as long as you always remember that it is a

small sighthound with high stepping, free gait Of course, there are a lot of “fiddly bits” that come together to make up the total dog, but do not be so distracted by the smaller details that the total dog is lost.

[ The Current Standard is given in Italics ]

It is well documented by writers of the last century that the breed’s survival was threatened by efforts to miniaturize it to 4-5 lbs.
At about the same time, the Whippet was first known as such, and the two similar breeds began to diverge - the Italian Greyhound retaining its fineness and highstepping gait - the Whippet becoming a stronger, more functional hunter.
The English breeders of the Victorian era seemed to have reveled in experimenting with cross breeding to gain or strengthen a particular characteristic,in some cases, claiming to have regained pure breed type in just four generations.
Their efforts to further decrease the size of the IG were not successful, and the after effects are still with us today. Later crosses with the Miniature Pinscher confuse matters even further.

• The English Toy Terrier and Whippet standards fault IG characteristics

• The IG standard debars brindle or black/tan colouration whether strong or dilute.

• Remember all the cross-breeding that was done and do not tolerate terrier or pinscher outlines, toplines or other characteristics

• Often misinterpreted, 'quick moving' does not mean the the dog necessarily races around the ring, but refers rather to its whole attitude......... it is lively not lethargic.

• Typically sighthound , this aloofness is often caused by its eye sight, often unable to focus on object close to it, it will back away. There is often a fine line and some confusion between aloofness, and just plain bad temperament. Pups often go trough a difficult stage, and must be handled with understanding lest irreparable damage be done

The basics are in the Standard, but ,in addition, remember As there is only a slight stop, the eye cannot be round. There is the typically sighthound, softened or rounded triangle to oval shape. Nose overhangs line of bottom jaw Chiseling under eyes Foreface and backskull preferably equal in length and parallel Eye colour should not be lighter than coat colour

• Ears must be rosed, never pricked or semi pricked, never buttoned or semi buttoned [with the exception of teething pups, when it is acceptable]

• Preferred small; set with the bottom edge of the ear level with the corner of the eye.

• When roofed, in line with the top of the skull

• When thrown back, tips touching or crossed at the back of the neck.

Like many small dogs, Italian Greyhounds are prone to dental problems, and can suffer loss of incisors at quite a young age, which should not debar them from competition.

Neck Long, gracefully arched.

A correct neck is a hallmark of the breed, distinctly Italian Greyhound. It contributes towards the free, high-stepping gait. The neck is as long as the head It is set abruptly into the withers, and has a slight bulge at the front, just above its insertion to the body. [Thyroid level] It is well crested, and broadens out to its insertion at the withers.

• It is held high and upright on the move.

• Not to be confused with a ewe neck, which has a concave upper profile.

• As in all sighthounds, the front angulation is fairly open, with the shoulder sufficiently angled to give length of neck.

• The forequarters are set somewhat forward on the body, so that the prosternum is just visible in front of the point of shoulder; but not so far forward as to give a steeple front.

• This forequarter construction contributes towards the free, high-stepping gait.

• The bone in the forelegs is flat, bladed bone [narrow when seen from the front, wide from the side, typically sighthound]

• The pasterns are slightly sloping [typically sighthound]

The basics are in the standard. The body is typically Sighthound. A hallmark of the breed, distinctly Italian Greyhound, is that the IG is never longer than it is tall. The distance from the point of shoulder to the ischium is not longer than the height at the withers. This contributes to the free, high-stepping gait. The slight arch over the loin [ required by the standard ], begins at the anticline, and is derived primarily from musculature.

Therefore, it is not a fixed, rigid arch but can, does and should change with temperature and other variables. This ‘slight arch’ which is fundamental to the ‘sighthound’ appearance is probably easiest to assess as the dog is moving at a brisk trot. The deepest part of the chest should reach to the level of the point of the elbow. The ribs should be carried well back. The ribs should be neither slab sided nor barreled.

The basics are in the standard. The hindquarters are typically sighthound. The croup is long and sloping, but not steep. The first and second thighs are approximately equal, and long enough to give the well bent stifle, required by the standard. The muscling, which should be apparent, is long and flat.

• Viewed from the side, the hindquarter should not stand under the body. nor should it be out behind the dog, [ as in the Whippet ],but should be placed, when the dog is standing naturally, so as a line dropped from the ischium would intercept the metatarsi. This contributes to the free, high-stepping gait. A typical IG in this position has the withers, the apex of the loin arch and the pin bones at not greatly differing levels. Remember that the IG is capable of being artificially posed in exaggerated stance, and may also assume a ‘crouch’ under certain circumstances.

• The stifles and hocks should bend and flex with forward thrust.

• Not the hind legs being carried along as a prop in a kind of pendulum fashion, without drive. This is often associated with a dog moving ‘up in the rear’ with an underangulated hindquarter and/or an inflexible, roached topline.

• Not exaggerated up and down movement of the stifle and feet which gives a short length of stride and a bouncy , mincing gait.

• Not any of the movement faults associated with over angulated and/or too long hind legs which are used by the dog to prevent the hindlegs from interfering with the front legs. These range from simply over reaching and crabbing to carrying the hind legs diagonally across the body [plaiting behind] to quite involved procedures, crouching behind and moving in a sickle hocked way, spraddling, bowing the stifles, etc.etc.

• The front action must be high and ground-covering

• Ideally, the legs should be lifted so as the foreleg is parallel to the ground

• There is some break in pastern, but when the foot hits the ground [which it does forward of the nose] the foot, pastern and leg form a straight line.

• Not a low, straight -through step [ as in the Whippet and even more so, the Fox Terrier]

• Not a over high , restricted gait like the needle on a sewing machine[which often has a corresponding hackney -like hind movement]

• Not the lower, but equally restricted rotary action of feet and pasterns [ which is also often seen in faulty Whippet gait]

• Long hare feet should be well knuckled with thick pads. Unfortunately, these are seldom seen, a shorter, more oval foot being more common.

• Never cat feet, they are not typical.

• The tail should reach to the hock.

• Pups may carry the tail gaily, and stud dogs may raise the tail as a sign of aggression towards other studs.

• As the tail is very fine, particularly towards the tip, the breed often suffers breaks in the bone, which should not be penalized.

• However, a genetically kinked tail is not to be condoned.

• The coat must always be complete, without bald or sparse areas particularly along the back. This can be a symptom of genetic diseases and should be faulted.

• Young pups may have a slightly longer or fluffy coat, which can be tolerated below the age of twelve months.

• There must be correlation between height and weight.

• Although there is no height range given in this standard, it is generally accepted that the height ranges from 13-15 ins .NB The Kennel Club has recently amended the Standard to give the desired height range as 13 to 15 ins. The weight has also been raised to 8 to 10 lbs. However, in my experience, this is an impossibility as a 13 inch Italian Greyhound weighs around the 6 lb mark

• Therefore, the 10 lb. dog should be close to 15in. at the wither, the six lb. dog, close to 13 in.

• It is useful to put this height/weight ratio into perspective by comparison with other breeds in the toy group.

• E.G.The largest Chinese Crested and Lowchen should never be taller than the smallest IG. The largest Bichon Frise should always be an inch smaller than the smallest IG.The smallest English Toy Terrier should weigh the same as, but be 2ins smaller than the smallest IG.The heaviest Silky should weigh the same as, but be 6ins. shorter than the biggest IG.

To sum up: The Italian Greyhound is a small sighthound. To be a worthy representative of the breed, it must have the breed hallmarks. Typical sighthound outline Typical height/length ratio Typical neck set Rose ears High stepping and free gait Elegance