Italian Greyhound Club of America
Personality: "IGs are homebodies and bed warmers first," says Lynette Coyner, corresponding secretary of the Italian Greyhound Club of America, "but do enjoy car rides, outings and even hiking. They are very affectionate and need their owners to return their affection. They can be wary of strangers and large dogs but are devoted to their owners and families." Not only are they highly attuned to their owners, IGs are also notably "playful and intelligent," according to the American Kennel Club.
Grooming: Because of their super-short hair, coat grooming is rarely an issue for IGs. Dental hygiene for this breed, however, does take up more time. "IGs are notorious for losing teeth at a young age due to gum recession and bad tartar build up," Coyner explains. "Brushing their teeth every day and yearly dental visits at your veterinarian's will help your Italian greyhound keep his or her teeth longer."
Common Health Issues: Besides the aforementioned dental problems, IGs carry increased risks of a number of unusual health concerns. For example, broken leg and tail bones are a heightened risk, Coyner says:. "Since the tail is long, thin and fine-boned, an excited IG wagging its tail against a wall or other hard surfaces can result in a broken tail." Because of the breed's slight build and fine coat, frostbite may also be a problem depending on where you live.
IGs are also prone to suffering from progressive retinal atrophy. However, unique to this breed, it can sometimes lead to blindness at an age as young as 2 years. Cataracts, epilepsy, hypothyroidism and other autoimmune diseases may also occur. For these types of conditions, the best prevention that Coyner recommends is "purchasing an Italian greyhound from a careful, responsible and knowledgeable breeder who does health testing on the sire and dam before breeding."
Training Tips: The American Kennel Club claims that IGs are "generally easy to train." Coyner says, "Constant encouragement and positive reinforcement is the only way to quickly train an intelligent Italian greyhound." What can also help in the training process is "letting your IG know that you are in charge," she says, and that "you are protecting them and not abruptly putting them in what they perceive as a dangerous or uncomfortable situation." This is because "Italian greyhounds can be concerned about being prey to other dogs and strangers," Coyner explains. "They will always have a watchful eye on their surroundings."
When house training an IG, "you must be willing to be consistent and patient," Coyner says. The breed is notorious for being difficult to house train, as its sensitivity to cold, rain, snow and wind can make it quite difficult to encourage going to the bathroom outdoors. Coyner therefore recommends "indoor, newspaper-lined litter boxes for cold climates."
Best Owner/Animal Match: In the endless debate of whether or not a dog should be allowed on furniture, an IG owner might want to side with the "go ahead and let them on" team. This breed is "most happy and content cuddled up on the lap or squeezed tightly next to their favorite person all day and night," Coyner says. Other habits you'll have to tolerate include "being licked on the face" and "a dog that is clingy and follows you everywhere." The AKC notes that IGs are equally "adaptable to city and country life."
Other than that, "Italian greyhounds can adapt to almost any type of lifestyle or location as long as the owner is home more than not."
What Italian Greyhound Owners Have to Say: Lacy Ravencraft of Phoenix, Ariz. owns four IGs. She says, "I love this breed because they are truly one of the most loyal, human-focused dog breeds! They love to cuddle and snuggle under blankets. They have wonderful, often hilarious personalities, and are just such special dogs."
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Report spam! Don't Just give it a negative vote,REPORT IT!
I may be a tad biased, but the best bed warmer is my Aussie Shep/German Shep mix. With her in bed, on the coldest night, it's only a 'One Dog Night'...
Fred, I know exactly what you mean! I had an English Mastiff & what I always said was, "With a mastiff, even on a 3-Dog Night, all you need is one dog!" I loved that dog; he was my soul mate. Died 4 yrs ago & I still miss him like crazy. Mastiffs are a wonderful breed.
You can also send the spammers a letter. Most of the time the name they use is also their AOL address so go ahead and send them a nasty letter. I do it all the time. The mail never comes back as unknown.
If you want a lap dog, this is it. Be prepared for it to pee in the house, though. VERY difficult to housetrain.
I have 2 IGs, a male and a female. Both are spayed and neutered and are 7 yrs old. They just radiate heat under the covers and you are guaranteed a nap when the sit on your lap. The part about peeing in the house though is correct. The female is trained but the male likes lifting his leg everywhere. That we have easily correctly by having him wear doggie pants while in the house. These are easily purchased at any pet store. Big problem with an easy solution. I love my Iggys
Nothing against this cute looking dog, but I have two sweet Yorkshire Terriers that cuddle,follow,kiss and sleep with me. They are like two mini heaters! and they sleep under the blankets and beside me. They are wonderful :)
YOU! Your spamming!! Nice try on hinding it in what looks like a normal 'I love blank' comment. In fact, every time I go to pawnation or whatever, someone is there talking about the subject then wondering off to talk about some site that has N O T H I N G in commen with the topic. I really hate that! You must be getting paid for it, how much? You even worked around this sites defense by putting a ' in c'om.
I hate you spammer.
The more I know about humans, the better I like my dogs.
AMEN!!!!!!
I have 3 Siberian Huskies. Now that's a warm bed! Like sleeping in a full-length fur coat.
My IG is an incredible "cuddler" and adapted very quickly to using "puppy pads" as a housebreaking tool. He loves other dogs, but is very timid around other people.
I don't recall any of our family pets being bedwarmers. If I could continue to have the same type of dog throughout my life, it would be the same as Blaze. Blaze was a deliberate cross between a Black Lab and a Weimeraner. Very strong and intelligent dog. Very friendly. Natural bird dog [no training!] and tracker.
I was in Raleigh, NC at the fair grounds. They have a flea market every weekend. One particular Saturday they had about 50 of these dogs. They used them to race and after they are about 2 years old they can't be used anymore. They were adopting them. (I thought it was sad)
I've never forgotten that and often wished I would have adopted one. They come in a variety of colors and seemed to be very gentle dogs. They are huge!
You are tbinking about Greyhounds. IGs are not the same even though they look like a mininature Greyhound. They only weigh about 15 pounds at the heaviest. They are in toy dog category
Well, I have two dogs. I love my dogs. But I am a cat person. We have 5 inside cats, three females, two males.
Having said that...I will NOT allow dogs to live in my house. We have kept them in the house when we would get a young puppy, but as soon as they got old enough, they went outside. My mother-in-law is keeping my niece, her granddaughter's Maltese for awhile, and when she brings her over, I can't let her sit in the hot/cold car. So, she brings her inside, it get VERY interesting with the cats.
Everybody has their likes and dislikes, MINE is a dog in the house.
What you are doing is cruel! Dogs are SOCIAL animals and must be around you and other people in order to form their bonds. If you are not willing to take care of them then find someone who will! This is terrible for the dog. Terrible and unkind!!
I have a big Affie "afghan hound" He sleeps on the bed with me and I love it. First time I had a doggie on my bed, and i'm nearly 60 years old =0) I love sight hounds =0)
This is a sick series of articles. Dogs in bed. Bah, humbug. I love dogs, but dogs are animals not human. Dogs belong on their own sleeping pad in the bedroom if you prefer but not in bed with their owners. That's right. I said owners. You are not your pets mommy or daddiy no matter how often you coo that in their ear. People need to get their priorities straight.
Hey Joe--I hate to say it, but I have to agree with you. I love my "Doxie" but as I wrote, being a bed hog and grabbing up my pillow if I leave the bed for a few minutes during the night is kinda annoying. He's fairly special though as he can sense exactly where my pain is coming from since I have multiple orthopedic injuries and will lick them or try to keep me warm to make me better. But let's face it, waking up with that fluffy tail across my face gives me the "Icks"!