AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL KENNEL COUNCIL

Extended Breed Standard of THE ITALIAN

Produced by Society of NSW Inc. in conjunction with The Australian National Kennel Council

Standard adopted by Kennel Club London 1994 Standard adopted by ANKC 1994 FCI Standard No: 65 BSE adopted by the Club and ANKC 1998 Breed Standard Extension reconfirmed by ANKC 2008 Copyright Australian National Kennel Council 2008 Country of Origin — Italy Extended Standards are compiled purely for the purpose of training Australian judges and students of the breed. In order to comply with copyright requirements of authors, artists and photographers of material used, the contents must not be copied for commercial use or any other purpose. Under no circumstances may the Standard or Extended Standard be placed on the Internet without written permission of the ANKC.

HISTORY OF THE BREED The name of the breed is a reference to the breed’s popularity in Renaissance Italy. Mummified very similar to the Italian Greyhound (or small ) have been found in Egypt, and pictorials of small Greyhounds have been found in Pompeii and they were probably the only accepted companion- there. As an amusing aside the expression ‘Cave Canem’ (Beware of the dog) was a warning to visitors, not that the dogs would attack but to beware of damaging, tripping over or stepping on the small dogs. Although the small dogs are mainly companionship dogs they have in fact been used for hunting purposes, often in combination with hunting rat or mice. The Italian Greyhound is the smallest of the family of gaze (dogs that hunt by sight). The breed is an old one and is believed to have originated more than 4,000 years ago in the countries now known as Greece and Turkey. This belief is based on the depiction of miniature greyhounds in the early decorative arts of these countries and on the archaeological discovery of small greyhound skeletons. By the Middle Ages, the breed had become distributed throughout Southern Europe and was later a favorite of the Italians of the sixteenth century, among whom miniature dogs were in great demand. Sadly, though, ‘designer’ breeders tried, and failed, to make the breed even smaller by crossbreeding it with other breeds of dogs. This only lead to mutations with deformed skulls, bulging eyes and dental problems. The original Italian Greyhound had almost disappeared when groups of breeders got together and managed to return the breed to normal. It is due to its popularity in Italy that the breed became known as the “Italian Greyhound.” From this period onward the history of the breed can be fairly well traced as it spread through Europe, arriving in England in the seventeenth century during the reign of Charles 1. It was in England that the breed became a favorite of royalty and the privileged classes. The breed reached its zenith during the late Victorian period. During this period there were many big kennels throughout England and Scotland and the breed was introduced to the United States. The type of the Italian Greyhound has not changed greatly from earliest times down to the present, but like the majority of breeds, it has undergone considerable refinement. There have been many stories that attribute a sporting sense to the Italian Greyhound, but these are discredited by many who have known the breed. It is really a . It has maintained that station throughout its long history.

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 2 ! GENERAL APPEARANCE A greyhound in miniature, more slender in all proportions. “A greyhound in miniature” does not mean an exact small replica of an English Greyhound, nor is a scaled down in type, correct. The European Standard compares them to a - a more refined greyhound with similar movement. The Italian Greyhound must be more refined than any other greyhound and not show any coarseness.

Fig. 1

The correct outline with slight arch over the loin. Note the abrupt set–on of the neck, the balanced angulation fore and aft. The slight bulge of the neck above the pro–sternum.

! CHARACTERISTICS Elegant, graceful and quick moving. Although not mentioned here, the free-stepping gait is a most important breed characteristic. The Italian Greyhound is elegant and graceful without being weedy. Any signs of cloddiness or stockiness is not desirable. Quick moving means that they are extremely agile and fleet of foot but does not necessarily mean that the fastest around the ring is the best; those taking rapid, short, exaggerated, up and down steps are not correct.

! TEMPERAMENT Intelligent, affectionate and vivacious; may appear aloof. The Italian Greyhound has a typical sight temperament - they may show aloofness and may be reluctant to be handled by strangers, but not to the point of being overly shy.

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 3 ! HEAD AND SKULL Skull long, flat and narrow, slight stop. Muzzle fine and long. Nose dark in colour. Long does not mean the longer the better - the head should be in proportion to the dog. The skull and foreface should be approximately equal in length. From above it is a long wedge shape. In profile, skull and muzzle are on parallel planes with a slight stop. The widest part of the skull is at the zygomatic arch -and there is chiselling around the eyes to give a clear outlook which is a must for a sight hound. Chiselling below the eyes is not to be confused with a pinched and snipey muzzle. The underjaw should be strong yet fine. The nose extends beyond the jaw line to allow a good air intake. The skull may appear slightly domed when the ears are at rest with a slightly prominent occiput - however, when alert and the ears are roofed, the skull appears to flatten. A dark nose is usually taken to be a nose that is darker than the body colour. In pale fawns, a brown nose, and in blues, a slate nose is quite acceptable.

Fig. 2

Typical heads. Note correct eyes and expression.

! EYES Rather large, bright and full of expression. Large does not mean protruding eyes - any bulginess of eyes ruins the typical Italian Greyhound expression as does a small slit- like eye which is most undesirable. In common with many sight hounds, the eye is a soft, slightly triangular shape (almond). Very light eyes give a hard, sharp expression, which is not correct. Eye colour is in keeping with the coat colour. The expression is rather soft and doe-like, but showing intelligence and their sight hound heritage.

Fig. 3 Poor heads with rounded skulls and bulbous eyes

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 4 ! EARS Rose shaped, placed well back, soft and fine, not pricked. Ears are set on high at the outer corner of the eye. When alert, they are carried almost horizontally at right angles to the skull, usually referred to as “roofed”. Button ears, semi button ears and pricked ears are faults. When puppies are teething their ears often “fly” and behave erratically. Ideally, the ears should be small, neat and fine in texture - with no floppiness or untidiness.

Fig. 4

A well balanced head with ears roofed. ! MOUTH Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite Le. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaw. Teeth even. This needs no further explanation.

Fig. 5

This dog is too straight in angulation. Note the very short, upright upper arm

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 5 ! NECK Long, gracefully arched. The neck is approximately the same length as the head with a definite crest and a slight bulge at the thyroid level. This is not to be confused with a ewe-neck that is comparatively shorter and bulges at the throat with a concave curve instead of a crest. The neck fits into the shoulders rather abruptly and is carried high with strong musculation apparent.

! FOREQUARTERS Shoulders long and sloping. Legs straight; well set under shoulders; fine strong bone and pasterns. The forequarters are set rather forward on the body with not much prosternum showing however, there must be some fill between the elbows - a narrow, A-frame front is not acceptable. The shoulder blade is set back far enough not to impinge on the neck and a straight line should be able to be drawn from the point of the withers through the elbow to the ground. Pasterns are long and springy, and slightly sloped when viewed from the side. Elbows should not turn in or out. Bone should be fine but strong and oval bladed bone round bone is not correct. Long, fine, flat muscling should be apparent.

Fig. 6 Bad fronts – left dog too narrow - no width of chest. Right dog out at elbow. Note also poor ear carriage.

! BODY Chest deep and narrow. Good length of rib and brisket. Back slightly arched over the loin. The Italian Greyhound has an inverted pear-shaped rib cage with good depth, ideally reaching to the elbow, and to slightly behind the elbow. The rib cage is approximately 2/3rds of the body length - being fairly short coupled. The brisket should be carried back to avoid a too sharp cut up underneath. The back line is curved and drooping - the curve starts at the anti-cline - the highest point of the curve at the start of the loin, creating a definite tuck-up at the flanks.

Fig. 7

Note adequate width of chest.

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 6 The croup is rather long and sloping and the loins well muscled. If the curve starts at or just behind the withers, this is termed a “wheel back” and is incorrect - as is also a flat topline; Temperature often affects the Italian Greyhound’s topline - in cold, wet and windy conditions they tend to flatten. Sometimes bad or skilful handling will create a wrong impression also. Length of body is approximately equal to the height at the withers. There should be a suggestion of bones showing, but definitely not the whole skeletal frame, as the body is covered with firm, flat musculation

Fig. 8

A rather large coarse dog with a good topline and underline. Well balanced and sound. Note set-on of neck gives a Whippet appearance.

A typical wheelback -note also the sharp cut-up of the underline.

Out of balance - too long in loin and short on leg.

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 7 ! HINDQUARTERS Long, well muscled thigh; hind legs parallel when viewed from behind; well bent stifles, hocks well let down. The first and second thigh should be about equal in length. The hindquarters, when standing naturally, are neither right under the body nor positioned way behind, but moderately square in stance. Hocks are parallel and not too wide or too narrow in stance. Thigh muscles should not be bulgy but flat and firm -from the rear the hindquarters should appear solidly muscled and not too narrow. A good length of croup gives the required width of thighs when viewed from the side.

Fig. 9

Good hindquarters with sufficient angulation ! FEET Hare feet. A long, oval foot with the two middle toes longer than the others. Toes should be well knuckled and strong and the foot quite thick through. Flat, thin or paper feet with splayed toes are wrong. The cat foot is a typical.

Fig. 10

First illustration – typical feet as required by the standard. Second illustration - cat Feet , incorrect.

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 8 ! TAIL Low set, long, fine, carried low. The tail should reach at least to the hock. Puppies are often gay of tail and should not be penalised for this. Because of their length and fineness, tails are often broken, but it is comparatively easy to tell the difference between a break and a congenital kink tail.

! GAIT/MOVEMENT High stepping and free action. Front and hind legs to move forward in a straight line with propulsion from behind. The movement is one of the breed’s main characteristics. Any suggestion of a stilted gait is not correct, nor is the low, ultra-efficient trot of many of the sight hounds. A stilted gait involves a high step that goes nowhere with a great deal of up and down movement, with the rear moving in a similar fashion. Ideally, the foreleg is lifted almost parallel to the ground with a good flex of pastern, then reaching forward in the same fluid action, the hindquarters move under the body in a similar fashion with good propulsion.

The lift - note the foreleg should not be raised higher than this. Note muscling of the rear giving propulsion - also good head and tail carriage.

Fig. 11

The reach - again note the propulsion from the rear.

Extended Breed Standard of the Italian Greyhound - Page 9 ! COAT Skin fine and supple. Hair, short, fine and glossy. Not much can be added to this. The skin fits like a glove without any excessive wrinkle anywhere. It is very soft and satin like to the touch.

! COLOUR Black, blue, cream, red, fawn, white or any of those colours broken with white. White dogs may be broken with one of these colours. BLACK OR BLUE WITH TAN MARKINGS, BRINDLE NOT ACCEPTABLE. All accepted colours are to be judged impartially. The sabling i.e. black shadings on lighter colours or light shadings on dark colours, is not to be confused with brindle, which has definite stripes. [Comment amended May 1998.] Black also includes seal, which appears black except that it has a red cast when viewed in the sun or bright light. Blue includes shades from the pale silver blue to a deep gunmetal blue and the various shades of grey, blue fawns and the darker shade of blue with fawn overtones, usually referred to as ‘mouse’. Fawn includes shades from pale silver fawn to deep golden fawn. White may have patches or spots of dark pigment showing through. Red includes chocolate shadings or can have black points and shadings.

! SIZE Height 32 – 38 cms ( 12½-15 ins) Weight from 2.7 to 4.5 kgs. (6-10 lbs). If the breed gets too large it tends towards the Whippet in type, and when too small they tend to favour a type. Overall balance is important.

! FAULTS Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness of the fault should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog. Faults affecting soundness of the breed would be more heavily penalised than purely cosmetic points providing breed type is not affected.

! NOTE Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Fig. 12 A typical puppy. Ear and tail carriage are erratic until mature.

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