IG Tips
Small dog and small child, what could be cuter, right? Italian Greyhounds are typically not a good choice for a household with very small children, or older children who want to be able to “roughhouse” with a dog, because of their small size. An Italian Greyhound will protect herself if she feels threatened or mistreated. While your kids are definitely angels and would never mistreat any animal, any home with a dog and children requires lots of extra commitment and constant supervision by the adults in the household to ensure that everyone treats each other responsibly. We find that when people add an Italian Greyhound to a household with children, the parents usually have a dog and kids, but the kids don’t have a dog. Please consider this if you’ve found our page while searching for a child’s pet or a family pet.
An important tip on keeping your Italian Greyhound housetrained is to never expect your dog to “hold it” longer than 4-6 hours (less for puppies). If you unexpectedly cannot make it home before six hours has passed, never be angry with your dog if he or she has an accident. Most people cannot hold it longer than 4-6 hours either. Make sure you take your Italian Greyhound outside right before you leave and give them adequate time to make sure he doesn’t have to “go” before you even go out the door.
There are two easy things you can do to increase the longevity and quality of your pet’s life:
- Don’t let them get fat.
- Brush their teeth.*
*Buildup of plaque and bacteria in the mouth eventually affects the lungs, heart and other organs and can actually shorten a dog’s life or make him/her very ill. So brush, brush, brush.
Did you know the most common reason Italian Greyhounds are given up to rescue is because of house training problems? An Italian Greyhound can be house trained using rewards and praise but it requires consistency and never expect your Italian Greyhound to “hold it” longer than 4-6 hours. Please see our Housetraining page for more house training tips.
Did you know Italian Greyhounds prefer to sleep not only in bed with you, but also under the covers?
Did you know some IGs love to participate in sports? If you find the right reward (positive) based trainer, your IG can excel in agility. IGs in good physical shape can also enjoy the fun of lure coursing. IGs should never participate in these physically demanding sports until they are over one year old so their joints are not stressed while they are growing, but once their growth is complete they will greatly benefit by exercising and having fun in agility and lure coursing. Agility and lure coursing can also help build the bond between you and your dog and increase their self confidence.