Can we talk about Italian greyhounds?

[SnarkSideOfLife]

I’m contemplating a new dog and possibly an Italian greyhound. I used to have a full size greyhound so am used to the drama llama, teeth chattering squealing.

questions I have;

is the toilet/house training as bad as I’ve read?

how fragile are they? I read about one that broke both front legs jumping off a sofa….is that common? Or very rare?

teeth issues? my greyhound was plagued with dental issues and cost a fortune and ultimately died when at the vets for a dental. Are Italian greyhounds as bad?

Recall? I’m assuming can’t be as bad as a greyhound, especially if getting from a puppy and putting the training in. I really want to be able to walk any dog off lead (in rural areas).

anything else i should know?

About 11kg

I have an Italian greyhound and she is the most precious thing. So, so loving and sweet. She's actually on the large side for an Iggy, so we've had no accidents. She's certainly looks and feels more sturdy versus friends who have smaller ones. She's crate trained, so happily sleeps in there at night and can be left alone for a few hours in the day (if she needs to). Potty training was hard, but I do think that was largely in part to us not being consistent. We have the odd accident, but it's certainly not frequent. Recall wise, she does have selective hearing... i don't trust her off the lead unless she's with other dogs. However, all that aside, the joy and love she brings far outweigh any negatives and I couldn't live without her.

We have a 7 month old whiggie (whippet x iggie) and he’s wonderful. He’s fully house trained and has been for months. He goes in his crate happily overnight from 11-8am. We also leave him crated for up to 3 hours in the day - we watch him on a camera and he snoozes happily as long as he’s had a walk before. He loves his walks. Recall is something we are working on.

We went for a whiggie due to concerns about leg breaks in pure iggies - I’m a member of an iggy group on FB and breaks seem common. When our boy is with pure iggies, it’s easy to see how much stronger his legs are.

Thanks everyone, this has been really helpful

Sorry @whiggypup I am scared to put his pic on as it might be identifying if anyone google searches it - he has unusual colouring and very distinctive. .not you lovely people but anyone on here!

I've also gone for a cross whippet/IG. She's probably going to be around 9kg fully grown. Easy to house train. Very fast and leaps around, vocal at times but not that barky and she's a brave one. Legs a lot sturdier than IG. Perfect for me.

Any updates OP @SnarkSideOfLife ? Currently researching whippets and greyhounds and came across your thread.

Oh I’m still contemplating but also delaying. Current dog is 12yo and struggling to walk at times so I am having a big rethink along the lines of a smaller dog I can carry more easily if needed. Because we’re at the awkward stage she wants to go out and a mile from home starts limping and I have to carry 14kg lump back. But prior to that I was thinking of a whiggy, whippet x Italian greyhound.

Sorry to hear your 12yo is struggling to walk at times now, that must break your heart.

I love the look of the whiggies on this thread!

Thank you. I think I’ve missed the boat for getting a second dog as they’d have such different needs.

@SnarkSideOfLife Maybe look at getting a dog buggy so they can ride when legs get tired.
Duggies in Buggies is useful for advice on models and heads up on any secondhand ones people have spotted.

Thanks, yes I’ve got a buggy. Got a pawhut off road one and it’s ok for some gentle off road stuff but obviously nothing with stiles, or that’s too rough. Which cuts out some stuff that we normally do. But yes maybe it would be doable to get another dog and walk one and push the buggy for the other.

I do like the idea of having an older dog to show a younger dog the ropes, be company, etc. I need to convince dh who I think thinks current dog will last another 4 years or more and I’m doing it too early!

Italian Greyhounds look like mini greyhounds, but they are different in temperament etc.

I know someone with a 10 month old 'Whiggy' who is now sporting a huge bandage after breaking a leg in their house. They have no idea how she did it.