{"id":6394,"date":"2017-03-29T08:57:13","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T06:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgalgoazul.com\/?p=6394"},"modified":"2021-01-23T19:09:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-23T18:09:14","slug":"el-galgo-italiano-el-mas-pequeno-de-los-lebreles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elgalgoazul.com\/en\/el-galgo-italiano-el-mas-pequeno-de-los-lebreles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Italian Greyhound, the smallest of the sighthounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elegance became art with the Italian hound<\/strong>\u00a0and it is that few races can be proud of having been the inspiration of artists of all times, from Classical Greece to the brushes of great Renaissance men like Giotto. Its reflection in art shows the<\/span>\u00a0importance of this greyhound among the European aristocracy<\/strong>, who made it\u00a0<\/span>the smallest version of sighthounds<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0be on the brink of extinction twice,<\/strong>\u00a0this little hunter is a lucky one among greyhounds.\u00a0<\/b>The Italian greyhound earned his survival in time more than by hunting hares, for having\u00a0conquered a good corner in the triclinium<\/strong>\u00a0(Roman divan) to nap free.<\/p>\n

\"piccolo,<\/p>\n

ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN Greyhound<\/h1>\n

The oldest known remains of a dog similar to today's Italian greyhound have been found in a\u00a0Egyptian tomb of more than\u00a06,000 years old<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>being a sign of its presence and importance in the\u00a0Court of the Pharaohs.\u00a0<\/strong>This ancestor too\u00a0expanded into\u00a0ancient Greece and Turkey<\/a><\/strong>, being represented in various decorative arts such as vases and vessels.<\/p>\n

His arrival in present-day Italy occurred in the 5th century BCE.\u00a0<\/strong>and they exist\u00a0two theories<\/strong>\u00a0that explain how it came about.\u00a0The first indicates that they were the Phoenicians<\/strong>\u00a0those responsible for its introduction into Roman territory from Greece and Turkey, while\u00a0the second considers that they were the Roman soldiers<\/strong>\u00a0who carried the greyhound with them when they returned home after military campaigns. Be that as it may,\u00a0became the favorites of the patricians<\/strong>, who developed two types: a larger one for hare hunting and a smaller and more delicate one that became a companion dog.<\/p>\n

During the\u00a0Middle Ages<\/strong>\u00a0the race began its\u00a0expansion across the Mediterranean basin<\/strong>, but it wasn't until\u00a0Renaissance<\/strong>\u00a0when the\u00a0further development of the breed as a companion dog<\/strong>. It reached such popularity among\u00a0the\u00a0Italian aristocrats<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0during this period that was the origin of its name as "Italian greyhound or greyhound", becoming a common character in Italian Renaissance paintings.<\/p>\n

His\u00a0expansion by the European Courts<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0reached its peak in the\u00a0XVII century<\/strong>\u00a0With the introduction of the breed to England by the monarch Carlos I. Thanks to this, the greyhound made a niche in the Courts of Denmark, Russia, Germany and Prussia, always maintaining its profile as a companion dog.<\/p>\n

During the\u00a0XIX century,\u00a0the genetics of the Italian greyhound were impoverished<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0due to the nobles' obsession with\u00a0get a smaller and smaller dog to differentiate it from the whippet.\u00a0<\/strong>Greyhounds became very fragile dogs with fertility problems and suffering from\u00a0dwarfism, standing<\/strong>\u00a0on the brink of extinction<\/strong>. However, to\u00a0early 20th century<\/strong>\u00a0breeders strove to\u00a0recover the healthiest genetic lines of the breed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless,\u00a0the breed faced another critical period<\/strong>\u00a0in which it was about to become extinct again due to the devastation that had been\u00a0the two World Wars in Europe<\/strong>. Fortunately, the Italian greyhound had come to the United States and Canada during the 19th century, from where specimens were imported to the old continent to cleanse and revive the impoverished European racial lines.<\/p>\n

Today, Italian Greyhounds maintain their status as companion dogs<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>unlike other greyhound breeds that continue to be exploited as hunting or racing dogs. Thanks to their small size and extremely affectionate character, they have become\u00a0one of the most popular sighthounds in the world<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ITALIAN Greyhound<\/h1>\n

The official standard for the Italian Greyhound was established by the\u00a0International Cynological Federation<\/a>\u00a0in 2010<\/strong>. Classified in group 10 section 3 as\u00a0short-haired sighthounds<\/strong>, their\u00a0physical characteristics<\/a>\u00a0are:<\/p>\n

\"italian<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Hope of<\/strong>\u00a0lifetime<\/strong>: between 12 and 15 years.<\/li>\n
  2. Size<\/strong>: small.<\/li>\n
  3. Height<\/strong>: between 32 and 38 cm.<\/li>\n
  4. Weight<\/strong>: maximum of 5kg.<\/li>\n
  5. Complexion<\/strong>: slim.<\/li>\n
  6. Extremities<\/strong>: long with fine musculature.<\/li>\n
  7. Eyes<\/strong>: large, rounded and expressive with dark colored irises and pigmentation on the edge of the eyelids.<\/li>\n
  8. Ears<\/strong>: tall, small, folded in on itself and facing backwards.<\/li>\n
  9. Snout:<\/strong>\u00a0narrow with a dark-colored nose and wide open nostrils.<\/li>\n
  10. Jaws<\/strong>: strong and elongated with scissor bite.<\/li>\n
  11. Neck<\/strong>: long and muscular with the throat line slightly convex and the nape slightly arched and bulging at the base.<\/li>\n
  12. Line<\/strong>: long, low and fine, straight in the first half and bends at the tip.<\/li>\n
  13. Hair<\/strong>: satin, fine and smooth.<\/li>\n
  14. Coat colors:\u00a0<\/strong>\n