PICCOLO LEVRIERO ITALIANO

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The little Italian Greyhound descends from small-sized greyhounds which already existed in ancient Egypt at the court of the Pharaohs.  Passing through Laconie (Greece),  where numerous representations on vases and bowls confirm this, the breed arrived in Italy at the outset of the 5th century BC.  Its greatest development occured during the era of the Renaissance at the court of the nobles.  It is not rare to find the Italian Greyhound represented in the paintings of the greatest Italian and foreign masters.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Of an elongated shape, its body fits into a square and its forms recall, in miniature, those of the Greyhound and the Sloughi.  May be considered as a model of grace and distinction.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : Its length is equal or only just inferior to the height at the withers.  Length of skull is equal to half the length of the head.  Length of head can reach the 40% of the height at the withers.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Reserved, affectionate, docile.

HEAD : Of elongated shape and narrow;  its length can attain 40% of the height at the withers.

CRANIAL REGION : Skull : Flat with the superior axes of the skull and muzzle parallel.  Length of the skull is equal to half the length of the head.  Lower orbital region well chiselled. Stop : Frontal nasal depression only very slightly marked. FACIAL REGION : Nose : Of a dark colour, preferably black, with well opened nostrils. Muzzle : Pointed. Lips : Thin and tight, with edges of lips very darkly pigmented. Jaws/Teeth : Jaws elongated with well aligned incisors crown shape, strong in relation to size of dog.  Teeth sound and complete, set square to the jaws; scissor bite. Cheeks : Lean. Eyes : Large and expressive, neither deep-set nor protruding.  Iris of dark colour, eyelid rims pigmented. Ears : Set very high, small, with fine cartilage, folded in itself and carried well back on the nape and upper part of the neck. When the dog is attentive, the base of the ear is erected and the lobe tends to stand out laterally on the horizontal, position commonly known as « flying ears » or « propeller ears ».

NECK : Profile : Upper line slightly arched and broken at its base towards the withers. Length : Equal to that of the head. Shape : Truncated cone, well muscled. Skin : Lean and without dewlap. BODY : Its length is equal or barely inferior to the height at the withers. Topline : Straight profile with arched dorsal-lumbar region.  The lumbar curve merging harmoniously in the line of the rump. Withers : Quite well defined. Back : Straight, well muscled. Croup : Very sloping, wide and muscled. Chest : Narrow, deep, let down to the elbows.

TAIL : Low set, fine even at base, tapering progressively to its tip.  It is carried low and straight in its first half, the 2nd half curved.  Pulled up between the thighs towards the topline, it should surpass the level of the hip-bone slightly. Covered with short hair.

LIMBS: FOREQUARTERS : On the whole straight and vertical with lean muscles. Shoulder : Very slightly sloping with well developed, lean and salient muscles. Upper arm : With a very open scapular-humeral angle, and of a parallel direction to the median plane of the body. Elbows : Neither out nor tied-in at elbows. Forearm : Length of the limb measured from ground to elbow just slightly longer than the distance from elbow to the withers; very lightly boned; forearm in perfect vertical position as much from the front as in profile. Pastern  : In the prolonged vertical line of the forearm; seen in profile it is a little slanting. Forefoot : Of almost oval shape, small, with arched and closely-knit toes.  Pads pigmented.  Nails black or dark according to coat colour or that of the foot, where white is tolerated. HINDQUARTERS : Seen from behind on the whole straight and parallel. Upper thigh : Long, lean, not voluminous, with very distinct muscles. Second thigh : Very sloping, with fine bone structure and well apparent groove in leg muscle. Hock and metatarsal : In prolongation of a vertical line drawn from the ischial tuber. Hindfoot : Less oval than the forefoot, with arched and closely-knit toes; pads and nails pigmented like the forefoot.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : Springy, harmonious, no hackney gaiting (high-stepping). Gallop fast with sharp spring.

SKIN : Fine and tight on all parts of the body except for the elbows where it is slightly less tight.

COAT : HAIR : The hair is short and fine all over the body without the slightest trace of fringes.

COLOUR : Self-coloured in black, grey, slate grey and yellow (in Italian = Isabella) in all possible shades.  White is tolerated only on the chest and feet.

SIZE AND WEIGHT  : Height at the withers : males and females from 32 to 38 cm. Weight : Males and females : maximum 5 kg.

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

·       Continous ambling.

·       Hackney or highstepping movement.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

·       Accentuated convergence or divergence of the facial-cranial axes.

·       Nose totally or half depigmented.

·       Nasal bridge concave or convex.

·       Overshot or undershot mouth.

·       Wall eye; total depigmentation of eyelid rims.

·       Tail carried over the back; anury or short tail, whether congenital or artificial.

·       Dewclaws.

·       Multicoloured coat; white except in chest and feet as mentioned above.

·       Size below 32 cm or over 38 cm, as well in males as in females.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.