Midwest Italian Greyhound Rescue

Italian Greyhounds are a member of the sighthound family which means they “specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overpowering it by their great speed and agility” (see Wikipedia). Because of these characteristics, Italian Greyhounds have high prey drive and training an Italian Greyhound to stay in your yard, outside a secure fence, puts the life of your dog in great danger. Italian Greyhounds can run up to 30 miles per hour. They could be blocks away, chasing down a bunny or other small animal, before you are out the door. No amount of training can overcome what 100’s of years of breeding has created. Even though they are small and dainty, many Italian Greyhounds are highly skilled bunny killers.

Thinking of an electric fence? There are MANY reasons to NEVER use an electric fence with an Italian Greyhound:

• Italian Greyhounds have very thin fur and skin around their neck, which gives them no protection from an electric shock.
• They can run 30 miles per hour and be through an electric fence before they realize they were shocked when pursuing prey.
• We know of one Italian Greyhound whose collar malfunctioned causing the collar to shock him every time the dog was touched. Not only was this situation abusive, the dog became very fearful of humans.
• Italian Greyhounds are very sensitive and hard enough to housetrain. A shock in the yard could result in training your Italian Greyhound to never want to go outside again.
• It would be abuse to use a shock collar on a human. Why is it okay to use one on our dogs?

Just as you’d never be able to hold it all day while you are at work, you should never expect an Italian Greyhound to do so either. Italian Greyhounds are small dogs with small bladders. They are also more likely to go in the house if you are not around than other breeds. Italian Greyhound owners figure out ways to come home for lunch or hire a dog walker to let their dogs out partway through the day. A general rule is, never expect your Italian Greyhound to hold it more than 5-6 hours. If you currently work from home, can you guarantee you’ll have that privilege for the lifetime of your dog – 15 years or more?

Please consider the Italian Greyhound temperament and the happiness of your future pet before bringing an Italian Greyhound into a home that has or will have young children. Italian Greyhounds are a sensitive breed and do not do well with grabby or active children. Almost all our surrenders are from families with young children. At best, Italian Greyhounds will shy or run away from young children. At worst, they will become fearful and could bite if they feel threatened. Italian Greyhounds also require a lot of time, patience, and monitoring to maintain their housetraining. These are qualities many parents cannot devote to their pet because they are busy with their family and careers. Please see our IGs and Children page for further information.