For the second time in as many months, Ella Roo’s picture was featured on Purina’s Pet Charts site.. you can go vote for her if you’d like (she’d like!) – she’s the fifth picture. My sweet little fawn IG.
Momma is excited.. don’t even care if we win or not.. just happy to see our picture on a website like that.. it feels special.
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Last year, in late September, we went into a pet store (I know.. I know.. really, I do..) and they happened to have 2 italian greyhounds (male and female).
I was proudly “owned” by an 8 year old whippet (Bean) and a 4 year old, recently adopted, australian shepherd (Sky).. but I’d recently been thinking the italian greyhound would be a nice dog.. small, small enough to snuggle on my lap, small enough to pick up and carry as well as being loving and attentive.. While both our older dogs love to be loved on, neither are much in the way of long-term couch (or bed) snuggling. At the same time, I was dealing with a life-long disease (crohn’s) and as a result dealing, with depression.. having a dog to snuggle with was therapy for me.
Back to the pet store visit… this little boy IG (I happened to be interested specifically in the boy, as I’d read how much more cuddly they were then female – though, now I’m not sure I agree with that assumption) stretched his skinny little blue and white body across one of our boys laps and my heart swelled.
Over the course of a week, my husband and I discussed whether adding another dog to our family, along with the source of the dog (pet store) was a good idea. In the end, the little blue won out and we went back to get him.
He’s a lovely “biggy” iggy – named Enzo, now over a year old and weighing around 16 pounds.. he’s shy around people, loving, playful, and such a little comedian. I cannot imagine life without my little guy. He’s brought so much energy to our doggy family, and while many IG’s tend to follow their person around – sometimes to the point of no privacy – my guy is a little more independent.. but he’s a good snuggler all the same.
This July, we found a breeder who had a lovely little fawn and white female IG… and, it was love at first site. When I picked our little girl up, she looked at me, as if to say “finally, there you are”… she immediately bonded to me – I am Mom. She loves everyone in our house (from the 4 & 7 year old boys, to the teen girls, the other dogs and dad too).. but I.am.Mom. My husband says how, with all the dogs we’ve ever owned, and while I’ve always been “mom” to them all, he’s never seen one bond to me as quickly and so completely, as our little Ella Roo did..
And.. if I thought Enzo was just the right dog breed for me.. I quickly found in Ella, the rest of the package.. I love how she follows me around, she’ll sit and watch me as I get ready for work, she bounds into the bed to dive under the covers for some warm snuggling.. she sassy and playful, a little love and won’t put up with anything from the other dogs, or the kids.
Ahhhh… life is sweet..
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by Connie Limon
The Italian Greyhound is a charming little dog of grace and beauty. They are usually jolly little guys. This is a breed that was kept in England as far back as the 17th century. They enjoyed the royal favor of many while in Prussia. The famous Frederick the Great simply adored his Greyhound pets and even left instructions in his will that his body should be buried among his pets in the Greyhound cemetery in the Park of Sans Souci.
The Italian Greyhound comes in colors of all shades of fawn, mouse, white and red. Of interesting note is that the old-time dogs were found in a variety of shades because at Hampton Court, in a painting of the Queen of James I., there are several greyhounds in the colors of fawn, blue, blue and white. So that even as far back as those days the Italian Greyhounds were of a variety of colors.
As with most of the toy breeds we find that they started out much larger in size, the original Italian Greyhound weighed somewhere around 14 pounds.
In appearance the Italian Greyhound of today should resemble the original version just in miniature size. Sometimes it is difficult to produce smaller versions without impairing their health. However, when discussing the point of elegance of the Italian Greyhound, there is virtually none who matches this beautiful creature, who’s every movement, indicates “grace personified,” and his peculiar prancing action is a distinct characteristic belonging only to the Italian Greyhound.
The Italian Greyhound should have the tulip or prick ears; these are considered “bad” faults, which should be very carefully avoided. He should not be compactly built as shown in his terrier crosses, which were sometimes used to reduce his size. The terrier crosses have also been known to create the bulging eye and the apple head, both of which are very undesirable.
There is further evidence of the terrier crosses to reduce size found in some puppies when first born. They will usually be a black and tan, while in purebred animals they are whole-colored or fawn-and-white.
The Italian Greyhound is gentle and affectionate and not quite a delicate as his fragile form suggests. In cold weather, you need to keep your Italian Greyhound in the house. He should sleep inan area free of drafts and when taken outside in cold weather dress your Italian Greyhound with a warm sweater or coat.
To keep your Italian Greyhound in good physical shape he requires a good deal of exercise. Take care not to over feed your Italian Greyhound. The Italian Greyhound must never be allowed to become “fat,” in order to retain their beautiful lines and graceful form.
Don’t expect your Italian Greyhound to serve as a domestic alarm or protector, although he is capable of being a very sharp watch-dog and hear the slightest of sound. He is more dedicated to the comforts of the tea table, the fireside carpet, and the luxurious indulgences of the sofa and a warm lap of his mistress or master.
The general appearance of an Italian Greyhound is that of ideal elegance and grace of shape, symmetry and action. He has a flat skull, long and narrow, muzzle very fine, nose dark in color, ears rose-shaped placed well back, soft and delicate and should touch or nearly so behind the head. His eyes are fairly large, bright and full of expression. His neck is long and gracefully arched. His thighs are muscular, feet are long with arched toes and well slit up. The Italian Greyhound has a tail that is rather long, fine with low carriage. His hair is thin and glossy like satin. One of the most prized colors of the Italian Greyhound is the golden fawn color, but he comes in all shades of fawn, red, mouse, blue, cream and white, blacks, and brindles. His weight today is around 8 pounds average and he prances about with a high and free step.
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Connie Limon Visit us at http://www.abouttoydogs.com and sign up for our FREE newsletters. About Toy Dogs is a toy dog breeder and article directory. Purchase ad space for your toy dog business at $25 per year.
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