The Italian Greyhound, called the “Little Italian Hare Hound” under the FCI nomenclature is, as the name implies, the smallest of the sight hounds. It is believed that the breed came along over 2,000 years ago in the Mediterranean region, somewhere between Greece, Turkey and Egypt.

One also believes that this elegant and adorable little hound was bred mostly as a companion dog, in an attempt to miniaturize the large hounds used in hunting.

But it was in the Middle Ages that the irrefutable grace made them much sought after in the Southeast of Europe, and in the beginning of the 16th century they were soon royalty’s favorite dog, extensively portrayed by the most important painters of the time, particularly in Italy.

Having an uncommon beauty, combined with a fond temperament, this modern little hound continues to spill his charm and elegance on sofas, couches and beds of the most varied societies.

The Italian Greyhound also has a growing presence in the conformation and obedience show rings, obtaining excellent results at its appearances, thus conquering an increasing the number of admirers around the world.

Thanks to his small size and docile temperament, the little hound is increasingly being used as a therapy dog, revealing himself as an excellent actor in the modern techniques to assist ailing people.

However, it is important to point out that the Italian Greyhound is not a dog suited for everyone.  Despite his small size he requires a lot of space to roam and exercise and should never be bred confined in an apartment or flat.

Slippery floors are deadly enemies for this little creature, since they need to be able to run freely in order to adequately develop all their muscles which are the key to protecting their fine bone structure.

When kept in confined spaces, thus unable to develop muscle mass, they become strong candidates to suffer bone fractures during rougher play.

One should remember that the Italian Greyhound will live up to 12 years or longer in good health, so owners should be responsible for their well being during all this time.

If you have any questions regarding the purchase of a puppy, please contact us and we will be glad to help you in this important decision of bringing a new living soul into the heart of your home.

WHEN IT ALL STARTED

My interest for hounds dates back to many years.

The first time I actually saw a hound was in 1963. I was 10 years old, riding the bus to school in downtown São Paulo when I saw a lady walking an extremely thin dog the color of sand, guiding him on a beautiful collar.

That day in class I could not get the thought of that dog out of my mind. As soon as I got home I reached to the heavy tomes of the Encyclopedia (in those days there was no “internet”) trying to find out the name of the breed of that dog which had me so enchanted. I soon found out that the dog type was a hound, and based on its size, most probably a Whippet.

Some years later I had the good fortune to meet the breeder of that dog, a friend to this day: Maria Lúcia Kernke. She was the first breeder of Whippets and Greyhounds in our country, having registered her first litter as far back as 1947, under the legendary kennel name “Pirajense”, in the city of Campinas, 60 miles away from São Paulo.

Towards the end of the 1970’s I was then living in France, where I had the chance to meet the “Petit Lévrier Italien”, as the little Italian Greyhound is known in that country. At that time I thought this to be the most perfect breed to exist, as it combined a striking beauty with an unquestioned elegance, in addition to the practicality of maintaining such a small dog.

In 1980, now back in Brazil and friends with Maria Lúcia Kernke and who continued breeding Whippets under the WHIPOJUCA kennel name, I decided to start breeding the little Italian Greyhound.

So I got in touch with the French breeder Mr. Louis Lelias from the Des Pitchoun Diables kennel, from whom I purchased four dogs:

Sirius Des Pitchoun Diables, a beautiful grey male, sire of the first litter registered under the Whipojuca kennel and who became a famous model in the Lycra® ad campaign at the time.

Samba Des Pitchoun Diables, a charming and strikingly beautiful female, dam of the first Champion off my breeding, called Grissini de Whipojuca.

Savina Des Pitchoun Diables and Severina Des Pitchoun Diables, two sisters and litter mates, which, together with Samba, became significant breeding dams at the Whipojuca kennel.

At the same time I also imported another Italian Greyhound, purchased through the still active breeder of Italians and Salukis, Mr. Jean Louis Grunheid. The dog’s name was Scapin du Pigeonier Romain. Unfortunately that dog had serious bite and structure problems; by grace he was also sterile.

Only later, after I started my own breeding of the little dogs did I find out that at the time the breed suffered form an extreme bone fragility which resulted in frequent leg fractures.

After five years and many broken legs I decided to stop breeding them and spayed my entire breeding stock.

Only decades later, in 2006, when the little Greyhounds where only part of my past in the dog fancy, and the Salatino Kennel was already focused on Salukis, Papillons and Miniature Long Coat Dachshunds, did our dear friend, Gabriel Valdez, offer me another Italian as a gift. Gabriel, a renowned judge and owner of the DaVinci Kennel in Colombia was visiting Brazil and brought with him a lovely black bitch named DaVinci’s Lucrecia Borgia. Not only did he offer her as a gift, but Lucrecia was already bred to American Champion Belcanto Indian Summer, a sire owned and bred by a person who soon would become our mentor and dear friend, Patricia Anders, from the Belcanto Kennel in Stauton, Virginia, USA.

From there on the retaking of this breed was inevitable and fortunately very successful

In September of 2006 Lucrecia bore 7 beautiful puppies, the first Italian Greyhounds now registered under the Salatino Kennel name, owned by myself and my partner Rochester.

In 2007 Rochester and I visited France to once again find a few more little hounds. And to our surprise we once again met Mr. Louis Lelias, now in his 90’s, keeper of the still active Des Pitchoun Diables kennel and considered to be the oldest breeder of the “Petit Lévrier Italien” in all of Europe.

On this trip we brought an isabela color male named Bianco Des Pitchoun Diables from Mr. Lelias as well as a beautiful gray male, born to a famous French kennel owned by Mr. And Mrs. Laveyssiere. He is named Cyrano Du Domaine De Chanteloup.

Later still in 2007 our friend Gabriel Valdez sent us two other adult bitches, an isabela colour named Davinci’s Mia Dolce Condoleeza and a blue coated named Belcanto Davinci’s Sicília.

Recently in 2008 we visited with our friend and mentor Patricia Anders from the Belcanto kennel and brought two precious examples of the breed, a red male named Belcanto Mandrake The Magician and an isabela bitch named Belcanto Ionia The Enchantress. Both Mandrake as well as Ionia, despite their American blood line, are virtually solid in color and will be able to contribute to the improvement of the structure of our European Italians.

FCI AND AKC BREED STANDARDS SIDE-BY-SIDE

Despite coinciding in the majority of its statements regarding structure and movement, it is the coat color that poses an insurmountable and contradicting divergence which results in the breed being split in half.

While in Europe and other FCI member countries the little hounds have to have a SOLID coat, with only slight white markings on the chest and paws, the AKC accepts any white patch anywhere on the body, even a dog that is totally white, provided pigmentation is good.

This dispute has triggered much debate and heated and intransigent discussions among those European breeders who agree or disagree with the limiting rules regarding the coat.

Without doubt American dogs in general have better structure and movement compared to European dogs, and this is explained by the wider latitude allowed under the AKC standard with no limitation to coat coloring.

FCI breeders face the great challenge of breeding dogs with solid colors but also good structure. This is why we at the Salatino Kennel employ bloodlines from both Europe and the United States.