The Italian Greyhound Club

Founded 1900 — Kennel Club Registered

Finding an Italian Greyhound

There are some excellent websites providing advice to people thinking about buying a puppy and we strongly recommend that you do your research thoroughly so that you:

  1. Make the right decision in choosing a breed that is right for your situation and lifestyle
  2. Know what to expect and how to care for it for life
  3. Avoid buying from an unscrupulous breeder or puppy farmer

Some useful resources include:

We also strongly recommend that you read our Avoiding Puppy Farmers page for more information on how to avoid irresponsible breeders and puppy farmers.

Finding an Italian Greyhound Puppy

Elegant, aloof with strangers … and also a real handful! Italian Greyhounds are not as quiet as you may think!

Assuming that you have done your research on Italian Greyhounds (see Italian Greyhounds and Other Resources), and think that they are the right breed for you, as well as you being right for the breed, the first thing you need to do is meet some Italian Greyhounds in person. It’s the best way to find out more about the breed from people with lots of experience.

This is much easier than you may think and just a few of the opportunities to meet Italian Greyhounds are listed here:

  • Visiting Italian Greyhound Owners in their homes – contact us and we will try to put you in touch with an Italian Greyhound owner near you so that you can meet some Italian Greyhounds in a home environment
  • Discover Dogs – we run a breed stand at Discover Dogs held twice a year at the NEC, Brimingham and at Earls Court, London where our members are on hand to answer your questions
  • Italian Greyhound Club Funday – run by the Club for our members, non-members are welcome to come along and meet our members and their Italian Greyhounds
  • Dog shows all over the UK – see our Full Show Listings – a great opportunity to meet top breeders and find out more about the Italian Greyhounds from people with lots of experience – even if you’re not looking for a show dog

People often contact the Club to ask for a list of reputable breeders.  We are not able to provide such a list however the official catalogue for each dog show includes a list of exhibitors and their contact details.

Italian Greyhounds are still a relatively rare breed in the UK so you must be prepared to wait for a puppy to become available but it’s definitely worth the wait!

Speaking to a breeder

The Dogs Trust website has a useful checklist of questions to ask any breeders that you are talking to about buying a puppy.  If you’re concerned about any of the answers given feel free to contact us for advice. We are here to help.

Before committing to buying a puppy from a breeder we recommend that you do some background research into the breeder.

Researching a breeder

You can contact us to find out more about the breeder you are speaking to. We can confirm whether or not they are a member of the Club and therefore whether or they have agreed to abide by the Club’s Code of Ethics which includes guidance on responsible breeding practices.

We can also help you with verifying any claims that a breeder has made about the pedigree of their dogs, the number of litters that they breed, and also on whether or not their dogs have won all of the accolades that they claim in the show ring! And be assured that the information we provide you with will be based on fact, not hearsay or gossip. If a breeder has lied or misrepresented their dogs on any of these fronts then you should not buy a puppy from them.

Another useful place to start researching breeders is the Kennel Club Breed Records Supplement which lists every pedigree dog registration in the UK and is published quarterly. This is useful because it allows you to monitor over time who is breeding and how frequently.

If a breeder is registering a large number of litters every year (it’s rare for a reputable breeder to register more than 2 or 3 litters a year from different brood bitches) then more careful research into their breeding practices is required and you should proceed with caution.

For more information about how to avoid an irresponsible breeder and puppy farmers see our Avoiding Puppy Farmers page.

IG Rescue LogoRe-home and Rescue dogs

As with any breed, there are situations where a dog needs to be re-homed because of changes to their owner’s personal circumstances such as illness, divorce and bereavement.

There are also an increasing number of Italian Greyhounds sold by irresponsible breeders and puppy farmers that end up in unsuitable homes where the new owners just can’t cope because they didn’t know what to expect from an Italian Greyhound.

Both the Club and the Italian Greyhound Rescue Charity (www.italiangreyhoundrescuecharity.org.uk) are actively involved in providing secure and safe homes for these dogs.  Contact the Club or the Rescue for more information.