The Italian Greyhound is a dog that is refined and supple, lively with an aristocratic grace that emanates through every movement and is a worthy representative of his country. When you look for the first time an Italian Greyhound, you will not believe that this tiny creature, frail and emotional is very renowned among greyhounds. Many dog breeders have addressed for years the question "Why was the Italian Greyhound created: to harass small game or just to have the role as a pet?" Well, it seems that this race was conceived for both reasons and the evidence is that the Italian Greyhound is adaptable to both the city life, and with the life in the country. This is the main feature of this breed and is obedient to any command of his master.
Experts say that the Italian Greyhound that the history of the breed (the original name Levriero Piccolo Italiano) began almost 2,000 years ago, in geographical areas which are now known as Turkey and Greece. Also, archaeological sites discovered fossils of such races and the most pertinent example is the skeleton found in Egyptian queen Herneit tomb entrance, where the words were inscribed: "No one else wanted to ride with the queen to have to Land of the Dead than her faithful dog."
The breed became very popular during the Middle Ages and in the sixteenth century when it had many appearances in works of art, sculpture and paintings. It is a relative to the Whippet, with origins from the nineteenth century England and is a relatively new breed that started as a combination of large Greyhounds and Terriers and which later incorporated their traits to increase refinement.
The Italian Greyhound has always been a favorite breed among royalty and aristocracy, and many paintings depicting the personalities of the period, and Princess Anne of Denmark, Queen Victoria and Catherine the Great of Russia together with copies of Italian Greyhounds. It is known that Frederick the Great was a great admirer of the breed and was almost always in the company of one or more copies. Although it is impossible to determine exactly when the breed was born, memories of Italian Greyhounds appear in the writings of the Enlightenment and in other paintings.