Racing Italian Greyhounds

[lillybet]

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[lillybet]

Just to explain

I posted the press artical as it may be of interest to some of you.

When I used to race my full size greyhounds at Harlow stadium I used to write for a monthly magazine called the Greyhound Advertiser sadly it is no more .

This was a reply to one of my articles on the Italian Greyhound from the Czech Republic.

Lillibet

 

[posh totty]

thanks hun , thats very interesting :thumbsup: is there anyway i could find out more about the racing abroad? would be great if a link to something was put up? i think hellbound on here from non peds was abroad and saw them race :thumbsup:

 

[posh totty]

hope hellbound doesnt mind me pinching her thread, a link to her racing holiday where igs race abroad

http://www.k9community.co.uk/forums/index....opic=34079&st=0

 

[doris]

that is interesting reading - can you tell me when it was dated?

 

[lillybet]

that is interesting reading - can you tell me when it was dated?

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I think it must have been 8-9 yrs ago , the magazine was very good but folded due to lack of support.

There still is the monthly Greyhound Star published .

Lillibet

 

[doris]

I thought it must have been quite old, as I found really surprising is that the writer openly admits to IG's 'not having a strong disposition to racing' and about how long it takes to train one

unlike a whippet or greyhound :lol:

 

[THECAP]

WELL BY LOOKING AT THEM IGGY'S AND THE IGGY'S NOW THINK THERE IS A LOT TO BE SAID ON THE BREEDING OF THIS LITTLE DOG.LOOKS LIKE TO ME THE BREEDING SIDE OF THE LITTLE IGGY COMES DOWN TO TO MUCH INTER BREEDING AND YE ANOTHER BREED OF RUNNING DOG GOES TO THE WALL

 

[kris]

whats inter breeding? :blink: :lol: are you referring to in breeding line breeding or just mating iggys to anything (w00t)

i didnt know they were a running dog. :blink: i always thought they were primarily bred as a lap dog and rather like the japanese shiba inu which the japanese dont do anything with as they believe they should be kept and admired as a thing of beauty and a joy forever rather like a piece of beautiful ming pottery or dresden china.

 

[fewterer]

they should be kept and admired as a thing of beauty and a joy forever rather like a piece of beautiful ming pottery or dresden china.

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I think anyone who entertains this view with regard to any breed of dog is deeply misguided. Every breed of dog, whether tiny or huge, is still all dog at heart and needs to behave as such.

 

[affieluver]

here here fewterer !! exactly after all italians are little hounds with a whole lotta attitude why shouldnt they do what their bigger cousins do size just dont matter :thumbsup:

 

[stormydog]

here here fewterer !! exactly after all italians are little hounds with a whole lotta attitude why shouldnt they do what their bigger cousins do size just dont matter  :thumbsup:

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id hazzard a guess that its because they are not designed to do what their cousins do. they have the heart and courage and the balls to course and race but look at their legs !! one hard knock against an uphill bank and its goodnight vienna ! and all because their selfish owners think theyre capable of such a task.Italian Greyhounds are agile and robust, but they have a delicate bone structure. Specifically, their legs cannot withstand severe stress. For this reason, small rough children and high jumps onto hard surfaces can result in broken bones for an IG. Unfortunately, broken legs are one of the most common injuries for the breed

kris your comments are spot on..they are lap dogs..thats what they were designed for.

pure personal opinion ofcourse

john

 

[kris]

well its not exactly a personal opinion john its a historical fact.and anyone who disagrees is arguing against history. :- " shibas arent kept by the japanese and trained to do anything.they are kept for their beauty and artlessness.theres a japanese word for this but i forget it.why do some people think every breed of dog is bred for a certain job.the fact is some arent!shibas have been used for hunting but the breed itself isnt expected to hunt in japan.the japanese havent got this thing about everything having a purpose and use in life which can be a western belief.they actually have things that arent expected to do anything. :- " i know this can be a hard concept to grasp for some but it is a fact of life.iggies arent a running dog despite what some people think they know.im no expert on them but i do read about them and i have read comments on here by people whose opinion i respect in that they are regarded as breed experts and have many years experience and they actually know what theyre talking about.i have also read a bit of the history of the breed and the reason iggys were kept was as a 'living jewel' if i can describe them as that.they are kept and admired for their beauty,not to kill rabbits or to do coursing.if you want to do coursing why not keep a whippet or a lurcher? :blink: thats what they are bred for and they fulfil that purpose admirably.

john,your post is one of the more sensible ones about the breed ive read. :thumbsup: totally unexpected from you! :lol:

 

[beaubeau]

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Fascinating little critters !! I've learned so much about them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Greyhound

http://www.italian-greyhound.net/history.htm

Tracey X

 

[Kurwenal]

well its not exactly a personal opinion john its a historical fact.and anyone who disagrees is arguing against history. :- " shibas arent kept by the japanese and trained to do anything.they are kept for their beauty and artlessness.theres a japanese word for this but i forget it.why do some people think every breed of dog is bred for a certain job.the fact is some arent!shibas have been used for hunting but the  breed itself isnt expected to hunt in japan.the japanese havent got this thing about everything having a purpose and use in life which can be a western belief.they actually have things that arent expected to do anything. :- " i know this can be a hard concept to grasp for some but it is a fact of life.iggies arent a running dog despite what some people think they know.im no expert on them but i do read about them and i have read comments on here by people whose opinion i respect in that they are regarded as  breed experts and have many years experience and they actually know what theyre talking about.i have also read a bit of the history of the breed and the reason iggys were kept was as a 'living jewel' if i can describe them as that.they are kept and admired for their beauty,not to kill rabbits or to do coursing.if you want to do coursing why not keep a whippet or a lurcher? :blink: thats what they are bred for and they fulfil that purpose admirably.john,your post is one of the more sensible ones about the breed ive read. :thumbsup: totally unexpected from you! :lol:  

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Stormydog is absolutely SPOT ON this time!!!!!

Italians were bred as companion dogs. Yes they should be able to run, and run they do, and most certainly will chase anytrhing that catches their eye. However - whatever any1 says, care DOES have to be taken.

 

[THECAP]

Hounds are dogs that were originally bred to hunt and the Italian Greyhound has a strong instinct to chase and hunt. The breed is the smallest of the family of sighthounds or gazehounds (dogs that hunt by sight) . It is thought that they were originally bred to hunt small game as well as being a companion hound. Its larger cousin the Whippet is a relatively new breed that originated in England in the 19th Century.

lots of history all sayin these are small sight hounds/gazehounds used for small game

 

[wild whippies]

Sorry George but when it comes to anything the KC have had their hands on, I really don't think you can refer to today's lineage meeting their original purpose anymore, that's presuming that hunting was what iggies were designed to do.

Your regular references to pedigree whippets being 'plastic' whippets substantiates my comments.

Just looking at 18th century artwork you can see that the 'iggie' was a larger breed in hunting potraits but I have to say the vast amount of artwork potrays them as lap dogs. The breed itself is very old and there were many variables of sighthound back then e.g. sicillian greyhounds. If you look at sighthounds across the world during these times you'll see there was a mass of varying breed types performing various functions whose physiques were designed to meet their chosen purpose, some worked with falcons catching small quarry whilst others were used to take down wild boar (Rajapalayam)

What I'm trying to get across is that these sighthounds all had a definate type, i.e.

dolichocephalic skulls, streamlined physiques and strong musculature. However their, heights, bone structure and muscle mass were adaptations to meet their functions.

To my knowledge the iggie in the UK in the last century at least has ceased it's alleged function as a hunting dog, breeding programmes have underlined this, changing the breed to meet a different purpose i.e. a companion dog. Sure it will possess some of the traits of a sighthound because the breed type has been retained but it's adaptation for purpose has changed quite substantially.

 

[THECAP]

SO WOT U SAYIN JAC IS THAT THESE SO CALLED EGG SPLIRTS OVER THE LAST X AMOUNT OF YEARS HAVE SPOILT A BREED OF DOG .AS IV SAID BEFORE

 

[wild whippies]

To say they've been spoilt is dependant upon your views as an individual. Personally I see the breed has adapted and survived which unfortunately some old breeds haven't been able to do and have become extinct as a result.