Italian Greyhound, also known as Italian Greyhound or Italian Greyhound, English name: ItalianGreyhound, originated in Italy. This dog used to belong to the smallest type of hunting dog and can help people hunt rabbits and wild chickens. However, with the gradual development of society, hunting activities began to decline, and Italian Greyhounds began to lose their functional abilities. But at this time, people fell in love with its small and cute appearance, making it gradually become a family companion dog. It has a high social status in the history of countries such as the United States and Europe, and therefore has many followers and is still popular today.
There are two anecdotes about Italian Greyhounds. The Prussian King Frederick II particularly liked Italian Greyhounds and was the highest admirer of Italian Greyhounds. This monarch has specially built tombs for all deceased Italian Greyhounds. The famous novelist Paul Duplessis also especially likes Italian Greyhounds and requested to be buried with his Italian Greyhound after his death.
According to records, around 500 BC, during the time of the pharaohs, the ancestors of the Italian Greyhound originated in that period. At that time, they were mainly distributed in the Mediterranean regions such as Greece and Turkey. Later, they gradually developed and left their traces in the southern European region until the medieval period. At that time in Europe, almost all upper-class nobles would raise them as companion dogs. The highly popular Italian Greyhound became a symbol of nobility. The dog's head image was often chosen for decorations, such as the French royal family and King Henry VIII of England, who had the image of the Greyhound on their helmets. Even in the archaeological site of Pompeii, there have been found the skeletons of Greyhounds, and in ancient Egyptian coffins, there have been found dog mummies resembling this breed.
Because of its intelligent and friendly nature, the Italian Greyhound is highly welcomed in modern families. It enjoys pleasing its owners, is loyal to them, and loves taking care of children. It considers itself as a member of the family and is a considerate and qualified companion for humans.
1. Dog Infectious Diseases
Dogs are susceptible to infectious diseases, commonly including canine distemper and canine coronavirus. Common clinical manifestations include: fever, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, breathing difficulties, bloody stools, purulent eye discharge, dry nose, cracked paws, and other symptoms.
Generally, this type of infectious and fatal disease occurs more often during the weaning period or around the age of 1. Puppies are more susceptible, with a lower cure rate and a higher likelihood of leaving sequelae.
How to prevent:
When bringing a dog home, it is recommended for the owner to choose a dog through regular channels, vaccinate the dog on time, regularly disinfect the house, and avoid taking the dog outside for walks before completing the vaccination. Do not allow the dog to come into contact with unfamiliar dogs, and do not let others touch the dog's mouth or nose.
2. Dog Skin Diseases
Because dogs often go for walks outside, they are prone to various skin diseases. If a dog is accidentally infected with mites, bacteria, or fungi outside, there is a risk of difficult and prolonged treatment. Therefore, owners must be careful. Clinical manifestations of dog skin diseases include greasy skin, peeling, erythema, itching, papules, ulceration, pus discharge, hair loss, scab formation, and more.
How to prevent:
In daily care, it is necessary to keep the dog's living environment clean and tidy, avoid damp and dark conditions, regularly disinfect the dog's living environment, perform internal and external deworming, use dog-specific bathing products, regularly brush the fur, and supplement with vitamins and fish oil.
3. Dog Parasites
Common parasites in dogs include roundworms, heartworms, ticks, fleas, and more. These parasites often cause skin diseases and intestinal diseases in dogs, and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, affecting the dog's quality of life and physical development. Dogs with parasites are generally thin and lethargic.
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How to prevent:
When feeding, owners need to pay attention and try not to feed dogs with non-sterilized raw meat or unknown meat sources. Internal deworming should be done once every 3 months, external deworming once a month. During outings, prevent dogs from eating or licking randomly or going into grass, and carefully check them after returning home.
Italian Greyhound is lively and especially loves running and other sports. Therefore, it is not suitable for young or elderly people to raise. Some Whippets have inherited incomplete hip joint development, so it is necessary to strengthen the protection of their bones and joints in normal times. You can feed them with some nutritional cream and liquid calcium every day to supplement calcium and promote bone development. It is also possible to expose them to the sun more often to promote calcium absorption.
In order to meet its daily exercise needs, you can use a mechanical rabbit as bait for it to catch, or let it catch and retrieve a frisbee. It loves this kind of games very much. While getting sufficient exercise, its body shape will also be maintained and its physique will become more robust.
1. Do not bathe frequently
When bathing a dog, of course, it should not be too frequent. Bathing a dog depends on the dog's hygiene. In hot weather, bathe the dog one or two more times, and reduce it by one or two times in winter. But in general, it should not exceed 5 times. Otherwise, it will damage its fur and skin!
2. Brush the fur frequently
Dogs shed almost every day, especially in spring and autumn. Seasonal shedding is more severe. If you want the fur to grow well, brushing the fur frequently is an important step. Pet owners can use special pet brushes to help the dog clean its natural hair and avoid tangling. Brushing once in the morning and evening for about five minutes is enough.
3. Sunbathe
Sunbathing is beneficial to the growth of a dog's coat. Besides making the fur more glossy, letting the dog sunbathe can also help kill bacteria. While sunbathing, the owner can let the dog exercise a little, which can improve the dog's physical fitness, promote blood circulation, and help grow healthier fur.
4. Deworming
Poor fur condition is actually closely related to parasites. Parasites absorb a large amount of nutrients from the dog's body and compete for nutrients, so deworming is indispensable. When deworming, it is recommended to do both internal and external treatments. Moreover, deworming medicine can cause great harm to the dog's stomach, so it is recommended to feed probiotics together to relieve gastrointestinal discomfort.
5. Pay attention to diet
In order for a dog to have a shiny coat, it must have a good nutritional foundation and pay attention to its daily diet. On the one hand, feed the dog with nutritious and healthy dog food, choose a dog food that is suitable for the dog and has sufficient nutrition to meet the dog's needs. On the other hand, you can feed the dog with a moderate amount of lean meat, boiled egg yolk, and vegetable oil, etc.
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