FCI-Standard N° 200 / 17. 06. 1998 / GB
ITALIAN GREYHOUND
(Piccolo Levriero Italiano)
TRANSLATION : Mrs. Peggy Davis.
ORIGIN : Italy.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID
STANDARD : 30.03.1992.
UTILIZATION : Racing dog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 10 Sighthounds.
Section 3 Short-haired Sighthounds. Without working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The little
Italian Greyhound descends from small-sized greyhounds which already
existed in ancient Egypt at the court of the Pharaohs.
Passing through Laconie (Greece),
where numerous representations on vases and bowls confirm this,
the breed arrived in Italy at the outset of the 5th century BC.
Its greatest development occured during the era of the
Renaissance at the court of the nobles.
It is not rare to find the Italian Greyhound represented in the
paintings of the greatest Italian and foreign masters.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Of an elongated shape,
its body fits into a square and its forms recall, in miniature, those of
the Greyhound and the Sloughi.
May be considered as a model of grace and distinction.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : Its length is equal
or only just inferior to the height at the withers.
Length of skull is equal to half the length of the head.
Length of head can reach the 40% of the height at the withers.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Reserved,
affectionate, docile.
HEAD : Of elongated shape and narrow;
its length can attain 40% of the height at the withers.
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Flat with the superior axes of the
skull and muzzle parallel.
Length of the skull is equal to half the length of the head.
Lower orbital region well chiselled.
Stop : Frontal nasal depression only very
slightly marked.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Of a dark colour, preferably black,
with well opened nostrils.
Muzzle : Pointed.
Lips : Thin and tight, with edges of lips
very darkly pigmented.
Jaws/Teeth : Jaws elongated with well
aligned incisors crown shape, strong in relation to size of dog.
Teeth sound and complete, set square to the jaws; scissor bite.
Cheeks : Lean.
Eyes : Large and expressive, neither deep-set
nor protruding. Iris of dark
colour, eyelid rims pigmented.
Ears : Set very high, small, with fine
cartilage, folded in itself and carried well back on the nape and upper
part of the neck. When the dog is attentive, the base of the ear is
erected and the lobe tends to stand out laterally on the horizontal,
position commonly known as « flying ears » or « propeller ears ».
NECK :
Profile : Upper line slightly arched and
broken at its base towards the withers.
Length : Equal to that of the head.
Shape : Truncated cone, well muscled.
Skin : Lean and without dewlap.
BODY : Its length is equal or barely
inferior to the height at the withers.
Topline : Straight profile with arched
dorsal-lumbar region. The
lumbar curve merging harmoniously in the line of the rump.
Withers : Quite well defined.
Back : Straight, well muscled.
Croup : Very sloping, wide and muscled.
Chest : Narrow, deep, let down to the elbows.
TAIL : Low set, fine even at base, tapering
progressively to its tip. It
is carried low and straight in its first half, the 2nd half curved.
Pulled up between the thighs towards the topline, it should
surpass the level of the hip-bone slightly. Covered with short hair.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : On the whole straight and
vertical with lean muscles.
Shoulder : Very slightly sloping with well
developed, lean and salient muscles.
Upper arm : With a very open scapular-humeral
angle, and of a parallel direction to the median plane of the body.
Elbows : Neither out nor tied-in at elbows.
Forearm : Length of the limb measured from
ground to elbow just slightly longer than the distance from elbow to the
withers; very lightly boned; forearm in perfect vertical position as
much from the front as in profile.
Pastern :
In the prolonged vertical line of the forearm; seen in profile it is a
little slanting.
Forefoot : Of almost oval shape, small, with
arched and closely-knit toes.
Pads pigmented. Nails
black or dark according to coat colour or that of the foot, where white
is tolerated.
HINDQUARTERS : Seen from behind on the whole
straight and parallel.
Upper thigh : Long, lean, not voluminous,
with very distinct muscles.
Second thigh : Very sloping, with fine bone
structure and well apparent groove in leg muscle.
Hock and metatarsal : In prolongation of a
vertical line drawn from the ischial tuber.
Hindfoot : Less oval than the forefoot, with
arched and closely-knit toes; pads and nails pigmented like the forefoot.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : Springy, harmonious, no
hackney gaiting (high-stepping). Gallop fast with sharp spring.
SKIN : Fine and tight on all parts of the
body except for the elbows where it is slightly less tight.
COAT
HAIR : The hair is short and fine all over
the body without the slightest trace of fringes.
COLOUR : Self-coloured in black, grey, slate
grey and yellow (in Italian = Isabella) in all possible shades.
White is tolerated only on the chest and feet.
SIZE AND WEIGHT
:
Height at the withers : males and females
from 32 to 38 cm.
Weight : Males and females : maximum 5 kg.
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing
points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the
fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Continous ambling.
Hackney or highstepping movement.
ELIMINATING FAULTS :
Accentuated convergence or divergence of the
facial-cranial axes.
Nose totally or half depigmented.
Nasal bridge concave or convex.
Overshot or undershot mouth.
Wall eye; total depigmentation of eyelid
rims.
Tail carried over the back; anury or short
tail, whether congenital or artificial.
Dewclaws.
Multicoloured coat; white except in chest
and feet as mentioned above.
Size below 32 cm or over 38 cm, as well in
males as in females.
N.B. : Male animals should have two
apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
