A sleek, tight, silky coat, a marvelous disposition and naturally clean; these are the attributes that have made the Italian Greyhound the pet dog supreme for many centuries. Evidence points to the fact that this breed has been the favourite of people in high places for over 2000 years. He was a favourite in acient Rome and Pompeii, Athens and the English court. We are told that the old Latin motto,"cave canem," did not warn against the guard dogs but really meant that guests should beware that they didn't step on the tiny pet of the house, the slim and elegant Italian Greyhound.

We do not know the exact date that this breed appeared as a distinct type. We do know that the breed is the result of patient and exacting selection and breeding of ever smaller specimens of the ancient Greyhound breed, until the ultimate had been reached, a tiny, perfectly formed Greyhound, the toy Italian Greyhound.

Introduced to England, three centuries or more of the sure touch of knowledgeable British breeders brought the breed to the highest state of perfection.

This toy Greyhound, bred to be solely a pet and nothing more, reached its height of popularity in the late Victorian period in England and Scotland and it was also introduced to the United States around about this time.