Finding an Italian Greyhound

Understanding Italian Greyhound Puppy Adverts

Understanding Italian Greyhound Puppy Adverts

Finding an Italian Greyhound puppy is a minefield that many people don’t realise they are entering when they begin their search. Understanding the jargon used in Italian Greyhound puppy adverts is a good start. We highlight some of the common words and phrases used and explain what they tell you – or are hiding in some cases!

The Italian Greyhound breed has exploded in popularity in recent years, largely fuelled by back yard breeders and puppy farmers meeting the increasing demand for Italian Greyhound puppies, and breeding Italian Greyhounds for profit. This explosion has given rise to problems such as luxating patella, epilepsy, neurological problems, and even leg breaks.

Breeding puppies of any breed is an art; it’s not something to be undertaken lightly. It might seem ideal to buy a puppy from a first-time “hobby” breeder (someone breeding the odd litter from their pet), but there is more to ethical breeding than simply having a litter of puppies from a much-loved pet. Unless the breeder has extensively researched breed-lines, studied known health issues spanning back generations in BOTH parents, and undertaken health test available, you are just as, if not more likely to come away with a puppy destined to develop problems further on in life. Another issue for Italian Greyhound puppy buyers is that ethical breeders only breed to improve the breed, usually when they want a puppy themselves, and they will line up homes for the rest of the planned litter before it is conceived. When puppy buyers are not prepared to wait for a planned litter from an ethical breeder, they ultimately end up funding the unethical, indiscriminate breeding of Italian Greyhounds, often of poor quality and health.

It’s extremely difficult for puppy buyers to know if a breeder is knowledgeable, ethical, and trustworthy, even on personal recommendation. Those breeding for profit can be very clever in how they write their puppy adverts, and the jargon and statements they use to intentionally dupe puppy buyers into thinking they are getting a top quality Italian Greyhound. They generally are very friendly and welcoming, and can be very persuasive is luring puppy buyers to a sale. Some are bringing in a regular income from their breeding. Some are fronts for puppy farms, set up to make it look like the parents are family pets.

What are the common selling points used in Italian Greyhound puppy adverts?

There are some common phrases used in adverts for puppies that are misleading and often outright lies, intended to lure puppy buyers in. Here are common examples:

Puppies bred and raised in the home. Ethical breeding is not simply keeping your brood bitch in the home to whelp, nor is it raising the puppies in the home.

Even with this stated in an advert, it is no guarantee that it is the case. It’s a known ruse for puppy farmers to use “a front” for buyers to view puppies within a home environment when the puppies have been bred and kept somewhere completely different.

Breeding from our beloved pet dog/s. Hobby breeding/breeding from “pet dogs” does not make a breeder reputable, ethical, caring, or reliable. Many breeders are using the “pet dogs” line to convince buyers that their puppies and parents will be better cared for. The reality is, you are just as likely to come away with a poorly bred puppy from someone who has indiscriminately bred a one-off litter from their pet/s as you are buying from a commercial breeder.

Some hobby/pet breeders are indiscriminately pairing breeding dogs and/or producing back-to-back litters year upon year, and selling them for £2000-£3000 a puppy, and don’t realise they very much are the definition of commercial breeders.

Rare colour. This is a ruse often used to entice buyers and/or bump the price up of puppies. There are no rare colours in Italian Greyhounds, and the range of colours are detailed in the Italian Greyhound Breed Standard. Any puppies of these colours are not rare. Any puppy/dog of a colour not detailed in the breed standard are not full Italian Greyhounds. You might feel that you don’t care that a puppy is not of a breed standard colour, but please be aware that it is most likely not a pedigree dog, and please don’t pay over the odds because it is an irregular colour for an Italian Greyhound.

Manchester Terriers

One exception is a rare throwback gene where a pedigree puppy is born with Black and Tan colouring. This comes from the period of the World Wars, where in Britain Italian Greyhounds were occasionally bred with other small breeds to try to bolster the breed’s dwindling numbers (in this case usually with Manchester Terriers or Miniature Pinschers). They can be pedigree dogs and can be KC registered Italian Greyhounds, however they are not regarded as a rare colour and as breeding stock they are not desirable. The colour should be registered with the Kennel Club as “Other“. If you are attracted to a KC registered Black and Tan Italian Greyhound please don’t allow a breeder to charge you extra for the novelty of the colouring, and please be do not buy a Black and Tan Italian Greyhound (KC registered or not) with the intention of breeding this unusual colouring.

“Tiny”/”Dinky”/”Tea Cup” Italian Greyhounds. Many adverts highlight a particularly small size as a desirable feature of their puppies and/or parents. Italian Greyhounds are a small breed of dog, classified by the Kennel Club as a “Toy Breed”. There is no such thing as a “Tea Cup” Italian Greyhound. This is purely a selling tactic.

Being particularly tiny can lead to “matchstick” legs that break far too easily when the dog is doing every day activities. If you want a “tiny”, “dinky” or “tea cup” sized dog, please do reconsider buying an Italian Greyhound!

Health tested parents. A breeder advertising health tested parents does not guarantee healthy puppies or a reputable, responsible breeder. Getting a couple of health tests to advertise is easy to use to dupe unsuspecting buyers into thinking they are getting a quality puppy. There are no health tests available for the serious conditions in the Italian Greyhound Breed, but this does not mean health tests are a waste of time, it simply does not guarantee an ethical breeder or healthy puppies.

Puppies from “Champion show lines”. Puppies from genuine “top champion lines” are not advertised on Pets4Homes and the likes, trust me! Italian Greyhounds are a numerically small breed in the showing world, and many times these “champion” dogs will have originated from countries where a Italian Greyhound can enter a handful of shows and become a champion, or have been imported from commercial breeders overseas.

Crufts qualified parents. Puppies from “Crufts qualified” parents are not guaranteed to be of good quality. Again, because the Italian Greyhound is a numerically small breed in showing, a dog can become “Crufts qualified” by default. They can come last in a class of 3 and be “Crufts qualified”. This is another line used to mislead buyers.

The puppy’s parent/s have been “placed at Crufts”. This is very often the same as above. A dog can be awarded “Reserve in class” by coming 4th out of 4 dogs. It is meaningless, whether you want to show your puppy or not. It’s absolutely no indicator of quality breeders or puppies.

Coefficient of Inbreeding in Italian Greyhound Puppy Adverts

Coefficient of inbreeding (COI). A very low inbreeding coefficient score is often endorsed as a measure of quality or responsible breeding. Unfortunately, breeding is a lot more complicated than that, and a COI score of 0.01% is no guarantee of a healthy puppy, or an ethical or responsible breeder. It is quite possible that a mating pair of entirely unrelated dogs will produce puppies with epilepsy, luxating patella, marginal bone disease etc., regardless of a low COI. In fact, a COI of <20% from well-known, health tested lines can produce healthier puppies than an indiscriminate mating of entirely unrelated lines. Some breeders have bred many generations of Italian Greyhounds and will know almost every dog and its history within a puppy’s heritage.

The Royal Kennel Club advises: “It is important to note that the inbreeding coefficient is a measure of risk, rather than a direct measure of health. It is possible that two closely related dogs do not have the same autosomal-recessive genes, while two seemingly unrelated dogs do – it’s all down to chance. Although the COI is not a guarantee of health, it is a measure of risk with a higher COI suggesting a higher risk.”

Puppies and/or dogs for Adoption. The phrase “adoption” is being used increasingly when buying or selling dogs. This appears to have sprung from puppy farmers and scammers using the word to circumvent Facebook’s community standard on the sale of pets via Facebook. It is increasingly being used by buyers and sellers outside of Facebook, probably because it’s a softer, more appealing turn of phrase than “buy” and “sell”. However, 99% of people are simply buying a puppy. Please be aware of anyone other than a legally registered charity offering dogs/puppies for “adoption”. Likewise, when searching for your future dog, please don’t substitute the word “buy” with “adopt” when discussing it. It muddies the waters for legitimate charities trying to rehome rescues, and it plays into the hands of puppy farmers and scammers looking to tug at heart strings to secure a payment.

Puppies are not KC registered to ensure they only go as pets. Puppies that are not KC registered are NEVER not registered to “ensure they go to loving homes”. The real reason the puppies are not KC registered will be a disingenuous one. There is literally no reason not to register a litter of puppies with the Kennel Club unless:

  • The breeder is breeding far more litters from a bitch than the four litter limit imposed by the KC. The breeder cannot register more than 4 litters with the KC, and so will pick and choose litters to register so the public record belies the frequency at which they are breeding from their bitch.
  • The breeder is back-to-back breeding a bitch. This means breeding from successive seasons without allowing the mother time to rest and rebuild herself between time. So a breeder might register every other litter with the KC, so there is no register of back-to-back breeding against their bitch’s name.
  • The breeder has knowledge or suspicions of health issues within the parent/s breed-lines and they do not want their progeny easily traced back to them when these problems occur within the puppies they’ve bred and sold.
  • Either/both parents are puppies themselves. It’s not uncommon to see puppies bred from a stud who is still under a year old, and/or from a bitch on her very first season. If the puppies are KC registered this is traceable on the Kennel Club Health Test Finder. If the puppies are left unregistered the breeder/seller can tell you whatever they like regarding the age of the parents.
  • The breeder does not want HMRC to know they are breeding and selling puppies, so sell their puppies as non-KC registered so their puppies are not registered to any publicly accessible database.

If a breeder does not want their puppies to be bred from in future, they can register the puppies with the Kennel Club and give the puppy buyers a contract with an endorsement preventing the dog from being bred from without their prior permission. Whilst this is not failsafe, it is a legally binding contract. Simply not registering the puppies with the Kennel Club has nothing to do with preventing future breeding or protecting the puppies from anything in any way. Do always be mindful of this when looking for a puppy.

A note on the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders Scheme

The aim of the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme is to promote responsible breeding practices. The Kennel Club is ending its Assured Breeders Scheme on 31st December 2024. In addition to the issues the KC raises in their official statement on 16th July 2024, many known commercial breeders, puppy farmers, and unethical breeders have made their way onto the list. Puppy buyers, quite understandably, use the Assured Breeders Scheme as the benchmark for finding a quality breeder, but sadly it is no longer a reliable resource.

A note on paying a deposit

Be very careful before paying a deposit to secure a puppy. A breeder should be equally, if not more concerned about ensuring YOU are the right person and home for their puppy, as you are about finding the right puppy. Wanting to tie you to a financial contract via a deposit indicates someone is breeding for profit. An Ethical breeder will, above everything else and without exception, want all of their puppies to go to the RIGHT home, not just any home. If a potential home changes their mind about having the puppy, they are clearly not the right home.

Never pay a deposit up front, whether you have seen/met the puppy or not. This is a big red flag that the breeder is purely looking to make money. It’s also likely that the puppy doesn’t actually exist, and any photos you’ve been sent are someone else’s that they have downloaded from the internet or social media. Puppy scammers will also collect multiple deposits for one puppy, then simply block you and disappear with your money.

Finding your Italian Greyhound Puppy

It’s not always possible to advise puppy buyers where to look or who to go to when looking for their new puppy but, at the very least, hopefully you will now have a better understanding of Italian Greyhound puppy adverts and will be able to read between the lines of some of the jargon used within them.

If you would like to meet other Italian Greyhound owners, including breeders, do consider coming to one of The Italian Greyhound Club shows or events. You can find out more about upcoming events here: https://theitaliangreyhoundclub.co.uk/shownewsevents.php

© The Italian Greyhound Club, Italian Greyhound Active Health Project 2025.  Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to The Italian Greyhound Club, and www.italiangreyhoundactivehealth.org.uk with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

About the author

The Italian Greyhound Club

The Italian Greyhound Club the guardian of the breed for future generations. They organise and run dog shows and sponsor Italian Greyhound classes at other shows. They also coordinate and oversee the training of Italian Greyhound breed show judges. The Italian Greyhound Club is an official organisation run under the auspices of the Kennel Club.