Somewhere in Ireland are one or more Italian Greyhounds described by their owners as little heathens: Over-excitable, prone to selective deafness, and perhaps even dabbling in the dark arts of cushion destruction and wild animal terrorism. As a rule, however, Iggies are peaceful and sensitive dogs who prefer a calm, harmonious home. That said, there are always exceptions, and one might say these dogs are these wild Irish Iggies.
And we totally crafted our opening paragraph to create a reason to mention, “Wild Irish Italian Greyhounds.”
In truth, the term has everything to do with color and markings, and little to do with behavior (though no doubt that someone reading this has owned a wild IG).
Italian Greyhounds come in a variety of colors and markings, but the only colors marked for disqualification by the AKC are brindle coats or black and tan. If the dog has a complete white collar, white chest, white paws or legs, and white hairs on the tip of the tail, it’s said to be Irish marked. If the dog has the same markings as the Irish, but with white markings splashed up the legs and onto the body, the dog is described as a “Wild Irish” marked dog.
The AKC breed standard states that any color and markings are acceptable except brindle markings, or tan markings normally found on black-and-tan dogs of other breeds. Specifically, the standard reads, “A dog with brindle markings and a dog with the tan markings normally found on black-and-tan dogs of other breeds must be disqualified.”
Some speculate that the reason brindle and black and tan colors are DQs is because during the late 19th century, crosses with the now extinct white toy terrier and the black and tan Manchester Terrier occurred, and today, the colors would be seen as throwbacks. The Italian Greyhound Club of America’s Illustrated Standard states that the two color disqualifications are included in the standard because a purebred Italian Greyhound cannot genetically be any of these colorations. True brindle or tan marked dogs are rarely seen in the show ring.
In Europe and other countries that use the FCI breed standard, only minimal amounts of white markings on the toes or chest are allowed. We’ve read, in fact, that in Europe, one will mostly find solid Italian Greyhounds with no white markings or only white markings on their chest and feet because the FCI standard reads. “Colour: Self-coloured in black, grey, and isabella (pale yellowish/beige) in all possible shades. White is tolerated only on the chest and feet.”
Image: Italian Greyhound by BeePaw’sPlace is available as a print here