Italian Greyhounds have short-haired soft, satin like coats and shed imperceptibly so they do not require as much grooming and maintenance as some long-coated breeds. There are three essential grooming tasks:

1. Daily check up
2. Daily teeth brushing
3. Nails trimmed weekly / fortnightly

Plus the occasional bath!

1. Daily Check-Up

Check your dog every day to make sure you pick up any potential issues early:

• Run your hands over the whole body checking for lumps, bumps and anything else unusual
• Look in their eyes – make sure everything looks normal
• Look in the mouth – teeth should be clean, gums should be pink and healthy – any redness around the gums is a sign of a potetnial problem
• Look in the ears – check for ear wax, ticks, any signs of infection, etc.
• Check their paws

2. Daily Teeth Brushing

Italian Greyhounds are susceptible to peridontal disease (gum disease) which can be painful and lead to infections and losing teeth. To help maintain healthy teeth and gums, brush your Italian Greyhound’s teeth every day using a canine toothbrush or a soft-bristled children’s toothbrush with a canine toothpaste – do not use human toothpaste!

There are also a number of supplemental additives, Oral Care Gels and dental chews that can help to prevent the build up of dental plaque and gum disease.  In conjunction with daily brushing, the following can also help promote better dental hygiene:

• Seaweed supplements such as Plaque Off
• Using a cotton bud, give your dog’s mouth a daily wipe around the gumline and into the cheeks with a Chlorhexidine Solution

Nail clipping

It’s essential to keep your Italian Greyhound’s nails short and trim. Long nails can cause discomfort or even pain, are prone to splitting, infection, and also easier to ‘catch’ on things which can lead to a claw being ripped out of your dog’s paw. In addition, a dog that has overly nails for a sustained period of time is at risk of ligament and joint damage from their toes being forced into an unnatural position by the overly long nails.

Use a pair of good quality, sharp canine nail clippers and/or an electric nail filing tool such as a dremmel.

Most Italian Greyhounds will need their nails trimmed once a week or once a fortnight.

See the blog for detailed instructions on how to trimming nails: Trimming IG Nails

Bathing

Italian Greyhounds have short coats and are relatively easy to keep clean just by wiping them over with a warm damp cloth or dog  wipe.

If you need to bathe your Italian Greyhound for any reason bear in mind that they don’t really like being submerged in water. It’s worth doing some gentle training with them before submerging them in a bath tub, or dousing them with a handshower.

The easiest way to wash an Italian Greyhound is in a bath tub with a hand shower. Be careful that your dog does not slip in the bath tub – an anti-slip bath mat can be helpful.  Test the temperature of the water first (luke-warm water that you might bathe a human baby with) and use a very gentle dog shampoo. Italian Greyhounds generally have sensitive skins. Human shampoos will be too harsh although some Italian Greyhound owners use baby shampoo which is very mild. Rub their coat dry with a soft towel – this bit is usually the best bit for the dog!