Activities For Italian Greyhounds

Italian Greyhounds, like other sighthounds, have a strong desire to run which is generally coupled with a high prey drive. Lure coursing is a dog sport that was designed as a way to recreate the experience of chasing “prey” in a safer, more controlled environment. The “prey” in this case is most typically a white plastic bag which is attached to a series of pulleys and pulled around the course as a way to mimic fleeing game. This activity was custom made for sighthounds like the Italian Greyhound, although more types of dogs have been trying their paws at it in recent years. 

The job of a therapy dog is to provide comfort and unconditional love to people who are in need of these qualities. These dogs typically make visits to hospitals, schools, and nursing homes, and on occasion, they will even visit the site of recent tragedies to try and help those that were directly affected by it to cope. The sensitive and quiet nature of the Italian Greyhound makes them an excellent candidate for this important job and while service dog training takes many years, a dog suited to therapy work can often start making visits after just a few months of training.  

 Parkour is a training discipline that was originally developed in France in the 1980s but has quickly taken the world by storm as an inexpensive but highly effective exercise method.  Participants in this inventive sport utilize various objects in their immediate environment to create a constantly shifting obstacle course utilizing objects such as fire hydrants, logs, and park benches. This activity, although originally developed for human fitness, can be modified for your canine companion and often involves activities such as jumping up or down from objects, climbing, crawling under, and balancing - all of which are activities that the Italian Greyhound embraces.