Italian Greyhuahua

The history of the Italian Greyhuahua is not well established since the breed has not been around long. Therefore, you have to use the histories of the Chihuahua and the Italian Greyhound to get an idea of the breed’s background. The Chihuahua is the smallest dog in the world and comes from Chihuahua, Mexico, dating as far back as 100 A.D. The breed comes in both short and long hair types and may have a rounded apple head or flatter deer head. The Chihuahua was used in Mexican burial rituals, being sacrificed to guide their loved ones’ souls into the afterlife. Bred from Techichis, which were Mesoamerican native dogs from 300 B.C., the Toltec religion believed that these tiny dogs were spirit guides. Luckily, that tradition died before the Chihuahua became extinct although they became very difficult to find in the early 1900s. When Spanish musician, Xavier Cugat, started appearing with his dog, the breed became popular again and even starred in his own Taco Bell commercial. The Chihuahua is now the most popular breed in Los Angeles and according to the American Kennel Club, where it has been registered since 1904, it is the 30th most common breed in the United States. The Italian Greyhound, from Italy of course, was bred thousands of years ago to be a hunting companion and sighthound. They were supposedly brought to Europe over 2,000 years ago by the Phoenicians and are even mentioned in the Bible. The Romans, Egyptians, and Greeks cultivated the development of the breed and kept them from becoming extinct when their numbers started to decline. They were brought to the United States in the 19th century where they were accepted by the American Kennel Club in 1886 and they are now the 72nd most well-liked dog breed in America.