Grooming your Italian Greyhound
As short haired dogs that shed very little, you won't need to brush or clip your Italian Greyhound much. Unfortunately, this only applies to the coat.
Dental Care
As mentioned in the Health section, periodontal disease is a problem for the Italian Greyhound and they require frequent tooth-brushing. According to Resleure (2011), daily tooth-brushing is required for excellent oral health and brushing every other day will only provide "mediocre" care. In a breed prone to periodontal disease and tooth loss, mediocre is probably not the level of care you want to provide and this can be a deciding factor in if an IG is for you.
Failure to provide adequate dental care will lead to tartar build up and if left long enough, gum disease and tooth loss. This image is of an IG with otherwise good teeth that has missed some of his routine dental care. You can see the build up of brown and yellow tartar and the darkened, inflamed gums. If care is not provided, this would further deteriorate into full blown gum disease. At that point, tooth loss becomes a serious possibility. |
Nail Care
Overgrown nails can be more than just damaging to your floor. They can cause actual health concerns in your dog if they aren't taken care of. Overgrown nails can affect you dogs gait by disrupting their natural posture or forcing the toes to spread or twist. This disruption can lead to fractures due to falls or conformation issues. Resleure(2011) recommends grinding the nails with a Dremel and a sanding disc one to three times weekly so that the nails don't touch the floor when standing or walking. At approximately $120 CAD, a cordless Dremel tool can quickly pay for itself when you don't have pay a groomer for two or three weekly visits.