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Does anyone own an Italian Greyhound dog?

I just bought two Italian Greyhounds today (the miniature ones). Does anyone have any experience with this breed? What are their tempers like? Are they good with kids? Are they smart and do they train easy? Any information will be helpful to me, give as many details as you'd like.

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1. No good now - but all these questions should have all been answered in depth before you brought the dogs home. The US Italian Grehound Club is a good place to start: http://www.italiangreyhound.org/ You might especially like to look at the information about IG health concerns, and IG/sighthound-specific needs. Good pet stores, and the above site will be able to advise you of useful or key books that you might like to read, as well. In the capable hands of a knowledgable, well-researched and dedicated owner, they make fantastic little dogs. Training and socialisation is going to depend on your dedication and consistency, as with any other breed. Introduce your new pups to as many people, dogs, animals and experiences as you possibly can, so that they're thoroughly socialised. Never leave them alone with children, and never allow young children to play roughly with them - they're too fragile. Enrol in a course of obedience lessons so that you're in posession of valuable techniques and methodology for training.
2. I dont own one, but I pet sit for two. They are good little dogs, but very nervous and fragile. When they come to my house they are fine around my daughter, they dont mind her loving on them. They are prone to accidents and tend to break easily so I'd would be careful about letting them jump off beds or couches.
3. Very suttle and low-mid range energy levels....it all depends on the dog and how they where brought up...
4. While I don't own one, I have experience with them and I plan on getting one in a couple years. Italian Greyhounds are generally very sweet natured, loyal, graceful, sensitive dogs. They tend to be purposely naughty in a cute way. They bond very closely with their owners. They are very smart, but they are reluctant to be told what to do, and training is no exception. You'll need to be very gentle, consistent, and patient with their training. I wouldn't recommend an Italian greyhound to anyone with children. They are a very fragile breed that can be injured or even killed by even the most well-meaning children, and they are incredibly sensitive to loud noises and chaotic households. While there are exceptions, Italian greyhounds regularly exposed to such situations become fearful, stressed and neurotic. They are a dog breed that thrives in calm, quiet, peaceful households. Have you ever been to yourpurebredpuppy.com or dogbreedinfo.com? They give thorough, candid reviews on the good points, bad points, facts and characteristics of the Italian Greyhound breed. I’d highly recommend that you visit both websites. http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/italiangreyhounds.html http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/italiangreyhound.htm I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions whatsoever on this subject, please feel free to message me and I will be more than happy to assist you. Good luck.
5. I own two Italian Greyhounds and wouldnt have recomended getting two at once. They are extremely hard to house train, one is hard two may be impossible. You can go to www.iggyplanet.com for lots of helful info. They are a very needy and demanding breed. They are very sweet and extremely devoted to their masters. They are gentle with kids but kids need to be extra gentle with them as their legs are very breakable. It is a good idea to have an emergency leg break fund, leg break surgery can easily run into the $1000's . Smart, easy to train? well, they think its all about them, what is in it for me and while they arent dumb, they can be stubborn and selfish which can be interpeted as being not so smart by some who dont know the breed. They love to snuggle under covers and you have to watch and make sure you dont accidentally sit on one. They are sight hounds off leash excursions is not recomended. If they see a bug, bunny, plastic bag that they think might look fun, they will chase it right in front of oncoming traffic or until they get lost. They are also very fast so you wouldnt stand a chance catching them if they took chase to something. Specially made sighthound collars are recomended because of their long skinny necks to help protect their wind pipes should they hit the end of the leash a little too hard. If they dont receive the attention they think they deserve they tend to get flighty or spastic, I have dealt with puppymill survivors and seen what happens when there is not adequate socialization. IG's cannot tolerate cold/wet weather. Depending on where you live you will need to purchase coats/sweaters/jammies. Even a fairly well house trained IG will still mess in the house if the weather is not fitting. Probably the #1 reason IG's are in rescue is potty training issues at least for owner surrenders.
6. I am an owner of 4 IG's and these are a difficult dog for a first time owner, but you can overcome this if you are willing. It can take a LONG time to housetrain - into years (typically it is around one year to housetrain one - with 2 I would plan on much longer because they will feed off each other). IG's are very sensitive and are people dogs, they want to be with people all the time 100% - and will cry and not be happy if they are not. They aren't the type of dog that you can put outside and be inside or leave in another room while you are doing something else - they will be right with you under your feet. They are also very very smart, but smart in a way that they know how to get you to do what they want, not vice versa. They are HIGH energy dogs - they are sighthounds and want to run and play and will play wildly for long periods and then sleep. They can be good with kids but the kids have to know how to be good with dogs, they don't want strangers just to come and pick them up or pet them, they will allow someone to pet them or handle them if they feel comfortable with them, anything before that would be forced and they will not like it. They don't tend to like young children because they don't like to be pulled, dragged, or tugged on. I tell people to compare them to cats - because they act much like cats and will do what they want, when they want. They also prefer to sleep in bed with their people, under the blankets, and consider it abusive to them to have any other type of arrangement (lol). They will get on the furniture also because they like to be up high where they can see what is going on at all times. This isn't a breed for the timid, they do not react well to any negative reinforcement (punishment) and it can cause them to become very nervous making behaviors worse, not better. They also can revert back in behavior any time there is stress in their life. They need consistancy and companionship with people - they require a lot of time and energy and can break very easily. A broken leg because they jumped off a stair or couch can easily cost $3000 or more depending on your part of the country - East cost is closer to $5000 for repair. There are health issues you must pay attention too in this breed such as seizures, PRA, patella issues, hip problems, cataracts, etc. If you can find out anything about health of the parents and what health testing was completed on them, you will have a better idea what you might be in for, if you got them from a pet store, then you will probably deal with one or more of the above issues due to the environment they came from. Overall, this breed is a loving breed and if you are unsure how to work with them, definitely go to the breed club website: www.italiangreyhound.org, or www.iggyplanet.com and ask for some help and the folks on there can give you tons of help as well. Good luck with your new additions.