Italian Greyhounds, New South Wales

Fifty years devoted to one small, exceptional hound.

Sandy Reeve and Tina Clift have been breeding show dogs for over fifty years, and continue to be the leading Italian Greyhound breeder in Australia.

An Italian Greyhound in fawn and white, photographed in profile against a soft studio background
Photograph: Tom Weigand, The Winning Image

On the record

ANKC Hall of Fame

The only Italian Greyhound in Australia ever inducted, MBIS Supreme Champion Piccino Cassanova, was bred here.

Best in Show, Sydney Royal

Champion Piccino King Of Bling, 2023.

Purina Pro Plan

One of a small number of Australian kennels selected as an ambassador for the brand.

Dogs NSW 2100125276

Members in good standing, breeding under the Dogs NSW Code of Ethics.

The standard

Quality

Piccino is committed to this superb toy breed. Our dogs are consistent winners in the show ring at Best in Show level, in both all breeds and specialty shows.

We strive to improve the breed through a selective breeding programme, which has included importing a number of dogs from America and Canada. A good Italian Greyhound is not an accident, and it is not produced in a hurry.

The craft

Workmanship

Fifty years is a long apprenticeship, and what it buys is judgement: which bitch to put to which dog, when to hold a promising puppy back, and when a litter is simply not what you had hoped for.

The dogs are bred here and shown by the people who bred them, with Sandy handling in the ring. Every puppy leaves under the Dogs NSW Code of Ethics, and we would rather talk someone out of the breed than place a dog in the wrong home.

Distinction

One Italian Greyhound in Australia has been inducted into the ANKC Hall of Fame.

It is a great honour for Piccino to have bred him. Nova was campaigned to a record that still stands as the measure of the breed in this country, and he is the reason a good many people first heard our prefix at all.

MBIS Supreme Champion

Piccino Cassanova

“Nova” Dog Bred at Piccino

16

Best in Show

19

Runner Up Best in Show

100

Best in Group

74

Runner Up Best in Group

Bred and owned by S & M Reeve. Handled by Sandy Reeve.

Sandy Reeve holding Nova, photographed on Sydney Harbour

The lines

Pedigree

An Australian kennel working with a numerically small breed cannot improve it from within. Ours has been widened deliberately, by importing dogs from North America and bringing their lines in behind our own.

We are members of Dogs NSW, registration 2100125276, and we abide by the Dogs NSW Code of Ethics.

Imported lines, United States

  • Maplewood
  • Integra
  • Celtic Uwharrie
  • Marchwind
  • Gioia Mia
  • Selah

Bred under our prefix

Piccino

New South Wales, Australia

The Italian Greyhound is an exceptional toy breed with a charming, affectionate and amusing personality. These tiny hounds have the ability to completely captivate their owners. They certainly have with us.

Sandy Reeve and Tina Clift

They are sighthounds in miniature: fast, fine-boned, and far more athletic than their size suggests. They are also devoted to the point of comedy, and they feel the cold.

If you are considering one, read the breed notes before you enquire. It is the fastest way to work out whether an Italian Greyhound suits your household.

Enquiries

Talk to us about an Italian Greyhound

We are happy to talk through the breed with anyone considering one, whether or not we have a puppy available.