An Italian Greyhound is built like spun glass — long, fine-boned legs, almost no body fat, and a thoroughbred's turn of speed packed into a toy frame. In her senior years that fragility only deepens, so her exercise becomes an exercise in protection: gentle walks on forgiving ground, calm play in secure spaces, and a household arranged so that the jumps and tumbles younger dogs shrug off simply never happen to her.
Protecting legs that cannot take a knock
Leg fractures are the standing risk of this breed at every age, and an older dog's bones and balance are less forgiving still. Walk her on grass, packed earth, or smooth pavement where her footing is predictable, and steer her away from boisterous groups of big dogs whose casual shoulder-check could put her down. Off-lead time belongs in genuinely secure, enclosed spaces — a senior Italian Greyhound can still startle into a sprint, and a sprint that ends at a fence, a ditch, or a flight of steps can end in a break. At home, treat heights as hazards: teach and help her to use low ramps or steps to the sofa and bed rather than leaping down, keep her off slippery floors with rugs along her routes, and pick her up securely, supporting her chest and hindquarters, rather than letting her launch herself from arms. Her play should live at floor level — a soft toy dragged slowly along carpet, a treat hidden under a cushion for her to excavate — all the fun with none of the altitude.
Weather, warmth, and the thin-skinned senior
With her fine coat and negligible insulation, an Italian Greyhound feels cold that a double-coated breed would not notice, and senior circulation makes her feel it more. In cold weather she needs a fitted coat for walks, shorter outings, and a warm place to recover; a dog who is shivering is a dog whose muscles are tense and injury-prone, so a reluctant, hunched walk in the cold should be cut short in favour of indoor activity. Heat asks for care at the other extreme — shade, water, and morning or evening timing — though she will generally vote for warmth. Let her set the pace within each walk: this breed alternates between delicate pottering and brief, joyful bursts, and a senior's bursts should be allowed only on soft, clear ground where a sudden stop cannot hurt her.
Any limp is information, not a detail
Because her legs are both fragile and essential to her confidence, take changes in her movement seriously and early. A limp, a leg carried even briefly, crying out when jumping or being lifted, reluctance to put weight through a limb, or a new unwillingness to walk on a surface she used to accept all deserve prompt veterinary attention rather than a week of watching — small bones and old dogs heal best when problems are assessed quickly. Tell the vet, too, about shrinking exercise tolerance, sleeping far more, or shivering and restlessness that is new; in a fine-boned senior those can be the earliest visible signs that something beyond ordinary ageing needs checking, and an accurate account of when they began genuinely helps the examination.
A delicate dog's history, kept carefully
Italian Greyhounds change gradually and communicate quietly, so the record of her exercise — what she managed happily, when the reluctance started, which leg she favoured — becomes the evidence her care decisions rest on. Keeping those mobility notes in her KinsLe Pet Passport, alongside her health records, means any vet who treats her, at home or away, can see the whole delicate picture at a glance and handle her senior years with the precision this breed requires.