These dogs are extremely confident in nature and constantly alert. For this reason, they can make excellent watch dogs, after all, this was what they were bred to do! However, they are also quite sensitive as well and when trained, lots of positive re-enforcement must be used so as not to upset them. Their sensitivity also means they must be socialized from as young as possible and mustn't be left by themselves for too long as they will start to show dominant and destructive behavior. They are also extremely intelligent dogs which makes them fairly easy to train, just make sure they don't pick up on any bad habits! However, if these guys are trained well, there is the potential for them to get on with other animals, including cats! Overall though, they are extremely affectionate and gentle animals and make fantastic pets.

These little dogs get half of their name from the area they were originally bred in, 'Cirnecos', which means green and is also another term used to describe the Island of Sicily and the other half of their names come from the Volcano, Mount Etna! It's also thought that these guys possessed magical powers that kept 'unbelievers' away from a sacred temple in Sicily which they guarded. It was originally thought that these guys and the Pharaoh Hounds were the same breed, but it wasn't until the 1940s that they were recognized as a separate breed. Even today, you can see these guys hunting on Mount Etna and they remain fairly unknown across the rest of the world, to the point that they are even rare within their native country of Italy!