 Excellent, gentle and very affectionate with children.It rarely barks but will give notice of strangers approaching its home; at the farm it will kill mice and rats and it's not indifferent to feathered game, but the latter use will make the breed lazy and untidy in the hunt; its constitution needs the challenge of the true chase.A primitive hunting breed, its existence on the Greek island of Crete is documented in writing and artifacts for at least 3500 years.