We breed and train the Lagotto Romagnolo

TRAINING

Lagotto Romagnolo

Il Lagotto Romagnolo è facilmente addestrabile, in quanto l’attitudine alla cerca e l’attaccamento al tartufo vengono trasmesse geneticamente se i genitori sono a loro volta discendenti da soggetti vocati per questa funzione. L’addestramento inizia verso i due-tre mesi di vita, dapprima facendo giocare il cucciolo con il tartufo o utilizzando un “ovetto” forato e ponendolo all’interno, per poi lanciarlo sempre più lontano in mezzo all’erba, fin quando non lo vede più ed è costretto a cercarlo sfruttando l’olfatto. Successivamente si comincia ad interrare il tartufo, inizialmente in superficie, e poi, man mano, sempre più in profondità, in modo che il cucciolo sia costretto a cercarlo e scavarlo con le zampe. Una volta che il cane ha appreso questi passaggi è pronto per essere portato sulle pasture naturali.

HUNTING AND EXTRACTION

A four-legged "Specialty"

The Lagotto Romagnolo is the only breed officially recognized as a truffle hunting dog on any terrain. It is an ancient Italian breed present in Emilia Romagna, in particular in the valleys of Comacchio and in the Ravenna lagoons. Initially used as a retriever dog in the water, present since the sixteenth century, later it spread in the plains and hills of Romagna with the specific role of truffle dog from the nineteenth century. Typical water dog of medium-small size, square mesomorph, the general appearance is rustic, strong and well proportioned, with thick, curly and woolly hair. it is possible to understand its functionality in the work: it exhibits passion and efficiency, exploiting the innate aptitude for truffle hunting and the excellent sense of smell. The hunting instinct has been erased, so it is not distracted by the wild when searching. Affectionate and very attached to its owner, it is also an excellent companion dog, very trainable. In recent years it has become also a very popular company dog thanks to all the qualities mentioned above, to its small size and thanks to the fact that it does not lose fur in the house.

BREEDING

Let's get in tune...

Our discovery of the world of truffles and of the Lagotto Romagnolo breed began with the purchase of our first truffle dogs, Kim and Pongo, two white Lagotto.
KIM, who can be defined as the “forefather “, is still an excellent truffle hunting and life companion, and he has the merit of having been with us “the initiator” of this wonderful hobby that later turned into our actual job.
After a year, ATTILA arrives, a white-orange puppy, currently still one of the best in truffle hunting, with whom we have also taken part in national truffle hunting competitions for Lagotto Romagnolo, in gatherings and events aiming at the selection of this splendid breed. Attila won the title of northern regional champion in 2017, achieving good results also in other competitions.
A few months after Attila, a puppy of Lagotto Romagnolo with a white and brown coat arrived in our shelter, BACH J.S. We immediately realized that he had all the typical characteristics of this breed: with Bach, in fact, we raised the morphological and attitudinal level of our selection of dogs. In 2018 Bach won the title of southern regional champion of truffle hunting, later achieving other important results that led him to compete for the Italian Championship of Work and to be well known in the Lagotto Romagnolo environment, becoming one of our best breeders in reproduction.
A few years later, BORIS came to brighten our days, a beautiful, powerful, well structured, tireless, white and brown Lagotto Romagnolo, who, since its young age, never failed to show his abilities as a truffle dog, one of the fundamental pieces of our shelter.
In 2020 MARC arrived, with whom we believe we have reached our highest truffle-hunting standard level. In 2021 he began to compete nationally and in a short time, in 2023, thanks to the conquered results, he was proclaimed Italian champion of E.N.C.I. Currently in our shelter there are other young specimens, such as TYSON, BARONE, ARIO, and BILLI, all very good in truffle hunting like their parents.
In any case, these dogs are not only our truffle hunting companions in the long days spent in the woods, but they are also wonderful life companions at home. We continue, with these Lagotti Romagnoli, to strive for a careful genetic selection, aiming to improve more and more the morphology-work combination.