Lagotto Romagnolo
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The Lagotto Romagnolo, Italy's adorable 'truffle dog,' sports a curly coat and lavish facial furnishings. Despite their plush-toy looks, Lagotti are durable workers of excellent nose who root out truffles, a dainty and pricey delicacy. Italians have a word for it: 'carino.' In English, we say 'cute.' In any language, this breed is totally endearing. The Lagotto Romagnolo is known for wooly curls that cover the body head to tail, crowned by a lavish beard, eyebrows, and whiskers. Lagotti stand under 20 inches and weigh no more than 35 pounds. But don't be fooled by their teddy-bear looks, these are rugged workers of true strength and endurance.
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STANDARD OF THE LAGOTTO ROMAGNOLO
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FCI Standard No. 298 – publication of 17.12.2015 – in force since 1 January 2016
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: 17.12.2015
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FCI CLASSIFICATION:
Group 8 Retriever, hunting, water dog.
Section 3 water dog.
Without proof of work
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BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: Ancient breed of water retriever in the plains of Comacchio and marshy areas of Ravenna. Over the centuries the vast swampy areas were reclaimed and became arable land. As a result the Lagotto changed from a water dog to an excellent truffle dog in the flat open countryside and hills of Romagna.
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GENERAL APPEARANCE : Medium to small sized dog, well proportioned, powerfully built, rustic in appearance, with a dense curly coat of woolly texture.
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IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: The dog is almost as tall as it is long (almost square). The length of the head is 4/10 of the height at the withers. The length of the skull should be slightly greater than the length of the
muzzle. The depth of the chest is less than 50% (about 44%) of the height at the withers.
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BEHAVIOR AND TEMPERAMENT: Its natural aptitude for hunting and its excellent sense of smell make this breed an efficient truffle hunter. The hunting instinct has been modified in the course of genetic selection, so its work is not distracted by (game) smells. The Lagotto is docile, undemanding, attentive, affectionate, very attached to his master and easy to train. He is also a great companion and an excellent watchdog.
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SOURCE AND FOR MORE INFORMATION: CLUB LAGOTTO ROMAGNOLO
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Character
In terms of character, he is characterized by obedience and frugality. He is a friendly, alert and vigilant dog, loyal to his human. Perfect conditions for a reliable companion a watch- and family dog.
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A great advantage of these dogs is that they can easily adapt to their environment. As an always good-humored and strongly people-oriented dog, he is also ideal for families. He loves to be near his people and is very happy to receive praise. He is cuddly and enjoys extensive petting.
Coat
They have a double coat of hair rather than fur. The coat needs to be trimmed on a regular basis. Some Lagotto coats mat more than others, and it is important to groom regularly to prevent this.
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Therefore the effort for the care is relatively high with the Lagotto Romagnolo, because the correct care of the hair is absolutely important with this dog.
He does not shed and is therefore well suited for allergy sufferers.
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Colors: brown, orange, orange roan, sable, white, off-white, brown roan.
Activities
The lagotto has a high energy that must be channeled into a fun game. Being an intelligent dog, he learns very quickly so he is easy to train.
The lagotto's favorite game is olfactory research. We can teach him truffle hunting, people, diabetes, drugs and whatever we want.
Other favorite activities of the lagotto are fetching and swimming. He is a dog suitable for agility, flyball, dog dancing, moreover.