Lagotto Romagnolo

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Breed Characteristics:

The Lagotto is a sturdy, small to medium height, hairy dog with a rustic appearance. They are very good watchdogs and make great companions. This breed is well trained for locating truffles hidden in the ground. With the hunting instinct suppressed, the Lagotto is able to effectively focus on locating the truffles aided by its highly tuned sense of smell. Thanks to its natural intelligence and ease of training this breed is destined for locating truffles.

Brief Standard as written on the www.lagotto.sk website

Breed Name: Lagotto Romagnolo
Country of origin: Italy
Classification F.C.I: Group 8 – Retriever, bloodhound and water dogs; Section 3 – water dogs
Use: Dog specialized for locating truffles
# Standard F.C.I.: 298
Height:
Male: 43 to 48 cm (ideal height: 46cm)
Female: 41 to 46 cm (ideal height: 43cm)
(tolerance: 1cm)
Weight:
Male: 13 to 16 kg
Female: 11 to 14 kg

Behavior/Temperment: A natural gift for searching and its very good nose has made the breed very efficient in truffle searching. 

The former hunting instinct has been eliminated, hence his work is not distracted by the scent of game. The Lagotto is tractable, undemanding, keen, affectionate, very attached to his owner and easy to train.  He is also a very good companion and an excellent watch-dog.

Head: Viewed from above trapezoidal in shape and moderately broad; the upper longitudinal axes of the skull and the muzzle diverge slightly.

Body:: Compact and strong; as long as the height at the withers.

Topline: Straight from the withers to the croup.

Withers: They rise above the level of the croup; the highest points of the shoulder blades are not too close, but quite high set and well laid back.

Back: Straight, very muscular.

Loin: Short coupled, very strong, in profile slightly arched.  Width is equal or exceeds their length.

Croup : Long, wide, muscular, slightly sloping (coxal inclination ranges from 25° to 30°).

Chest: Well developed, reaching down to the elbows.  Although fairly narrow in front, from the sixth rib the chest widens backwards.

Underline and belly: Long sternal section in form of a straight line; the following tuck-up is only slight.

TAIL:Set on neither too high nor too low; tapering towards the end.  When hanging, it should barely reach the hocks.  At rest carried scimitar like; when attentive decidedly raised.  When working or excited can be carried over the back, but never curled.

Forequarters :

Generally : Vertical, seen from the front and in profile.

Shoulder: Shoulder blades long (30 % of the height at withers), well laid back (52-55°), muscular, strong and closely attached to the chest, but moving freely.  The scapulo-humeral angle ranges from 110° to 115°.

Upper arm: Muscular, of thin bone structure, as long as the shoulder blade; its inclination to the horizontal ranges from 58-60°.

Elbows: Well attached to the chest wall, but not too tightly; covered with thin skin; parallel to the median sagittal plane of the body as are the upper arms.  The point of the elbow is located on a vertical line lowered from the back end of the scapula to the ground.

Forearm: Perfectly vertical, long (36 % of the height at withers), with compact, strong bone of oval cross-section).

Carpus: Viewed from the front in a vertical line with the forearm; fine, robust and mobile; pisiform bone markedly protruding.

Pastern: Rather less thick and of finer bone compared with the forearm, mobile; seen in profile, it forms an angle of 75° to 80° with the ground.

Forefeet: Slightly rounded, compact, with arched and tight toes.  Nails strong and curved.  Pads well pigmented.  Interdigital membranes very well developed.

Hindquarters:

Generally : Vertical and parallel, powerful, well proportioned to the size of the dog.

Upper thigh: Long (35 % of the height at withers), with clearly separated and visible muscles.  The axis of the femur has a distinct inclination of 80° to the horizontal line.  The coxo-femoral angle ranges from 105° to 110°. The thigh is parallel to the median plane of the body. 

Stifle: The angle of the stifle joint ranges from 130° to 150°.

Lower thigh: Slightly longer than the upper thigh (36 % of the height at withers), well boned and muscled, with marked muscular groove.  Its inclination to the horizontal ranges from 50° to 55°.

Hock joint: Wide, thick, lean, with clear-cut bone; parallel to the medium plane of the body; the tibio-metatarsal angle is ca. 140°.

Metatarsal: Thin, cylindrical, perpendicular to the ground.

Hind feet: Slightly more oval-shaped than forefeet and toes slightly less arched.

Gait/Movement: Walk regular, trot energetic and brisk, gallop for short periods.

Skin: Close fitting all over the body, without wrinkles, thin, with sparse subcutaneous tissue.  Pigmentation of mucous membranes and of pads ranges from light to dark and very dark brown.

COAT

Hair: Of woolly texture, somewhat rough in surface, forming tightly curled, ring shaped curls with the undercoat shining through. Curls must be evenly distributed all over the body, except on the head, where the curls are less tight, forming well-furnished eyebrows, whiskers and beard.  Even the cheeks are covered with dense hair.  The topcoat and specially the undercoat are water-proof.  If not clipped, the hair tends to become felted; therefore a complete clipping must be performed at least once a year.  Felted topcoat and undercoat must be removed periodically.

Color: Off-white solid color, white with brown or orange patches, brown roan, brown solid color (in different shades), or orange solid color.  A brown to dark brown mask acceptable.

Size & Weight:

Height at the withers:

Males:  from 43 to 48 cm (ideal height : 46 cm),

Females:  from 41 to 46 cm (ideal height : 43 cm).

Tolerance of 1 cm more or less.

Weight:

Males:  13 to 16 kg,

Females:  11 to 14 kg.

 

Faults : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

· Pronounced undershot mouth.

· Strabismus.

· Docked tail.

· Dewclaws.

· Coat not curled or clipped short.

· Black coat or black patches.

· Oversize or undersize.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

Aggressive or overly shy.

Totally depigmented nose.

Overshot mouth.

Wall-eye.

Corded coat.

 Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioral abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum