Lagotti

 

 

 

 

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Meet Riffraff, our first Lagotto. 

In addition to breeding alpacas, goats and dogs in her spare time, Pauleen is a scientist at Monash University who specializes in understanding human-animal relationships, particularly those involving companion dogs. This has led her to form strong opinions about the way that dogs in Australia are bred and managed. All too often, pet owners end up buying an animal that is totally unsuited to the role of a pet. Breeders are rewarded either for producing cute fluffy puppies en-masse, which sell quickly but may not be physically or mentally sound, or for producing canine supermodels, designed to look terrific in the show ring rather than to adapt successfully to a modern family home. The placement of unsuitable puppies with families can lead to devastation. Thousands of dogs end up dumped, abandoned, unhappy, anxious and neglected. Dog owners end up disappointed, frustrated and wondering what they've done wrong.

One day at a research group meeting, Pauleen and her colleagues developed a list of attributes required by the perfect pet dog. We know people vary in how they want a dog to look and act, but there are some basic requirements that most pet owners share. See if you agree with the following. 

Traits important for companion dog owners?

bulletFriendly towards people and other animals
bulletEasy to train
bulletMedium size - not too large and not too small
bulletLittle daily grooming required and minimal shedding of hair
bulletLow tendency to chase moving objects
bulletGood looking and with a range of attractive colours available
bulletManageable activity level
bulletVery low incidence of inherited defects
bulletPsychologically resilient

Once we'd developed this list we went looking for a breed of dogs that possess these attributes. Lots of different breeds, of course, make terrific pet dogs, but we eventually decided that a little-known breed called the Lagotto Romagnolo might suit our purposes. 

What is a Lagotto anyway?

Lagotto Romagnolo's (Lagotti for short) were developed in Italy way back in the 1400's, initially as waterfowl hunters. More recently they've been adapted for the intriguing profession of truffle hunter. Truffles are fungal delicacies that develop underground, so truffle hunting requires a dog with a keen sense of smell and dedication to the task. Truffle hunters do not need to be fierce or aggressive, they don't need to herd anything or run for miles at a time, and they don't need to be particularly reactive to moving objects. Instead, the perfect truffle hunter is friendly, pliable, manageable and resilient, willing to wander through the countryside with a bunch of human and canine friends, sniffing for truffles but always willing to given their prize to a human caretaker. Perfect traits for a good companion dog, even one who doesn't indulge in truffle hunting!

 

Lagotti were 'discovered' by modern dog breeders only in the last few years. Although this means that few of them are available in countries like the USA and Australia, an active importation program has seen numbers increase steadily. Dr Bruce Fogel, in his 'The new encyclopedia of the dog' describes Lagotti as "a high energy, compact breed seemingly with a well developed sense of humour and suitable for routine outdoor activity". They have short woolly non-shedding coats like poodles, but a much stronger build, range in colour from white through to a musky brown, stand about 41-48 cm high and weigh somewhere in the range of 11-16 kg. 
The fun-loving Riffraff, our first Lagotto, arrived in Melbourne from Nugold kennels in Western Australia early in 2007. So far she's fitted in well with the rest of the gang. She can generally be found playing with our Aussies, up to her neck in water somewhere, or babysitting a bunch of aussie pups. She's probably a little more active than we anticipated but she's a charming dog and we are quite excited to see what she will produce in the future. Her first litter will hopefully arrive sometime in 2009. 

Check out the haircut! Talk about a new look. The rest of the gang didn't even recognize Riffraff when she arrived home. She was still up for a game though, with some young aussie pups.