Laravel

It’s difficult to trace exactly how far back the Lagotto Romagnolo’s history goes. Depictions of dogs resembling the Lagotto have been found in the Etruscan necropolis of Spina. Given that the Etruscans reached the northern Adriatic region sometime between 500 and 600 B.C., it’s possible that those dogs could be the ancestors of the modern Lagotto. What we do know is that their origins can be traced back to Renaissance Italy, at least; specifically, Ravenna.

This dog breed was bred to work as a waterfowl retriever that could navigate the marshlands common to Ravenna. They were hunting dogs bred to support the vallaroli, or lagotti; the people who were granted use of the marshlands and resources within them before the land reclamation that occurred in the late 19th century. In addition to being retrievers, Lagotti Romagnoli also often guarded their family’s boats and houses.

With their exceptional nose, Lagotti Romangnoli also excelled at tracking. Although they made great retrievers in watery conditions, they were also used to find truffles out in the Italian countryside. The Lagotto excelled at finding truffles. So much so, in fact, that they were bred specifically for it starting in the 19th century and are considered the world’s best truffle dog.

Despite a winning personality and these incredible skills, the Lagotto Romagnolo breed was facing extinction by the mid-1970s. A group of dog lovers based in Romagna set out to save the breed and create a strict breeding standard for them moving forward. The Club Italiano Lagotto (CIL) was founded in 1988.

From these efforts, the breed began to flourish again and spread across the globe. The American Kennel Club brought this dog breed into the Foundation Stock Service in 2001 with the Sporting Group designation. The Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America was established in 2007. The AKC fully recognized the Lagotto Romagnolo in 2015.