They've had some of their hunting instinct bred out of them over the generations but they still retain an excellent sense of smell and have been used to search out truffles in more recent years.

This recent newcomer to dog shows has never been bred for his looks, despite being a very appealing dog. In the late 1800s, he was described as being ‘a Poodle with a dash of terrier’ and that was indeed what he looked like. Later, he was described as being ‘a special, yappy mongrel dog with a rustic appearance’ — and this was by someone who loved the breed!

This was a dog who was bred purely for his working ability and that ability was to hunt truffles, without allowing anything to distract him. The Lagotto Romagnolo has his ancestry in the water retriever dogs who worked in the Italian lagoons back in the 16th century (lagotto is a dialect word for ‘curly coated duck retriever’) and were then crossed with anything that had an exceptional nose!

The Poodle factor, however, has always remained dominant, and so the origins and characteristics of the original breed have remained and can be seen in the dog today.

Lagotto Romagnolo character