Imagine you found a litter of adorable Lagotto Romagnolo puppies and instantly fell for the one with the brightest eyes and bounciest personality.
It is a natural inclination for a dog lover to decide that this is the one. But before you bring that puppy home, there is a more important question to consider: how do you choose a Lagotto breeder you can genuinely trust?
A good breeder can be the difference between welcoming a healthy, well-behaved companion into your home and facing years of avoidable health or behavioral issues.
The breed’s remarkable truffle-hunting ability and hypoallergenic coat are among its top attractions, but growing demand has also encouraged irresponsible breeding.
A little foresight today to investigate a breeder’s health testing, breeding practices, and the breeder’s reputation can save you considerable cost, chaos, and heartbreak later.
Before you reach the final choice, The Complete Lagotto Romagnolo Guide: Temperament, Traits & Life With the Breed can also help prospective purchasers understand the breed’s personality, working instincts, and what everyday life with a Lagotto may look like.
Why a Responsible Dog Breeder Checklist Matters
A responsible dog breeder checklist is not just a form of paperwork; it’s a glimpse into how puppies are raised before they even meet you.
Breeders who do not screen their stock, socialize them, or provide proper documentation can have dogs with hidden temperament or medical problems that come to the new owner’s attention months after purchase.
At Truffle Dog, this responsibility starts long before a puppy meets its new family, with detailed attention to the standards that structure a responsible breeding program.
Veterinary organizations have called for a more stringent industry-wide standard, further emphasizing the importance of screening questions.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s official policy update, the association favors minimizing inherited disorders in the breeding of dogs, cats, and other companion animals. When considering any breeder’s practices, that professional attitude is a good yardstick. AKC and OFA go beyond that with a much stricter standard for breeding lagotti.
Health Testing and Genetic Screening
First, ask what genetic testing the breeder performs on the parents. A reputable breeder should immediately answer there are two lagotto breed-specific genetic diseases we test for. They are lagotto storage disease (LSD) and Benign Familial Juvenile Epilepsy, (BFJE). At Truffle Dog we would also tell you that we check each parent for those two lagotto specific diseases and we check for around 300 canine diseases and the reason why.
If a breeder brushes aside these questions or hesitates to answer them, it is a red flag you shouldn’t ignore.
At Truffle Dog we would also tell you that we check each parent for those two lagotto breed specific diseases and we check for around 300 other canine diseases.
WHY DOES TRUFFLE DOG COMPARE ALL OF THE GENES EACH PARENT HAS TO EACH OTHER BEFORE BREEDING?
We compare all of the approximately 300 genetic diseases that we get on the DNA report, not just the two specific Lagotto Romagnolo diseases that are required for a CHIC #. We do this for the BEST HEALTH WE CAN GIVE TO YOUR PUPPY.
We personal know of of two breeders whose parent dogs were carriers of Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). Both the male and the female lagotto romagnolo were carriers of PRA. This means they only had one of the two genes and therefore they were not affected by this disease.
Unfortunately, the PRA disease is not required by the joint program of AKC Lagotto breed club the OFA Canine Health Information Center testing requirement for Lagotti. They only recommend the testing of 2 genetic diseases for lagotti.
Both of the two breeders, while following AKC and OFA guidelines did not check for PRA. Both their Dam and the Sire were carriers and almost all of the puppies in their large litters had severe sight issues by 6 months and almost all went blind in a few years.
To explain the percentage if both parents are carriers of the same autosomal-recessive PRA mutation, the genetics are:
Puppy’s genetic result Chance
Clear-2 normal copies of genes 25%
Carrier-1 normal + 1 PRA gene 50%
Affected with 2 PRA genes 25%
That means statistically if there were 4 puppies in the litter, 25% which is the probability of each individual puppy getting PRA (both genes positive for PRA) . That would mean the puppy get one gene from both parents so both of the puppy’s two copies of genes were postitve for the disease meaning that puppy will have the disease.
BUT 50% of the puppies in this litter had PRA. The 25% is THE PROBILITY FOR EACH PUPPY. The reason that half and not one-fourth of these puppies had PRA is because each of these puppies got a PRA copy from both parents. They all could have gotten both copies or no copies but only half did.
For buyers who are genuinely invested in understanding the purpose behind these health records, What Is CHIC Health Testing and Why It Matters for Your Puppy’s Future shares useful context for analyzing and comparing a breeder’s testing practices.
Request the full AKC names and AKC registration numbers of the parents so you can look them up on OFA CHIC data base for yourself or have the breeder show you the results on phone or computer.
DOES YOUR BREEDER TEST AND PUBLISH THEIR DOGS Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) TESTING?
AKC recommends two genetic DNA tests for Lagotti. OFA has a public site that lists our Lagotti by name and AKC number. OFA requires more testing for each lagotto. WHY?
IT is a reliable source that is open public disclosure (if the owner allows) of the specific required CHIC testing is so the dogs of that breed are tested for the specific problems of that breed. By knowing the health tests of specific items that the breed is known to have a potential problem with helps owners, breeders, and buyers choose if they want a puppy from that specific dog. IT establishes a centralized database that tracks breed-specific health trends and identifies common genetic issues with specifibrreds/It helps breeders to keep the small gene pool of the endangered lagotto healthy.
To earn a CHIC number, the specific health screenings recommended by the Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America are submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation For Animals database. The dog’s owner submitting the health information must make the tests public and they have to pass specific requirements to earn a CHIC# which is the highest health screen required for purebred breeds at this time. Onwers do NOT have to make their dogs information known but they are not eligible for a CHIC# unless the testing meets the requirements and the health information is able to be looked at by the public. have the right to keep any test confidential or to make it public
To explain the percentage if both parents are carriers of the same autosomal-recessive PRA mutation, the genetics are:
Ethical Breeder Questions to Ask Before You Commit
Coming up with the right questions to ask a dog breeder such as ethical breeder questions upfront, saves time and heartbreak later.
Good breeders don’t mind being looked at; they have probably received the same questions dozens of times before and have documentation to share on demand, with no hesitation or delay. Do they actually have a website or do they just advertise on instagram and facebook?
Logistics: Ask how many litters does the breeder have per year isn’t the question that we would ask. Ask how many litters did this female have? Do you register your litters with AKC? AKC keeps track of how many register liters are per female. Do you have AKC litter registration papers to give me? Where are puppies actually raised? If a breeder raises puppies in the home instead of in separate kennels, the puppies are better socialized as a part of the family.
With Truffle Dog we have a family business so litters are whelped on a huge heated shower floor and kept there with Mom until they are old enough to move to another room. We have multiple family members who have years of experience raising these puppies and so how many litters a year might not be as relevant as a one person versus our family business.
Why does the lagotto cost more than a mixed breed dog?
First, the breeder has to purchase good quality puppies. Our puppies pedigrees have 3 world winners, many multi-country champions, European and Canadian national #1 -3 winners, and American and Canadian Grand championships, as well as other countries. Many of our highest winners were not Grand Champions in the sense that they would be through AKC now. First it was Championship and then May 10, 2010 AKC started allowing dogs to earn Grand Championship but the dogs already had to already be an AKC Champion. Therefore a dog could have been an AKC Champion at the top of the competition but , but could not have been a Grand Champion because the program had not been developed and instigated yet. European dogs went throughthe same process although Grand Champion wasn’t started the same time as AKC. This is the same for Euopean dogs. Our pedigrees are of Grand Championships as well as even top World Winners who were Champions for confirmation as well as field work but not Grand Champions because it wasn’t invented yet.
Usually the buying a spectacular championship puppy will cost more than triple because you will breed it. Then if you are importing it from another country, especially Europe the travel costs are extremely high. Showing a dog in confirmation is extremely costly.
In our history, we have had one male lagotto that we purchased from another country raising him from a puppy. We did all of the CHIC testing on him. He earned his CHIC number. He was trained and loved and when we took to the vet for semen testing. Guess what? He was sterile. We gave him semen boosters and half a year later, we had his semen tested and Guess What? He was still sterile. Cost a lot of time and money. No puppies from him. The saving grace is he is a WONDERFUL great companion.
We have another beautiful dark brown roan lagotto male, also imported from another country. We did all of the CHIC testing on him. He earned his CHIC #. We did a semen test on him and he was fertile! After he was old enough to breed by AKC standards of 18 months, we bred him several times and he was a good stud… but when he was a little over three years he was sterile! How did we figure that out? Expensively.
We bred him to a female and she didn’t get pregnant. We of course knew that he was good, so it must have been a problem with the female. Another female came up in heat. We bred her to him. She didn’t get pregnant. Hmm.. We decided the next female would be progesterone tested. After waiting for a female who had had a litter finally come into heat, we then did progesterone testing. She did not get pregnant. We lost a lot of breeding time on these females. It turns out that he became sterile around three and a half years. So we basically had a couple of litters from him between 18 months and 42 months. Ahh, the costs of trying to breed but not getting any puppies. There is good news to the end of that story. Because the prior male lagotto was sterile, we decided to sperm bank this very exceptionally dark brown roan male. We paid for several sperm banking of his semen which is another very expensive breeding expense. We are very glad we did because his BD year is 2019 and we still have some banked semen for a very special female. His color after 7 years is still that gorgeous exceptional dark brown roan. He is another great loving companion male.
We breed the females per AKC lagotto standards. This means they are not bred before 18 months and for us tyrpically not before 2 years. They are not allowed to breed after their 8th birthday. This is a long time. Lagotti live approximately 15-18 years. They also limit the females litters to six. We have never bred a lagotto past
The CHIC # testing is approximately $3500 for each breeding dog, and that’s this year. That’s about $7K to breed a litter. We only breed up to 3 litters for a female. Many of our dogs have been imported from other countries. Then we redo the CHIC testing at the high AKC standard.
An exceptional breeder must prove that they understand the lagotto romagnolo breed standard. That is proved by showing your dogs and getting Grand Championships. Then the higher the show the harder the competition. Showing a dog to the highest level is very expensive especially if you have to pay a professional handler. When our girl Two By Two The Lights Go Out won #2 select bitch and #4 breed at Westminster in 2019 she was invited to the World Dog show in Crufts England. We could not afford the costs to compete there.
We feed our puppies and dogs high quality dog food.
Before we breed, we figure out the genetics. After we breed we give the dam prenatal vitamins until she whelps. We ultrasound to see if the dam’s pregnancy took. If not we quit the prenatal vitamins. If she is pregnant, we continue through to whelping. When we whelp, we have an incubator, oxygen, huge heated shower floor, meds, and we are many times up all night. We have our own ultrasound to determine in the dam has an extra puppies that haven’t been born yet. In a normal uncomplicated whelping the total time between the first born and the last puppy born for a lagotto is approximately 4-12 hours. But in a complicated whelping, the time difference can safely be 18-24 hours if the mother is doing alright and the puppy’s heart rates are good. We also ultrasound after whelping to see if there is a retained puppy or placenta. If things go wrong, like one time it was Easter morning when the vet’s office is closed, so it is not a scheduled emergency during office hours. There is an emergency charge, as well a closed office hour charge, and on that particular delivery time even a holiday charge. But a safe delivery for pups and dam.
Now that the C-sections has taken place, it doesn’t matter if it is a scheduled C-section or an emergency C-section the lagotto mom has been under anesthesia. She has surgical pain and her pups did not pass through the birth canal which gives the mom what we call “the mothering hormones.” The mother is exhausted from trying for a vaginal delivery. She has pain which the vets don’t give narcotics for. She can have hormonal delay for getting the mothering hormones. You might need to give her meds to give her the hormonal boost. This means that we have to make sure she stays quiet and rests while we rotate feeding her puppies for hours and making sure they can go
We have costs for advertising. Most people have never heard nor seen a lagotto romagnolo. They also have trouble at first remembering the name or know how to pronounce and spell lagotto romagnolo. It would be very difficult for a lagotto breeder to be a puppy mill because there isn’t a big demand for this breed. That is the main problem with this endangered breed. The veterinary bills for examines and vaccinations add up. A emergency C-section in the Seattle area costs approximately $5-7K. We have a three medical degreed people in our family that have years of experience and understandings of medicine, and genetics.
Do make sure that the breeder you are looking to buy a lagotto from has done CHIC testing. Look at the information yourself on the OFA CHIC data base. Ask the breeder any questions about the information.
We have been breeding lagotti for a long time. It is a hard business. You don’t know what vet expenses you might have. You have to have adequate money to start with a great breeding stock. You have to have enough money in reserve to take care of emergencies. You have to have enough time to give to the puppies so they are socialized and trained. You might look at the facility and if it looks shabby then the breeder can’t or doesn’t pay attention to details.
potty, when a miracle happens and the dam finally takes over as a mom.
Do make sure that the breeder you are looking to buy a lagotto from has done CHIC testing. Look at the information yourself on the OFA CHIC data base. Ask the breeder any questions about the information. Do make sure that the breeder you are looking to buy a lagotto from has done CHIC testing. Look at the information yourself on the OFA CHIC data base. Ask the breeder any questions about the information. Look at the facility, does the building look kept up? Do the animals adults and pups look healthy? Do they relax in your arms? How were they socialized?
We conduct Early Neurological Stimulation, as well as Puppy Rules of Twelves.
For more information look at Truffle Dog’s Socialization Process on raising the wonderful breed of Lagotto Romagnolo.
We have costs for advertising. Most people have never heard nor seen a lagotto romagnolo. They also have trouble at first remembering the name or know how to pronounce and spell lagtto romagnolo. It would be very difficult for a lagotto breeder to be a puppy mill because there isn’t a big demand for this breed. The veterinary bills for examines and vaccinations add up. A emergency C-section in the Seattle area costs approximately $5-7K. We have a three medical degreed people in our family that have years of experience and understandings of medicine, and genetics.
Do make sure that the breeder you are looking to buy a lagotto from has done CHIC testing. Look at the information yourself on the OFA CHIC data base. Ask the breeder any questions about the information.
We have been breeding lagotti for a long time. It is a hard business. You don’t know what vet expenses you might have. You have to have adequate money to start with a great breeding stock. You have to have enough money in reserve to take care of emergencies. You have to have enough time to give to the puppies so they are socialized and trained. You might look at the facility and if it looks shabby then the breeder can’t or doesn’t pay attention to details.
Comparing Breeder Practices at a Glance
It’s sometimes easier to see the differences in a side-by-side comparison than it is to read a list of questions, particularly when you’re comparing several breeders at a time.
| Practice | Responsible breeder | Warning Sign Breeder |
| Health testing | DNA panels, hip/elbow, eye exams | None, or “not necessary” |
| Litters per year | Limited, spaced apart | Frequent, back-to-back |
| Puppy visits | Encouraged, parents visible | Discouraged or restricted |
| Contract | Written, includes return clause | Verbal or vague |
| Registration | AKC or FCI documentation provided | Missing or “available later” |
Documentation and Support after purchase
A reputable breeder’s job is not done when you pick up your Truffle Dog puppies. They should provide you with a written contract, a health guarantee, and vaccination records, and a definite return-to-breeder clause if your situation changes in the future.
For families preparing for the journey home, can help make the first trip secure, smooth, and better planned.
A practical framework of what these responsible breeding standards can look like in real life, Lagotto Romagnolo Breeder in Bothell, WA: What Makes Our Program Different offers another useful perspective for serious buyers.
Continuous support following the sale is another good indicator of legitimacy. Breeders who remain available to answer questions about training or health issues months after the sale are usually committed to the dog’s well-being, not just the sale, and are usually experienced in the breed.
This ongoing guidance can be specifically useful for families learning how to train a truffle hunting dog, as a good breeder should be able to provide practical direction on building scent skills appropriately.
Truffle Dog in Bothell WA ensures that responsible breeding does not end at pickup; continued guidance and support remain a significant part of helping each Lagotto settle into family life and achieve its full potential.
FAQs
Is Lagotto Romagnolo a rare breed?
Yes, relatively. Unfortunately, Lagotto Romagnolos are not as prevalent as many popular breeds, which makes them even more sought after, and unfortunately, the number of unscrupulous breeders selling puppies without health testing or registration.
What is the price of a Lagotto Romagnolo puppy?
A good breeder will charge a few thousand dollars for a dog, a price which includes health testing, registration, and proper care, whereas unethical breeders may not provide any of these services.
Are there any common health problems in Lagotto Romagnolos?
Yes, such as juvenile epilepsy and a benign storage disease peculiar to the breed. A good breeder will screen for these conditions before breeding.
Should I visit the breeder in person before buying?
Absolutely. Face-to-face visits allow you to see the puppy’s surroundings, meet the parents, and gauge the puppy’s temperament, which can’t be fully determined by a photo or video call.
Conclusion
It is better to make a good choice than a hasty one. The dog buyer can feel confident in his or her choice when he or she has gone through a responsible dog breeder checklist, asks pointed questions about the ethics of the dog breeders, and compares practices side by side.
Considerations for how to choose a Lagotto breeder come down to patience, verifying health testing, visiting in person, and trusting breeders who welcome questions rather than avoid them.
