When choosing a faithful and intelligent animal companion, it’s not just the dog you should be looking for – it’s the legacy of the Lagotto Romagnolo that a breeder should be able to promise you: a true preservation partner committed to carrying forward its heritage, character, and purpose into future generations.
We have a multifamily breeding program. Our program nurtures Lagotto Romagnolos for family environments, scent-driven tasks, and the preservation of this pure bred breed.
If you are genuinely in search of a Lagotto Romagnolo breeder who raises this Italian truffle dog as heritage, you would love to know about our breeding program because this is what gives us a distinct standing in the industry.
What makes TruffleDog.Com puppies so special?
We are an experienced Lagotto Romagnolo breeder in unincorporated Snohomish County in Washington State just north of Seattle. We focus on preservation breeding. Each litter is CHIC health tested, trained with Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and the Puppy Rule of 12s, and socialized in one of our family’s home.
We breed for authentic traits, including a hypoallergenic coat, intelligence, and scent drive. Our dogs are for families both within the USA and outside the USA, providing lifelong support for the family to help them care for their lagotto. We listen to what your needs are and talk about what you want in a puppy, and support you for years to come.
Yes we have many references to share through the years.
Preservation Is The First Rule Behind Breeding Lagottos
The Lagotto Romagnolo, pronounced “Lah-GOH-Toe Ro-Man-YO-Lo,” almost vanished post-World-War-II. From bird dog to truffle dog, this breed’s profile evolved, but It’s true traits remained intact.
Most people want a dog that will be healthy and happy as their companion. As a Lagotto breeder in the Pacific NW Seattle area, we focus on what you want as well as color. For families genuinely interested in researching the breed in more depth, Lagotto Romagnolo Guide: Temperament, Traits & Life With the Breed further elaborates what to expect from a Lagotto including its physical appearance, specifically its smartness, energy, affection, and if you want to truffle hunt or bird hunt, its working instincts.
Potential owners of our lagotto puppy will resonate with us at Truffle Dog because of our approach to producing healthy great temperament smart lagotti.
Our Foundation
Our primary objective is to keep the purpose of breeding as the top priority. We have proved we know the breed standard with our show dogs and our WORLD famous pedigrees. Our breeding dogs have all earned CHIC #. Which we explain later. Lagotto Romagnolo Guide: Temperament, Traits & Life With the Breed
Besides having socialized puppies through our multi-family home grown puppies which have had Early Neurological Socialization and The Puppy’s Rules of 12’s. The goal is that every puppy will be a happy socialized companion. If it’s a working lagotto you want in addition to your companion we can start scent work using our native black and white trufflles. We own and have bred many dogs who are professional truffle hunters.
Some of our lagotti became professional truffle hunters working with Alana McGee’s Truffle Dog Company where she trains dogs to hunt underground truffles.
We also have some lagotti who are trained bird dogs, they retrieve birds for hunters. The lagotto romagnolo was the original water retriever from 7 BC in the area that bacame Italy. Before there were guns, these dogs were trained to flush birds into nets.
Later because of their amazing swimming ability for hours with their webbed toes, and their water-resistant coat made of from wool-like curly hair, they were able to retriever birds shot down in water. When the marshlands were drained for agriculture the lagotto romagnolo found underground truffles and became the best pure bred breed for finding truffles.
Lagotti have been bred for centuries to work closely with people using their tremendous scent ability, stamina, intelligence and trainability.
This stands validated today, because the Fédération Cynologique Internationale still lists “truffle dog” as the breed’s official utilization. It is the world’s only pure bred dog breed specialized for finding truffles. Many of our dogs have competed in the largest armature truffle hunt for dogs of all breeds including mixed breeds. The Joriad North American Truffle Dog Championship in Oregon is for dogs who are amateur and not commercial or professional truffle hunters. Often at least one or two lagotto romagnolo is in the top five. For example, Feb of 2026 Lagotto Lazio took 1st place. Another lagotto Gracie reached the field trials. In 2025, two lagotti were in the top five, Buster who was 2nd, and Bunny who was 4th. In 2024, Lagotto Vinnie only 8 months old finished 3rd. In 2023 two of the top five finalists were Lagotti Bunny and Pixel. Most of our dogs don’t compete because they become professional truffle hunters quickly. Then their owners can trade, sell, or use for themselves black, or white truffles that their lagotii find.
There are more truffle orchards or truffieres being grown in many states and British Columbia, Canada. Young trees are inoculated trees (mycorrhization) to grow the more expensive European truffles.
Health is the number one goal; hence, every parent dog is CHIC certified through hip, patella, and annual eye evaluations plus DNA panels for Benign Familial Juvenile Epilepsy and Lagotto Storage Disease, a cardiac exam, the standards laid down by the American Kennel Club’s parent club the Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America (LRCA). For more AKC and OFA health testing before breeding read: Lagotto Romagnolo Guide: Temperament, Traits & Life With the Breed.
Our puppies are socialized among kids, cats, and routine family home life. The AKC’s breed history traces the Lagotto to Romagna, Italy, and where we live in the Pacific NW some of our bred puppies still work a truffle field just like in Italy.
For families evaluating the Best Dog Breeds for the Pacific NW’s Climate: Why the Lagotto Romagnolo Thrives Here, The Seattle area offers – four seasons, forests, fields, and water – almost a perfect environmental mix for raising a dog meant for the life in the outdoors with you. If you cross country ski, your lagotto will be running right along your side. If you walk in your neighborhood, or hike in the mountains, your lagotto will be by your side. If you take out a sail boat, make sure your dog can’t follow you! But if you are on a paddle board your lagotto can be dog paddling in the water besides you or sitting on your board while you do the paddling!
This setting also supports natural opportunities for providing active Lagotto families with a number of ways to collectively provide them exercise, exploration opportunities, and mental stimulation in one location.
What Puppy Life Looks Like Here?
The process of preservation begins at a very early stage of a Lagotto Romagnolo’s life cycle:
From day three to sixteen, our puppies go through Early Neurological Stimulation, a validated method for developing stress endurance and confidence in future working dogs.
Between three and eight weeks, they are exposed to scent boxes, diverse textures, car rides, and visitors – following the same nose-work guidelines recommended in the AKC’s scent work program.
By eight to twelve weeks, puppy culture, crate training, and temperament matching is followed. We don’t want families to run after a color; we want to offer families with puppies that match their home environments, pace, and energy. The lagotto romagnolo breed is one of the most unique breeds in the world. This breed is one of the MOST dramatic examples of a breed whose coat color can change substantially from birth, to one month, two mnths, and be very different at adulthood. The AKC standard specifically recognizes this phenomenon. Lagotti may be born a color and then change into a different color or hair pattern like roan, that makes the coloring look very different. Also, some lagotti have brown areas that tend to fade with age so they appear silvery/gray roan. The genetics of the dog stays the same but the colors can be very different through time. As the puppy grows into adulthood the AKC calls this color change a “break” which means a coat change from puppy to adulthood.
For these families, finding a Lagotto Romagnolo Puppy Near Seattle should mean personally seeing how puppies are raised, so they have full perspective.
As a local Lagotto Romagnolo breeder in the U.S., we invite families to visit our physical location, meet our adult dogs, and see firsthand how WA Lagotto puppies are raised in our Truffle Dog family homes. You can see the home, the parents, and it will wonderful to meet you and answer your questions and show you our pups in person.
Global Reach: Supporting Lagotto Owners Beyond Washington
We can be in Bothell, but your families might not. Many local families live close enough to Seattle, where we manage in-person pickups.
Outside Washington, we ship to approved homes across the USA and Canada and have placed dogs with truffle hunters in most states the USA as well as some provinces in Canada.
Distance doesn’t compromise our standards: we follow temperament testing at seven weeks and share video updates so families can choose the right fit before meeting in person; for the US we use a USDA-approved climatized flight. If the puppy is small enough the container fits under your seat cost approx In 2026 approximately $100-150. If it goes into the climatized baggage section which we have never had a problem with over the years. It is still much cheaper than flying a dog alone without you on the plane. We also can use a nanny program with a supervised airport hand-off instead of cargo shipping. We also can use vehicle nanny transportation. Very important whatever size your pup is when you bought it, it is still growing. We have to get a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection /CVI) required by some states and airlines. Health Certificate from the vet which is an examination and proof of up to date vaccinations. If the ambient temperature outside is too hot or too cold depending upon the airlines rules the pup might not be able to fly. Our pups at 8 weeks have never had a problem flying across country. A personal pet puppy traveling with its owner under 8 months can enter Canada with an international vet certificate. Dogs under 3 months do not need a rabies vaccine. All of our puppies come with up to date vaccinations and deworming, and are microchipped, they are registered with AKC and have an AKC number.
Our support system doesn’t end at pickup, either. Every family can call us about their dog. Its fun to post your pictures on our social media that you send us. We like being updated on whatever you like to do with your dog.
We stay in your dog’s life, because it’s about you and your dog. We are passionate about this breed. Every lagotto pup seen will make the breed more popular. We want to create the best puppies possible. You give us feedback that makes a difference. We have lots of experience that we are happy to share to make your life better with your lagotto. We want you to love your dog and tell others why so this dog breed will live forever.
