Hello and welcome to our website. My name is Pauleen. I’ve been breeding dogs as a hobby for nearly thirty years, very capably supported by my partner Ron. Dogs feature in my earliest childhood memories and I’ve been fortunate to share my life with many wonderful canine companions, beginning with two feisty Jack Russell Terriers. Later, I bred and competed with Australian Shepherds, before focusing exclusively on Lagotto Romagnolos for two decades. In 2024, we expanded our breeding program, adding Golden Retrievers and Havanese. Our choice of breeds was very deliberate. Read on to find out why!

Prior to my retirement at the end of 2025, I was employed as a Professor of Psychology at La Trobe University. My research area was anthrozoology, which means I spent my professional life studying human-animal relationships. My research is internationally recognized and published in over 200 academic papers. I also supervised dozens of students as they researched relevant issues. Some students worked in shelters to understand why dogs and cats were abandoned and to help develop behavioral tests to identify which animals are suitable for which homes. Others examined why some owners fail to engage in responsible behaviours, like microchipping and socialising their pets, and still more explored dog and cat personality dimensions and how these influence owner satisfaction ratings. Over the years, my students surveyed or interviewed hundreds of dog owners, breeders, trainers, veterinary professionals and shelter workers. They also studied puppy raising techniques and documented how assistance, therapy and companion dogs are beneficial for those who engage with them.

You can read more about my research at anthrozoologyresearchgroup.com. The important point here, though, is that my focus has always been on making sure that the animals in our community fit the modern environment as well as possible, so that both they and the humans who care for them enjoy good health and well-being. One sobering truth is that not all dogs are equal in terms of being able to adapt to living in the world we’ve created. Most dogs traditionally worked for a living and were expected to be on their feet all day, covering miles of ground. They were also expected to be protective, to bark at intruders, ward off strange dogs and people, and kill small fluffy rodents that might be carrying a fatal disease or stealing food. These are not characteristics that are desirable for today’s average owner. Research conducted by my students showed unequivocally that most Australians want a dog that is friendly, not too energetic, not too big or too small, and, above all, safe to be around and easy to manage and train. In fact, most owners don’t want to spend a whole lot of time formally training their dog, they just expect it to fit into the family like dogs have always done.

Clearly, owners do have to accept responsibility for training their dogs and for managing them in a way that does not inconvenience or place in danger other community members or their pets. It is also critical, however, that dog breeders understand owner requirements for dogs that are easy to manage, safe, and fun to live with. I know that it is possible to breed such dogs and I am heartened to see many breeders now taking this approach, rather than focusing on show ring performance or other traditional attributes that may or may not be relevant in the modern world. Nonetheless, I also know there is an unmet need in our community for really good dogs, able to work as assistance or therapy dogs or to be great family companions.

Ron and I have spent the last fifteen years developing our 130 hectare farm to suit our dogs. We built an enormous shed for them to sleep in when they can’t be in the house and large yards so that they can be out during the day. They have a dam to swim in and paddocks and creeks to explore. Our puppy raising facilities are also excellent, better than any others we’ve seen. While our farm is still a work in progress (aren’t they always?) I retired early from my academic role specifically so that I could spend the next two decades breeding really good dogs. Our current dogs aren’t perfect, and they aren’t always super-easy to live with, but I think we are gradually getting closer to this goal. Many of our lagottos work successfully as assistance dogs or in other roles; one even works with Zoos Victoria to sniff out endangered animals. Many more, of course, are much loved family companions. We chose our foundation Golden Retrievers and Havanese to suit specific niches, but with similar attributes in mind. Please read through the rest of our pages to find out more about our doggie family. We’ve also included lots of images. Note that our dogs don’t often look like they are groomed for the show ring. They do scrub up a treat when they need to, but we try hard to make sure our dogs run, jump, swim, dance, roll in cow poo and dead things, and otherwise have a good time, every single day. We like it best when our dogs go to bed dirty, tired and happy.