Our Lagotto Romagnolos
We’ve been breeding Lagotto Romagnolos for about as long as we can remember – almost two decades. Before that, we had been breeding Australian Shepherds as a hobby, but Pauleen’s research revealed that more and more people were wanting a medium-sized dog that was non-shedding, friendly, safe and relatively easy to live with. This was in the days before ‘oodles’ were a thing, and we landed on the Lagotto, which had only recently been introduced to Australia. Our first lagotto, the adorable Riffraff, arrived from Perth early in 2007. She was everything we hoped for, as were her first two litters, so we bought a male, Hamish, from New Zealand. This was the start of a dynasty which now includes hundreds of puppies. Initially we were focused on breeding great pets, but we soon discovered that Lagottos can make excellent assistance dogs for some people with disabilities, particularly those who prefer or require a non-shedding dog. Over 70 of our Lagottos have been trained as assistance dogs, an achievement we are very proud of. Hundreds more are in pet homes, soaking up love and keeping their owners very happy.
Lagottos love to be wet and to play in water. Mid-winter, when we sometimes have a mini lake appear the middle of our farm, is one of their favourite times.
So, should everyone rush out and buy a Lagotto? Definitely not! Our experience has been that Lagottos can be awesome. They are typically soft-natured little dogs, and we rarely have problems with aggression towards either other dogs or humans. If anything, they tend to be a bit too soft and submissive for some people. They really like to cuddle! They are also active and intelligent. This makes them fairly easy to train. We like their medium size and love the fact that they don’t shed hair all over our house and car. We also like their appearance, both when their coat is long and when they are trimmed off short. We like that they don’t usually have any major health issues and we love that they like to swim and run and dance and play. We spend many hours hanging out with our dogs on the farm and love their sense of humour and their generally very friendly natures. For us, they are just right in many different ways.
Despite these endearing characteristics, it is important to remember that underneath their soft and cuddly appearance Lagottos are part of the gun dog family, cousins to breeds such as German Shorthaired Pointers, Labrador Retrievers and Cocker Spaniels. They were originally bred to assist in flushing and retrieving game from waterways and have recently been used to detect truffles. Although they rarely get to do this now, some traits that made them excel in these roles remain evident. Hunting truffles is a pretty boring job for a dog, since truffles don’t run or fly. Instead, they grow underground and are not typically tasty in the canine sense of the word. Lagottos were therefore selected to be energetic, owner-oriented, a little bit anxious about having a job to do, and very persistent.
What this means is that, if you want a dog that sits on the couch or lays around the backyard all day while you are off somewhere else, then a Lagotto is probably not for you. They tend to be a bit quirky and without adequate stimulation and company they can redirect energy into behaviours like digging, barking or chewing. They also tend to be a bit anxious and might not like being left alone. We try hard to breed Lagottos that don’t do any of these things but occasionally we hear that one of our puppies has grown into a high-maintenance adult. We’ve even had a couple returned because they were totally unmanageable or even aggressive. This is fortunately a rare occurrence, but it does remind us that all breeds come with histories that are embedded in their genes. We prefer purebred dogs because their traits are more predictable than crossbred dogs, but all breeds are a work in progress. Lagottos can be calm and well-mannered, but this requires careful selection of breeding dogs and careful training and consistency when they are young. We strive to make good choices, and we ensure the first eight weeks of our puppies’ lives are as good as we can make them, but Lagotto owners should also be prepared to take some time to teach their dog to be calm and resilient. Giving them a job to be obsessive about, like competing in agility or obedience, or doing scent work, or keeping the kids entertained for hours, is also strongly recommended. Below is some information about our current breeding dogs. Feel free to contact us for more information or to be added to our waiting list. When we have puppies on the way, we’ll let you know here.
Kenny
Born in February 2024, Kenny (Incavale Kenneth) is a sweet and happy boy. He’s living with friends not far from our farm and has joined our therapy training team, where he’s kept busy going to community events and meeting people. We thought Kenny might have his first puppies in 2025 but he wasn’t quite up to it. Too polite for his own good. Now he finally has puppies on the way and we can’t wait to see what they look like. Kenny is on the smaller side for the breed so we are hoping for puppies that will suit people wanting a smaller dog. Stay tuned!
Dougall
Dougall (Ludivine Where Them Curls At) came to us from Ludivine Lagottos. He’s a sweet boy and we love his colour. Also love his pedigree, which contains some of our favourite New Zealand Lagottos and some of the same Tartufo lines that we had in Danny, now deceased. Dougall is currently living with friends on a lovely property close to Canberra, where he’s being trained as a truffle hunter. He’s had his first litter and they look like being exactly what we are aiming for. Great news for everyone.
Rio
Last but certainly not least in our team of up-and-coming boys is young Rio (Incavale Maccello). Rio was born October 2024, so he’s still got a bit of growing to do. He has a lovely pedigree and his temperament is wonderful. Rio lives with us on the farm. When he’s not dripping wet, he’s a firm favourite in our therapy dog team, very happy to attend lectures with students or take a walk through a busy cafeteria. Rio is not a huge dog but he’s very solid and well put together, with excellent conformation. His first litter arrived March 2026.
Our Lagotto Girls
Phoebe
Phoebe (Hevnsent Isaberr Phoebe) is our most elegant lagotto, although it’s hard to see this elegance when she’s dripping wet, which is most of the time. We call her our supermodel; with long legs and a small waist, she moves like a ballet dancer and is a joy to watch. She also has a lovely soft temperament, is slightly quirky, and very friendly. This lovely lady had her first litter in May 2022. We planned to retire her after her third litter, born early in 2025. Her pups are just so lovely, though, that we decided to keep her for just one more litter, which will likely arrive mid 2026. In the meantime, she’s often to be found with someone else’s puppies, helping them explore the world.
Amelia
Amelia (Hevnsent Lilerl Amelia) is a delightful young lady, one of the sweetest little girls we own. She was dark brown as a puppy but lightened right off to a lovely milk coffee colour as she grew. She’s an angel. Never any trouble and a great role model for any puppies who cross her path. Not a very big young lady, she had her first litter in 2024 and we were very surprised by how large they were. She’s now taking a break and enjoying the single woman lifestyle with her caretaker, Emma, but will have another family some time in 2026.
Zelda
Zelda (Hevnsent Starshine Zelda) is from Phoebe’s first litter. She wasn’t one we planned to keep but Ron’s daughter, Lisa, decided she really did need her own Lagotto, and Zelda was it. She’s now joined our breeding team and has had two lovely litters with Oliver. Zelda is a very sweet girl but just a little bit naughty – she learned early in life that she can open door handles and has been doing so ever since. She also learned that there is nothing we can do to get her out of the dam when she’s busy chasing fish.
Lizzie
We kept Lizzie (Hevnsent Lizzie) when her mum, Gracie, retired from breeding. Gracie was one of our favourite dogs and Lizzie is also pretty special. She’s the smallest of our girls and is very placid and easy to live with, so much so that she now lives with friends where she can enjoy visits to the local coffee shop. Lizzie’s first litter had only three puppies in it, and two of them are in training as assistance dogs. She is planning another litter with one of our younger males, Kenny. Pups will hopefully arrive early April, 2026.
Trinket
This is the lovely Trinket (Hevnsent De Trinket). Trinket is another angel, a delightful girl who lives to please others. We are very glad to have her in our team and welcomed her second litter in March 2026. Eight lovely puppies in a range of colours. Trinket is one of our larger girls and her puppies are also very strong and robust. They should make great family companions. Trinket herself is a happy, joyful, gentle soul who keeps us laughing. She loves nothing better than to snuggle on the couch and is one of our easiest dogs to live with.
Bridget
Bridget (Hevnsent Bridget Am I) is one of Amelia’s puppies from her first litter, born in October 2024. We couldn’t decide which of Amelia’s four female brown roan puppies to keep, so we let everyone else choose their puppies and kept the one that was left. She’s terrific, just a little fiesty, and definitely has a kooky streak, but is very quick to learn and fun to have around. She’s also a great colour and we are looking forward to breeding from her in a year or so if all goes well.
Darcy
Darcy (Hevnsent Darcy) is only a few days younger than Bridget. She’s one of Zelda’s puppies and is another angel. Such a sweet girl, very submissive and gentle and a joy to spend time with. She’s coming along well with her therapy dog training and loves being out and about. Also great to cuddle on the couch but loves to run and run and run when she’s out on the farm. She’ll join our breeding team in late 2026 if she grows up as well as we expect her to.