Lagotto Romagnolo: The Truffle Dog in Its FCI Standard

02Breed standard

FCI no.: 298
group: 8
section: 3
FCI purpose: truffle dog
standard: 8 September 2026
Working trial (FCI): working trial optional

Breed standard

The FCI standard for the Lagotto (8 September 2026) gives its purpose as truffle dog and states that selection has modified its former hunting instinct, so game scent does not distract its work.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- FCI-Standard N° 298: Lagotto Romagnolo (published 8 September 2026)
The FCI standard describes the Lagotto as an ancient breed of retrieving water dogs from the Comacchio lowlands and the Ravenna marshes; once the marshes were drained, it became a truffle dog in the plains and hills of Romagna.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- FCI-Standard N° 298: Lagotto Romagnolo (published 8 September 2026)
The FCI standard describes the Lagotto as tractable, undemanding, keen and affectionate, very attached to its owner and easy to train, a good companion and an excellent watchdog; its trot is purposeful, cheerful and lively, with short gallops.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- FCI-Standard N° 298: Lagotto Romagnolo (published 8 September 2026)
Under the FCI standard, males stand 43–48 cm and weigh 13–16 kg, females 41–46 cm and 11–14 kg; the coat is curly and woolly.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- FCI-Standard N° 298: Lagotto Romagnolo (published 8 September 2026)
Under the FCI standard the coat is woolly, waterproof and tightly curled; it felts if not cared for, and when clipped must be no thicker than two to three centimetres.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- FCI-Standard N° 298: Lagotto Romagnolo (published 8 September 2026)

03Working trials for the Lagotto

The Lagotto is the only breed with Italian and FCI truffle working trials of its own. Criteria, faults, qualifications and the road to a champion title are explained on the working-trials page.

What this rests on

FCI international truffle-search working trials with the FCI-C.A.C.I.T., and the title of International Working Champion (truffle search), are reserved for the Lagotto. The title needs two FCI-C.A.C.I.T. from two juries in two countries and at least Very Good at an FCI international show.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- FCI Regulations for International Truffle Search (C.A.C.I.T.) Working Trials & International Working Championship C.I.T.(rt), Lagotto Romagnolo exclusively (1 July 2025)
According to the Italian Lagotto club, the first official ENCI truffle trial for the breed was held in 2012, the breed became subject to working trials in Italy in 2014, and the first international trial in 2015 had 134 dogs from nine countries.
Attributed claim
Sources for this claim
- Cronistoria delle prove di lavoro

Truffle dog working trials

04The Lagotto in Istria

The Lagotto in Istria

The Istrian truffle hunters’ association in Motovun states that hunters today have no preference for a dog’s type or breed, that drooping-eared dogs were often used in the past, and that the Lagotto Romagnolo still stands out among purebred truffle dogs.
Attributed claim
Sources for this claim
- O psima
Glas Istre reported that the first international white-truffle dog contest in Livade, in November 2018, had about ten competitors from Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, mostly with Lagotti. Each dog had eight minutes to find eight buried white truffles in a 20 × 20 m ring, and a Lagotto from Hungary won.
Attributed claim
Sources for this claim
- Prva međunarodna utakmica tartufarskih pasa u traženju bijelog tartufa (18. 11. 2018.)
The product specification for the Istrian white truffle designation of origin, dated August 2026 and still in the registration procedure, permits collection only in the traditional way with dogs. It forbids detection sensors and any animal other than a dog, and requires dogs to be microchipped, regularly vaccinated, with a pet passport and owned by the collector or close family.
Verified
Sources for this claim
- Istarski bijeli tartuf ZOI — Specifikacija proizvoda (Motovun, kolovoz 2026., v2)

Truffles in Istria

05What the standard does not say

The standard describes the breed, not an individual dog’s success at finding truffles. Breed explains a small share of differences between individual dogs, and no source we reviewed compares breeds by truffle-finding performance.

What this rests on

In a large owner-reported study unrelated to truffle work, breed explained about 9% of behavioural differences between individual dogs.
Verified · Strongly supported
Sources for this claim
- Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes (Morrill et al. 2022, Science 376:eabk0639)
No source we reviewed ranks breeds by truffle-finding success. Breed explains a small share of an individual dog’s behaviour, and the FCI natural-search rules judge every dog on the same criteria regardless of breed.
Supported inference
Sources for this claim
- Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes (Morrill et al. 2022, Science 376:eabk0639)
- FCI Regulations for International Natural Truffle Search C.A.C.I.RT.(n) Competitions & Championship (1 May 2026)

06Sources

Dogs

02 — Breed standard

03 — Working trials for the Lagotto

04 — The Lagotto in Istria

05 — What the standard does not say

06 — Sources

02Breed standard

03Working trials for the Lagotto

04The Lagotto in Istria

05What the standard does not say

06Sources