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Explore the first 25 years of the Lagotto Romagnolo in the US, from early imports to AKC recognition and global connections.
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As far as we’re aware, the first Lagotto Romagnolo imported into the United States was somewhere in the 1980s. Sadly, the details of dog and owner have been lost through time but was said to be imported by an airline attendant.
It was the late 1990s before we have information on dogs being imported and bred in this country. Since that time, the Lagotto has become a fully recognized breed with the AKC, and currently resides at No. 80 in popularity. (Please, God, don’t let us go much lower!!)
Before AKC recognition, Lagotti Romagnoli were seen occasionally in ARBA, IABCA, and UKC shows. One of the earliest Lagotti to hit the show rings was “Truffie,” owned by the late Quentin and Betsy LaHam. Truffie was an ARBA Best in Show winner. It certainly makes you wonder if the future would have been a little smoother for the breed had these early pioneers, who were both AKC judges, not been tragically killed in a car accident.
Breeding in the US can be traced back to the first litter arriving in 1999 in Tennessee. The Lagotto Club of America (now the Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America) had its beginnings in an email chat group. Once notified that a major magazine was getting ready to do a feature on the breed, they sprang into action to fend off misinformation by forming a club and that could help protect the breed in this country. This early group of fanciers formed committees on health and breed information, and began the steps that would eventually lead them to becoming the parent club of the breed. The Lagotto was officially welcomed into Companion Events in 2007. We entered the Miscellaneous Group in 2013, and full recognition followed in mid-2015. The first National Specialty was held in Spring 2016.
Since that time, we have had our first AKC Best in Show winners; five of them to date. The most famous of which, “Orca,” GHCP Kan Trace Very Cheeky Chic, went on to win Best in Show at Crufts in 2023. Though Orca is not an American-bred or owned dog, she has spent considerable time in this country and certainly can be said to have raised the profile of the breed worldwide with her happy, wagging tail and enviable show record both in the States and in Europe. When I first attended the Annual Raduno in Italy in 2010, it was almost unheard of for a non-Italian-bred dog to have any chance of winning a placement or significant award. Throughout the 2010s, this began to shift as dogs from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany began to do well at what we might call “The Italian National.” In 2023, a dog from the US, GCH Horizon’s All American, “CHIP,” traveled to Italy with his American team and won Best in Show!
Not to be outdone, on the performance side of the breed equation Lagotti have taken to scent sports with a vengeance! Tracking championships (CT) have been earned by three dogs, and Detective Level titles in Scent Work have also been earned by three dogs. Things have been slightly slower in the Obedience arena, though two dogs have earned the Utility Dog title. The Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America has established a Versatility Awards program and this has helped to remind owners that Lagotti can (and should!) do everything. GCH MACH Allegro’s Lock Stock And Barrel CD RE MXB MJSMFB T2B SWD SWME RATO CGC TKI is an exemplary example of the breed’s ability to excel in many different venues—and look good doing it!
Through it all, US Lagotto breeders and owners have maintained relationships with a worldwide network of Lagotto fanciers. We are waiting to see what the proposed CDC importation guidelines will do, as we have enjoyed very fertile relationships with breeders all around the globe. Certainly, the rise of social media has aided our attempts to make the Lagotto Romagnolo the same dog worldwide. Many US breeders enjoy relationships with mentors in Europe and Scandinavia. In 2020, Gilberto Grandi of Italy published My Lagotto Romagnolo in both Italian and English, detailing both the early history of the breed (of which he is a very big part!). Detailed drawings highlight errors in judging the breed, from proportion to grooming. It is a wonderful, charming read and one of the few books on the breed available in English. Katrien von Gemert (Kennel Rozebottels in the Netherlands) produced a book in 2020, Lagotto Romagnolo Grooming: The Art of Keeping It Rustic, teaming with Camilla Backman of Sweden (Kennel Gleska). The two have also produced the book, Lagotto Romagnolo Italian Champions (1993-2018). This exhaustive work shows all the dogs attaining an Italian Championship during those years, complete with their pedigree and color photographs. These books are invaluable to students of the breed.
Another important global project that is based in the US is The Lagotto Romagnolo Foundation, Inc. Founded in 2016, The Foundation focuses on four keys areas concerning health, temperament, and research into genetic diseases as well as providing educational resources to breeders and potential owners. They have also produced bilingual videos on health issues affecting the Lagotto. Their current work includes creating a worldwide database of the breed with pedigrees and health records, and working with researchers worldwide to look for genetic markers.
We are in a unique position as a new and lower entry breed in that the people who brought this breed back from the edge of extinction in the 1970s are, largely, still here and willing to mentor us. In 2018, members of the LRCA Judges Education Committee spent an entire day with Gilberto Grandi going over our new proposed AKC Breed Standard. Personally, this was an experience I’ll never forget. Gilberto is a kind and humorous teacher, and we were able to consult the original Italian Standard and talk about what things meant (which included removing the “innocent word” undemanding from our Standard, as it just does NOT translate into its true meaning in English. What they were getting at has to do with adaptability to circumstance and being easy keepers in terms of food. Our efforts were further gone over by Dr. Giovanni Morsiani (whose father wrote our original Breed Standard). This work culminated in the revised Standard that was approved in 2020. In 2023, the LRCA’s Illustrated Breed Standard Committee completed work with an illustrator and hopes to complete the text and layout in this coming year.
The first 25 years in the US have been important ones. Where will we focus ourselves for the future? Continuing to connect with our global community of Lagotto lovers is certainly going to be central to creating and maintaining a healthy, wonderful dog.
Through it all, US Lagotto breeders and owners have maintained relationships with a worldwide network of Lagotto fanciers. We are waiting to see what the proposed CDC importation guidelines will do, as we have enjoyed very fertile relationships with breeders all around the globe.
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