The Italian Truffle Dog Is the Lagotto Romagnolo
The Italian truffle dog is the Lagotto Romagnolo, and it is the only purebred dog in the world that the FCI recognizes as a specialized truffle hunter. It weighs 24 to 35 pounds, stands 15.5 to 19.5 inches, lives 15 to 17 years, and wears a wool coat in tight curls that sheds very little. Italy's professional truffle hunters, the tartufai, have worked the breed in the oak and poplar woods of Romagna, Umbria and Piedmont for well over a century.
Any dog with a working nose can be taught to find truffles. The Lagotto was bred for it: a dog small enough to work close, calm enough to dig without destroying the truffle, and oriented to its handler so that the find is handed over rather than eaten. The breed's full working history is in The Lagotto and the Truffle.
What a Truffle Dog Does
A truffle grows underground on the roots of oaks, hazels and, in the Pacific Northwest, Douglas-firs. When it ripens it releases a strong aroma for a few days. The dog ranges ahead of the handler, catches the scent, marks the spot by digging with the front paws, and is paid with a treat while the handler lifts the truffle with a small spade. Pigs were used in Italy until the 1980s; dogs do not eat the find and do not tear up the ground, so Italian law now permits only dogs.
Training starts as a game with a truffle-scented tin hidden in the house and moves outdoors over months. Most families who do it with a Lagotto do it for the dog's enrichment rather than for the harvest, and a ten-minute scent game does more for a Lagotto's evening than a second walk.
Truffles in the Pacific Northwest
Oregon and Washington are the one region in North America where culinary truffles grow wild at commercial scale. Four native species fruit in Douglas-fir forests across most of the year: the Oregon winter white (Tuber oregonense, October to March), the Oregon spring white (Tuber gibbosum, January to June), the Oregon black (Leucangium carthusianum, December to April) and the rarer Oregon brown (Kalapuya brunnea). The Oregon Truffle Festival runs a dog-training weekend each winter.
We planted our own truffière, a truffle orchard, in 2016, with inoculated trees from Charles Lefevre's New World Truffieres in Eugene. The Oregon page and the Pacific Northwest page cover the region's truffle country for families there.
Where to Find an Italian Truffle Dog Puppy
Buy from a breeder who publishes health results for both parents: BFJE and LSD DNA results, OFA hips, elbows and patellas, and a current eye exam, all searchable by the dog's registered name at ofa.org. Health-testing breeders in the United States price Lagotto puppies between about $3,500 and $7,000; our price essay explains what each tier buys. The Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America keeps a breeder directory.
Northwest Lagotto has bred Lagotti in Lynden, Washington, since 2015. Puppies are $6,500, go home at eight weeks, and the current litter status is on the puppies page. The breeder checklist is the five-minute version of how to vet any breeder, ours included.
Frequently Asked Questions
›What breed is the Italian truffle dog?
The Lagotto Romagnolo. It is the only purebred dog recognized by the FCI as a specialized truffle hunter, and the dog Italy's professional truffle hunters use.
›How much does an Italian truffle dog puppy cost?
Lagotto Romagnolo puppies in the United States sell for $1,500 to $12,000. Health-testing breeders cluster between $3,500 and $7,000. Northwest Lagotto puppies are $6,500 with a $500 deposit applied to the price.
›Can a Lagotto find truffles in the United States?
Yes. Oregon and Washington have four native culinary truffle species growing wild in Douglas-fir forests, and the Oregon Truffle Festival trains dogs each winter. Elsewhere, cultivated orchards and scent-work tins give the dog the same job.
›Do you have to hunt truffles to own a Lagotto?
No. Most Lagotti are family dogs that never see a truffle. The breed does need a daily job for its nose, which a hidden treat or a scent game provides.
Considering a Lagotto?
We place one or two litters a year from Lynden, Washington. Puppies are $6,500, go home at eight weeks, and are raised on the Puppy Culture protocol from day three. If you have a question about the breed, ask it; if you want to be considered for a litter, the waitlist is where that starts.
Sources for This Page
- Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America. Breed history and FCI truffle-dog recognition. https://lagottoromagnoloclubofamerica.org/breed-history
- FCI Standard No. 298, Lagotto Romagnolo (2016). https://www.fci.be/medias/298g08-en-20160101-2149.pdf
- Oregon Truffle Festival. Truffle dog training. https://oregontrufflefestival.org/
- New World Truffieres (Charles Lefevre), Eugene, Oregon. https://www.truffletree.com/