Two Curly Dogs, One Breed
A Labradoodle is a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle, first promoted in Australia in the late 1980s as a guide dog for people with allergies. A Lagotto Romagnolo is a breed: an Italian water retriever turned truffle dog with a written standard (FCI No. 298, AKC 2015), a closed studbook, and parent-club health-testing requirements. The two look alike at twenty feet. Up close they differ in size, coat, predictability and what you can verify before you buy.
We breed Lagotti and have never bred a Labradoodle, so read this with that in mind. Below: size, coat and grooming, temperament, health testing, price, and the question of a Lagotto-Poodle mix.
Size
A Lagotto weighs 24 to 35 pounds and stands 15.5 to 19.5 inches; our adults have averaged 32 pounds. A Labradoodle has no single size. The Australian Labradoodle Association of America describes three: miniature (14 to 16 inches), medium (17 to 20 inches) and standard (21 to 24 inches, often 50 to 65 pounds). A first-generation Labradoodle from a standard Poodle and a Labrador usually lands near the Labrador, 50 to 70 pounds. If you want a dog under 35 pounds that is not a toy, the Lagotto is the one of the two that is reliably that size.
Coat and Grooming
Every Lagotto has the same coat: wool, in tight rings, low-shedding, clipped every six to eight weeks and never brushed out between clips. The method is Katrien van Gemert's, set out in our grooming guide and in her book, "Lagotto Romagnolo Grooming: The Art of Keeping It Rustic."
A Labradoodle's coat is the roll of the genetic dice. Breeders describe three types, wool, fleece and hair, and a first-generation litter can contain all three. The hair-coated puppies shed like a Labrador. Multi-generation Australian Labradoodles are more consistent, and a good breeder will tell you which coat type each parent carries. Ask, and ask for the coat test results if they were run.
Temperament and Predictability
A well-bred Lagotto is a calm house dog that stays in the room you are in, is reserved with strangers for a few minutes, and wants a job for its nose every day. Temperament varies less within a breed than within a cross because the parents were selected for it over generations.
Two studies measured this directly. A University of Guelph study of 5,141 dogs found Goldendoodles showed more behavioral variation than their parent breeds on several C-BARQ scales. A 2026 Royal Veterinary College study of 9,402 dogs compared cockapoos, cavapoos and labradoodles with their parent breeds and found the crosses showed more undesirable behaviors than at least one parent in nearly half of the comparisons. The same RVC group found no evidence of the "hybrid vigor" health advantage the crosses are often sold on. None of this makes a Labradoodle a bad dog. It makes the individual breeder, not the label, the thing to evaluate.
Health Testing
The Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America requires five tests for a CHIC number (a certificate from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals that every parent-club test is on file and public): DNA tests for benign familial juvenile epilepsy and Lagotto storage disease, OFA hips, OFA patellas, and an annual eye exam. Results are searchable by registered name at ofa.org. Ours are on the health-testing page.
No club sets a testing requirement for Labradoodles, so the range runs from breeders who test both parents for hips, elbows, eyes, PRA and exercise-induced collapse to breeders who test nothing. The Labrador side carries hip and elbow dysplasia and PRA; the Poodle side carries hips, eyes, Addison's disease and sebaceous adenitis. A cross inherits the risks of both parents, not the protection of either. The question to ask is identical for either dog: show me both parents' results, with the registry links.
Price
Lagotto puppies from health-testing breeders in the United States run about $3,500 to $7,000; ours are $6,500. Labradoodles from breeders who test both parents commonly list at $2,000 to $4,000, with Australian Labradoodles often higher; untested Labradoodles sell for less than $1,500. Over fifteen years either dog costs $40,000 to $60,000 to keep, by our estimate, so the purchase price is about a tenth of the total. Our price essay walks through the tiers.
The Lagotto Poodle Mix
People search for a "Lagotto poodle mix," a "Lagottodoodle" and a "Lagodoodle." We know of no registry, standard or health-testing requirement for any of them, and we know of no reason to make one: the Lagotto already is the small, curly, low-shedding, biddable dog the cross is meant to produce, and it comes with a closed studbook and five required health tests. A breeder offering the mix is offering the Lagotto's traits with the Lagotto's safeguards removed. If you are drawn to the idea because a Lagotto is hard to find, the breeder guide and the LRCA directory are where to look; waitlists run a few months to 18 months, and the dog at the end of the wait is the one you were describing.
Which One, Then
Choose a Labradoodle if you want a 50-pound retriever temperament, a dog that greets everyone, and you have found a breeder who tests both parents and can tell you the coat type. Choose a Lagotto if you want a dog under 35 pounds that works with its nose, checks with you before it greets a stranger, and comes with published health results and a predictable coat. If an allergy is the reason you are looking at either, spend an afternoon with an adult of each before you decide; our essay on allergies explains why no dog is allergen-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
›Is a Lagotto Romagnolo a type of Labradoodle?
No. The Lagotto is a purebred Italian water dog with a written standard and a closed studbook. A Labradoodle is a Labrador and Poodle cross with no breed standard. They look similar because both have curly, low-shedding coats.
›Which is smaller, a Lagotto or a Labradoodle?
The Lagotto, almost always. Lagotti weigh 24 to 35 pounds. Labradoodles range from about 15 pounds (miniature) to 70 pounds (standard or first-generation from a Labrador).
›Is there a Lagotto poodle mix?
Some breeders advertise one under names like Lagottodoodle. There is no registry, standard or health-testing requirement for it. The Lagotto itself already has the traits the cross is meant to combine, with five required health tests behind it.
›Which sheds less, Lagotto or Labradoodle?
A Lagotto's wool coat sheds very little in every dog. A Labradoodle's shedding depends on which coat type it inherited; hair-coated Labradoodles shed like a Labrador. No dog is allergen-free, because the allergens are in dander and saliva.
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
- Australian Labradoodle Association of America. Breed standard and size categories. https://alaa-labradoodles.com/
- Royal Veterinary College (2026). Designer crossbreeds versus parent breeds: C-BARQ survey of 9,402 UK dogs.
- University of Guelph. Behavioral variation in Goldendoodles compared with parent breeds (5,141 dogs).
- Lagotto Romagnolo Club of America. CHIC health-testing requirements. https://lagottoromagnoloclubofamerica.org/
- Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Public health-test database. https://ofa.org/
- Katrien van Gemert. Lagotto Romagnolo Grooming: The Art of Keeping It Rustic.