Romagna Water Dog

		Romagna Water Dog
		FCI Standard No. 298


Origin			Italy
Translation			Antonio Morsiani, Renée Sporre-Willes and Prof. R. Triquet Revised by ENCI and Renée Sporre-Willes Revised by the FCI Head Office Official language (EN).
Group			Group 8 Retrievers –Flushing Dogs –Water Dogs
Section			Section 3 Water Dogs
Working			Working trial optional
Date of acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI			Wednesday 06 July 2005
Date of acceptance on a provisional basis by the FCI			Friday 10 March 1995
Date of publication of the official valid standard			Tuesday 08 September 2026
Date of the last update			Friday 02 October 2026
En français, cette race se dit			Chien d'eau romagnol
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar			Wasserhund der Romagna
En español, esta raza se dice			Perro de agua de Romagna
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd			Lagotto Romagnolo

Usage

Truffle dog.

Brief historical summary

Ancient breed of retrieving water dogs in the lowlands of Comacchio and the marshlands of Ravenna. During the centuries, the great marshlands were drained and turned into arable land. Subsequently the Lagotto changed from being a water dog to an excellent dog for searching truffles in the flat open country and in the hills of Romagna.

General appearance

Small to medium-sized dog, well proportioned, powerfully built, of a rustic appearance, strong and robust with a square body and a dense, curly coat of woolly texture.

Important proportions

The dog is as high as long (the body is square).
The length of the head is 4/10 of the height at the withers.
The length of the skull must be slightly more than 50% of the length of the head (skull-muzzle ratio 56-44).
The distance from the ground to the elbow is slightly over the 50% of the height at the withers (ground-elbow 56%, elbow-withers 44%).

Behaviour / temperament

A natural gift for searching and its very good nose has made the breed very efficient in truffle searching. The former hunting instinct has been modified by genetic selection; hence his work is not distracted by the scent of game. The Lagotto is tractable, undemanding, keen, affectionate, very attached to his owner and easy to train. He is also a very good companion and an excellent watchdog.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Viewed from above, trapezoidal in shape, strong, moderately broad; the upper longitudinal axes of the skull and the muzzle diverge slightly.
Skull		Broad at the level of the zygomatic arches, and as long as it is broad (mesocephaly). Viewed from the side, from occiput to stop, the skull should be longer than the muzzle. It is slightly convex and tends to flatten out at the back of the skull. Frontal sinuses well developed, brows marked, the medio-frontal furrow pronounced, occipital crest short and not very developed, supraorbital fossae slightly marked.
Stop		Not too pronounced, but evident.

Facial region
Nose		Large with nostrils wide open and mobile. Median groove strongly pronounced. Viewed in profile, the nose continues on the same level as the muzzle and protrudes very slightly from the front edge of the lips. The colour ranges from light to dark brown, depending on the colour of the coat.
Muzzle		Fairly broad, a little shorter than the skull (ratio: skull 56%, muzzle 44%), it’s depth being only slightly less than the length. Muzzle is slightly wedge shaped and giving a rather blunt profile. The nasal bridge has a straight profile.
Lips		The lips are not too thick; they are rather tight, so that the mandible determines the lower profile of the muzzle. Lips are covered with a long and rather bristly moustache. Viewed from the front, the lips form a wide semi-circle. The colour of the lip-rims ranges from light to dark brown.
Jaws and teeth		Jaws strong with almost straight branches and a relatively spacious mandibular body. Complete dentition (missing PM1 and M3 must not be considered Disqualifying Faults). Scissor or pincer bite with complete white and well-developed teeth. Reverse scissors bite acceptable.
Cheeks		Flat masseters.
Eyes		Large, but never exaggerated, rounded in shape filling the socket and set fairly well apart (sub-frontal-position). The colour of the iris ranges from ochre to hazel and dark brown depending on the colour of the coat. Eyelids are close fitting and the colour of the eye-rims ranges from light to dark brown. Eyelashes very well developed. Look alert, expression keen and lively.
Ears		Medium-sized in proportion to the head, triangular with rounded tips; their base is rather wide; they are set just above the zygomatic arches. Hanging at rest or slightly raised when the dog is attentive. If pulled towards the nose they should reach the muzzle at 1/4 of its length. The inner part of the auricle is also covered with hair.

Neck

Strong, muscular, lean, of oval cross section; well set off from the nape and absolutely free from dewlap, slightly arched. In males the perimeter of the neck can reach the double of its length. The length of the neck is a little less than the total length of the head.

Body
Body		Compact and strong, as long as the height at the withers.
Topline		Straight from the withers to the croup (the body is square).
Withers		They rise above the level of the croup; the highest points of the shoulder blades are not too close, but quite high set and well laid back.
Back		Straight, very muscular.
Loin		Short coupled, very strong, in profile slightly convex. Width is equal or slightly exceeds the length.
Croup		Long (about 1/3 of the height at the withers), wide, muscular, slightly sloping (slope of the pelvis from 25° to 30°).
Chest		Well developed, reaching down to the elbows. Although fairly narrow in front, from the sixth rib the chest widens towards the back.
Underline and belly		Long sternal section in form of a straight line; the following tuck-up is only slight.

Tail

Set on neither too high nor too low tapering towards the end.
If stretched out it touches the hocks.
The tail is covered with woolly and rather bristly hair. At rest carried scimitar like; when attentive decidedly raised. When working or excited can be carried over the line of the back, never straight up, tail curled or ring shaped over the back. It should be noted that in all its activities the Lagotto Romagnolo frequently moves its tail (wags its tail).

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Regular, upright seen from the front and in profile. The height of the front legs at the elbow exceeds the 50% (ideal 56%) of the height at the withers.
Shoulders		Shoulder blades long, (reach 30% of the height at the withers), well laid back (52°–55°), muscular, strong and closely attached to the chest, but moving freely. The shoulder/upper arm angle ranges between 110° and 115°.
Upper arm		Muscular, of thin bone structure, as long as the shoulder blade; its inclination to the horizontal ranges about 60°.
Elbows		Prominent, well attached to the chest wall, but not too tightly; covered with thin skin; parallel to the median sagittal plane of the body as are the upper arms. The tip of the elbow (olecranon top) is located on a vertical line lowered from the back end of the scapula to the ground.
Forearm		Perfectly vertical, long, with compact, strong bone of oval cross-section. Its length is about a third of the height at the withers.
Carpal		Viewed from the front in a vertical line with the forearm; fine, robust and mobile; pisiform bone markedly protruding.
Pastern		Rather less thick and of finer bone compared with the forearm, it’s fine and resilient. Seen in profile, it forms an angle of 75°–80° to the ground.
Forefeet		Slightly rounded, compact, with arched and tight toes. Nails strong and curved. Pads well pigmented. Inter-digital membranes very well developed.

Hindquarters
Generality		Powerful, upright seen from the rear, well proportioned to the size of the dog and parallel.
Upper thigh		Long (up to 35% of the height at the withers), with clearly defined and visible muscles. The axis of the femur,somewhat oblique from top to bottom and from back to front, has a distinct inclination of 80° to the horizontal. The coxo-femoral angle is about 110°/115°. The thigh is parallel to the median plane of the body.
Lower thigh		Slightly longer than the thigh (about 36% of the height at the withers), well boned and muscled, with marked muscular groove. Its inclination to the horizontal ranges from 50° to 55°. Its direction is parallel to the median plane of body.
Stifle		The angle of the stifle ranges from 130°–135°.
Metatarsus		Thin, cylindrical, perpendicular to the ground. No dewclaws.
Hock		Broad, thick, lean, with clear-cut bone and parallel to the median sagittal plane of the body. The hock angle is about 140°.
Hind feet		Slightly more oval-shaped than forefeet and toes slightly less arched.

Gait and movement

Walk is regular; trot purposeful, cheerful and lively, gallop for short periods.

Skin

Thin, close fitting all over the body, with little subcutaneous tissue, no wrinkles. Pigmentation of the skin connecting with mucous membranes and of pads ranges from light to dark and very dark brown.

Coat
Hair		Of woolly texture, never twisted to form thin cords, semi-rough on the surface, with tight, ring shaped curls, with visible undercoat. Curls must be evenly distributed all over the body and tail, except on the head, where the curls are not as tight forming, abundant eyebrows, whiskers and beard. Even the cheeks are covered with thick hair. On the ears, the hair tends to show looser curls, but remains very wavy. No short hair on the ears. The topcoat and especially the undercoat is water-proof. If not clipped, the hair tends to become felted (as it continuous to grow); therefore a complete clipping must be performed at least once a year. Felted topcoat and undercoat must be removed periodically. The clipped coat must not be thicker than max four centimetres and it should be uniform with the silhouette of the dog. Only on the head the coat can be longer, but not as long as to cover the eyes.
Coat care		If not cared for, the hair tends to become felted (as it continues to grow). Felted topcoat and undercoat must be removed periodically. The clipped coat must not be thicker than two/three centimetres, and it should be uniform with the silhouette of the dog Eyes must not be covered by coat. The area around the genitals and anus should be clipped short. The coat must not be formed and brushed up in the fashion of the Poodles and Bichon frisé breeds or clipped short preventing it from curling or assessment of texture. Any excessive hair styling will exclude the dog from being qualified. The correct clip is un-pretentious and contributes to accentuate the natural, rustic look typical of the breed.
Colour		Off-white solid colour, white with brown or orange patches, orange roan, brown roan, brown (in different shades, sable included) with or without white, orange with or without white. Some dogs have a brown to dark brown mask. Tan markings (in different shades) allowed.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males : 43–48 cm (ideal height: 46 cm). Females : 41–46 cm (ideal height: 43 cm). Tolerance of 1 cm over or under.
Weight		Males : 13–16 kg. Females : 11–14 kg.

Faults

• Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

Serious faults

Dish-faced.
Partial de-pigmentation.
Pronounced undershot bite.
Tail curled or ring shaped over the back.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

Untypical specimen.

Axes of the skull and the muzzle converging.

Partial and/or total de-pigmentation.

Dish-faced.

Overshot bite.

Pronounced undershot bite.

Wall-eye.

Tail carried over the back; anury or short tail, whether congenital or artificial.

Docked tail.

Coat not curled or clipped too short.

Corded coat.

Sculptured clip.

Black coat colour, black patches or black pigmentation.

Oversize or undersize.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Additional information related to this breed Romagna Water Dog

This old working breed was developed from bearded shepherds, spaniels and Poodles in the 1400's in the Ravenna and Comacchio regions of Romagna in northern Italy, near the Swiss border. An excellent swimmer and retriever, the Lagotto Romagnolo's job changed drastically after the marshlands were drained to create much needed arable land. This versatile hunter became an impressive truffle dog, a role it maintains to this day. Energetic, smart and playful, the Romagna Water Dog makes a good pet, but can be dog-aggressive if not socialized properly. It is slowly gaining popularity outside Italy, both as a worker and a show dog. The wooly coat is dense and curly, coming in creamy shades of white, fawn, red, brown and in various bicolours. Average height is around 18 inches.

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Romagna Water Dog