- Off-white solid colour, white with brown or orange patches, orange roan, brown roan, brown (in different shades) with or without white, orange with or without white.
- Some dogs have a brown to dark brown mask.
- Permissible: Tan markings (in different shades)
About the Romagna Water Dog
Origin: ItalyRomagna Water Dog
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs
- Origin
- Italy
- Also called
- Perro de Agua de Romagna
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Truffle dog
- Behaviour and 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”
Quoted from FCI standard n°298. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Characteristics
- Size
- —
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 5 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Romagna Water Dog
What you get with the Romagna Water Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Truffle dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “A natural gift for searching and its very good nose has made the breed very efficient in truffle searching”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “The clipped coat must not be thicker than max four centimetres and it should be uniform…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Romagna Water Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
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 continues 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.
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
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°298 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Height at the 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”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°298. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Romagna Water Dog down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- 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 curled 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
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Romagna Water Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Romagna Water Dog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Romagna Water Dog on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Romagna Water Dog owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Romagna Water Dog breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.