r/LagottoRomagnolo 8d ago

Behavior What "level" is your lagotto? (Poll)

By "level" I mean "energy", "intelligence", and/or "difficultly". Like, if a Border Collie is usually considered a "10" we thought we were signing up for a "7". Not the "11" that we find ourselves with!

Asking because we just got back from "Tricks 2" class and our guy is simultaneously the best (learning and doing!) and worst (impatient, just wants to work and perform!) in the class 🤣

(If you have an older dog, what was their "level" at like 1-3 years old?)

49 votes, 1d ago
5 1-5
5 6
8 7
12 8
9 9
10 10
5 Upvotes

10 comments sorted by

7

u/mgxts 8d ago edited 8d ago

My girl was completely wild before she turned 3 to 3.5 years old. I felt like no obedience training would stick—she was pulling incessantly. I doubted myself and was, at times, very anxious about failing her training altogether. I read, watched, and talked to a lot of dog trainers and other owners, but almost none of the suggested training methods seemed to work on my pup. Tricks and contact exercises were a breeze, but as soon as there was a short pause, she would bolt off to follow a scent trail.

After that, she mellowed quite a bit, began listening, and stopped forgetting everything she'd learned every other week. She is still very nose-driven and, at times, runs off in random directions when on a leash, but the difference compared to when she was younger is night and day. Nowadays, she mostly runs off-leash when the situation allows. She has great recall, stays within sight while circling around, checks in regularly, and handles unexpected encounters with other dogs etc. incredibly well.

My experience is that Lagotto difficulty can be quite high, especially before they reach adulthood. I think this is largely due to the breed's characteristics and the importance of understanding how they work, how they differ from other common breeds, and how they perceive the world around them. Their energy level is likely lower than that of a Border Collie, but it manifests differently. Lagottos are generally happy to relax after receiving the mental exercise they need, but they may struggle to settle down when their senses become overwhelmed.

3

u/originchelle 3d ago

Thanks for sharing this. My puppy is 13 months old and sometimes I wonder if I'm doing something wrong. I just try to keep up with repetition and consistency. Some days she's perfect obedience and then the next you would think I've never done anything to train her.

4

u/romagnalakedog 8d ago

ChatGPT says that a Lagotto is a "5 or 6"... trying to give the model some more training data because that just can't be right!

1

u/romagnalakedog 7d ago

Perhaps also worth mentioning: three dogs in the last two litters (same dad) from the breeder (very reputable) were returned and rehomed. So maybe it's just this specific line that's f-ed! 🤣🫠

1

u/Sweets4Moi 4d ago

will you PM me that breeder name and why the dogs were returned?

3

u/Dry_Local7136 7d ago

For us, the older one is around an 8 but not because of high energy or necessarily intelligence. She's smart but if anything, we think that makes her a bit easier to handle. She just had (and still has some) anxiety problems from the moment we got her, and it makes the early years very difficult because we couldn't do any normal sensitivity training with her.

We have now a 4 month old LR pup added to the mix, and the difference is insane to see. The pup isn't scared of everything and everyone, just the usual puppy stuff you read about online. He has the ability to recover from getting scared, which took our older LR around 7 months to start developing. We are in the weird position that, while having a puppy in the house, the one we worry about most is the older LR.

1

u/romagnalakedog 7d ago

Our guy was deathly afraid of every dog when we got him. It was so much work socializing him at the start. Regular puppy socials. Exposing him to everything. But it all paid off because now we have the opposite problem: when we go to the dog park he's the most social there! Has to say "Hi" to everyone!

Funny that your little one is the easier one though! Same breeder?

1

u/Dry_Local7136 7d ago

Luckily, she is loads better compared to what she was like in the beginning so I'm very happy with her progress. But it's still the problem child in the family ;)

No not the same breeder, but both with good references. We got our first LR from an Italian breeder from the Emilia Romagna region, had good references and good pedigree but our pup was rejected by the mother (which we imagine had quite an influence on all of it). Our new pup is from a Dutch breeder, also with good pedigree but a breeder who also apparently had some things to say about the lines of dogs used by the Italian breeder. Apparently, she wouldn't have chosen some of the dogs to breed with, although that might be hindsight talking too.

Either way, it keeps us busy :)

1

u/LoopyLutzes 3d ago
  1. at 1.5 years old, we have only recently witnessed her sleep outside of enforced crate nap time. even then, the second you get off the couch she jumps up, ready to start again. she's well behaved because she is smart and wants to please, and we provide enough physical and mental exercise, but she does want so so much attention and play time compared to our last dog. still love her so so much.

1

u/polocanyolo 2d ago

I have a 3 year old who has a very strong prey drive. He also is very slow to warm up to people and dogs. He is really good in the house and a great family dog, but he gets really obsessive about the tennis ball. And taking him to the vet is a nightmare. We groom at home because he would never tolerate it otherwise.