Recommendations

We do not recommend feeding grain free dog food. In recent studies of GF dog food, a correlation is showing between the GF dog food and taurine deficient/DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy). There is a list of vegetables that must be avoided, those being: potatoes (both regular and sweet), ALL beans, Pea, or Lentils. These vegetables cause the dog to not be able to absorb taurine. Leading to DCM, which is FATAL.

There are five (5) dog food brands we recommend, based on our research:
-Hills Science Diet
-Eukanuba
-Iams
-Royal Canin
-Purina Pro-plan

ALWAYS check any dog food you buy for both grain free, and those harmful vegetables. Other foods to avoid feeding are: chocolate, grapes, garlic, and onions.

When selecting toys for your puppy, we only recommend Nylabones, and Kongs. Rawhide can get slippery and swell from the saliva, and get stuck in your Lagotto’s throat, even in stick form or bone shape. There are two (2) more types of alternative toys they can chew, with a little supervision. These are “Bully sticks” or Pizzle, the second is deer or elk antlers. They still must be watched, as Lagotto’s are very avid chewers. Please never use rope/ tug-o-war toys with your puppy because they can and will shred and strip the rope and swallow them, this in turn twists up in their intestines, and can also be fatal.
 

Side note: if you have rocks around your yard, lava rock, river rock, pea gravel… please try to keep the dogs away from the rocks. They may eat them, and end up having a blockage, and or need surgery. If not caught in time, this could be fatal.

Lagotto’s are very food/chew driven, and may grab anything off the floor (socks, papers, ect.) and may swallow it, which can be harmful to them, so be very watchful of that as well.

Training your Lagotto puppy will be an easy experience as long as you remain patient and consistent, utilizing positive reinforcement with treats, toys, and a clear commands and praise. This will build a strong bond and relationship between you and your Lagotto. Anger is never acceptable, nor striking your Lagotto as a means to coerce obedience, as it DOES NOT work. This will cause a lack of trust between you and your Lagotto, causing the training to take even longer to achieve the desired result. It is inhumane and will not bring out a good temperament in your Lagotto. Lagotto’s are extremely intelligent, eager and quick learners! They love working for, and with their owners. Lagotto’s will usually pick one specific person as “their person”, it is usually the owner who is most understanding to their needs. The owner who feeds them, lets them in and out, and builds a relationship with the Lagotto. Although they will love the entire family, and will certainly make their way around the room to show everyone love, and receive it in return.

We crate train our Lagotto’s (Dam and Sire), so that when we are gone, they are safe and secure. We do not recommend leaving them in the crate for more than an hour or two (2). Especially for the first year when they are still puppies.
We do not supply a crate, when you come pick-up your new puppy, please bring a crate with you, so you can safely transport your Lagotto to their forever home. (if we are shipping your puppy to you, a crate will be supplied and added into the shipping fee).

These dogs are extremely intelligent, and will potty train easily in the first 3 months with consistency. In the beginning it is very important to remain consistent with your Lagotto’s training, because they are learning their new “job”, and forming life long habits. When you first bring your Lagotto home, take them out every 15-20 minutes, helps them form this pattern to understand going outside versus inside. This helps your Lagotto to have less accidents inside. We have had great success with bells attached to the door our Lagotto’s use to go outside, as they learn, the sound will be a trigger for going out every time, which will alert you as well that they are now asking to go out. This is another way to avoid accidents inside, as long as you pay attention, and do not move the bells to different doors (this will confuse them, and you will suffer set-backs). It is important to let them out first thing in the morning, and immediately after meal times, you will notice these are the times they really cannot hold it.

Grooming is an important task to take on with any dog, but especially so with a Lagotto, as their hair easily grows long and wild. Below is our recommendation on the correct head grooming for these beautiful dogs.