Lagotto Romagnolo Breed Magazine - Showsight

in bone or in thickness of body type would greatly impede their endurance. The dog’s topline should be straight from the withers to the loin, with a slightly sloping croup. The tail may be carried lev- el, or raised in scimitar fashion when excit- ed. It should never curl so as to touch the back or be raised at the base (gay tail). The tail should reach only to the hocks, which given the length of the thigh can make it appear rather short. The dog’s underline slopes up to a slight tuck up. The Lagotto Romagnolo has a slightly longer in thigh that should be well mus- cled. The thigh should not be so long as to lose the well-defined angulation. The hocks should be perpendicular to the ground. In movement, the Lagotto Romagnolo should cover a lot of ground without effort and be full of energy, and never appear lumbered or clunky. Reach and drive should be very apparent. This is balanced with forequar- ters that are a little more upright than many breeds, while still maintaining a laid back shoulder. The neck, should be oval, muscular and powerful, and demonstrate an athlet- ic appearance. A proper neck line should never be short or stocky, as one would expect in a Pug, for example. Length of the neck should be equal to the total length of the head, muzzle to the occipital ridge, and never elongated. In profile, there should be a slight arch as it moves from the nape. Proper neck length proportion can easily be assessed using hand measurement as compared to length of the head. In temperament and biddability, you should find that the Lagotto fits into the sporting group quite well, he is energetic, intelligent, and has much endurance. The ideal Lagotto has an effervescent personal- ity that will dazzle you, despite or because of, his rustic appearance. Please take time to meet a Lagotto Romagnolo if you can. This is a dog that can be a true delight to judge. We’ll see you in the ring. “the neck, should Be oval, muscular and powerful, and demonstrate an athletic appearance.”

well, but must not come as the result of a snippy muzzle. An overshot bite of any kind is a disqualifying fault, as is a truly ‘undershot’ bite (which has been defined as more than ¼ ” between the top and bot- tom incisors). Many of the world’s top Lagotto carry a reverse scissors bite, and while it may take some getting used to for North Ameri- can judges, understanding that the bite is of lesser importance to the dog’s primary function, which is scenting, which should help when judging for the correct, blunt profile head type. Young Lagotto can have bite changes up to three years of age. Some breeders report that young dogs with strong head-type can be reverse scissor up to a year of age before going level or even a scissor bite. The skull should be nearly as wide as it is long. Measuring from ear to ear and stop to occipital bone is something that can be done by hand and is very obvious when it is right. The skull is slightly longer than the muzzle. The under-jaw is strong and wide, and when correct the lips seem to form an upside “C” when viewed from the front. The eyes should be rather large, round and wide set. The color should be in har- mony with the dog’s coat and pigment color. They should also be visible, not hid- den under excess hair. The eye color in the Lagotto Romagnolo range from ochre (vari- ous golden shades and saturation) to hazel (golden with greenish undertones) and dark brown, and usually follow the depth of color of the coat (e.g. lighter colored coats will generally have lighter shades

of the above described colors). There should be no black pigmentation in the eye color. The eyes should convey a keen and friendly expression. The ears are medium sized, triangular with rounded tips and the base is wide, set just above the zygomatic arches. They are slightly raised when the dog is atten- tive, if pulled toward the nose they reach the muzzle at ¼ of its length. The ears have hair on both the inner and outer surfaces, and in the ear canal itself (though this may be plucked). Grooming wise, the ears tend to become lost in the curls of the head, though the ears themselves should be trimmed to the ear leather. It is possible to disguise a narrow skull, ears that lie flat to the side of the head or are too long with an abundance of groomed out hair, both on the cheeks and the beard. Using a hands- on approach will help to reward structure versus over grooming of the head. The body of the dog is square rather than rectangular. A very common fault is a Lagotto that is too short on leg, (e.g. a rect- angular dog that is proportioned 50/50, in terms of depth of chest and length of leg), which is a common picture in sport- ing dogs. However in the Lagotto, this is incorrect. The length of the leg is a little more than half the dog’s height, while the chest should not come below the elbows. The ribcage actually expands at the 6th rib, far past the elbow. The dog should be powerful, agile and well-muscled, but never heavy or bulky. These dogs work for hours covering miles of rough hillside ter- rain, and being too large or too substantial

248 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J ULY 2015

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