We get asked TONS of questions. We welcome them. We encourage them. Below are some of the most frequent questions that we are asked by our prospective puppy parents.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where do your dogs live? Inside our home with us. They are our family.
Do you own the parents of your puppies? Yes. We either own or co-own the parents of our puppies. Occasionally we will utilize males outside of our home in order to diversify our genetic lines.
How long have you been breeding Lagotti? We purchased our first lagotto in 2012. We fell madly in love with the breed and with showing dogs. We started breeding about 18 months later.
How did you learn about breeding dogs? Honestly, when we thought that we might want to breed our first dog, we had no idea how properly or responsibly breed her. We were terrified. We spoke to our vet and our own breeder about it, what breeding entailed, and what our responsibilities were. Our breeder, an AKC Breeder of Merit, agreed to mentor us.
For the first 4 years of breeding, we bred our dogs under the supervision of our mentor and of our vet, Dr. Kathleen Bucher. Dr. Bucher eventually moved to New York and we moved to Central Florida. We are currently mentored by the Avidog team. We use the veterinary services of Drs. Kaitlyn Robertsand Debra Rakesat Live Oak Animal Clinic in Summerfield, Florida. If any of our puppies need specialized care outside of what Live Oak can provide, we use the Veterinary Services at the University of Florida.
How old are your puppy parents when you breed them? Our puppy parents are usually around 2 years old when they are initially bred.
Do you health test your puppy parents prior to breeding them? Of course. The health and safety of our adults is a priority over all else. Our pregnant moms receive both pre and postnatal care. All of our adults are genetically tested for P1* conditions prior to allowing them into our breeding program. With the advent of DNA testing kits, all of our parents have had, or are in the process of having additional DNA testing through EMBARK. If your puppy parent does not currently have a full DNA panel, available the panel is out in the testing stage.
*P1 - P1 conditions are conditions that are priority health concerns for the lagotto breed and were able to be tested prior to DNA testing kits.
Do you offer a health guarantee? Yes. We have a very extensive contract in place in order to protect both you and your lagotto. Hips and eyes are warrantied for 3 years. We offer a lifetime warranty for JE and LSA. For further info see our health warranty page.
How many litters do you have a year? We generally have between 2 and 5 litters a year.
How big does a lagotto get? All of our lagotti are within the breed standard for height and weight. In general, lagotto are medium sized dogs usually standing to about the knee of an average human adult. They can weigh between 23 and 35 pounds based on gender and genetics.
How do I become a puppy parent? House Woller puppy parents undergo a puppy home study and then a telephone interview. In order to receive a puppy home study email Dr. Woller at drwoller@pbhi.org or nikkiwoller@aol.com. Once you have a phone interview, if you and Dr. Woller feel that a lagotto is the right fit for your family you will be able to place a $200.00 placement retainer on a puppy. This retainer will hold your puppy spot. Puppy fees are discussed on the phone during your phone interview or through your initial email contact with House Woller.
When do puppies go to their forever family? Puppies go home to their families between 8 and 9 weeks old. We start preparing you for your puppy between 4 and 5 weeks. Puppies go home with their AKC registration complete, one month of health insurance, their microchip, microchip registration, lifetime breeder support, and their puppy binder that outlines everything about them.
Do you ship your puppies? Never.
Puppy families are expected to come to House Woller and pick up their puppy. There is no exception to this. Most families will either drive in or fly in to pick up their puppy. We are approximately 1 hour and 15 min from Orlando, 1 hour and 30 min from Tampa and about 2 hours from Sarasota. It is possible to fly in and out of Orlando the same day.
Are we able to visit? Yes. We love visitors. In order to visit you have to be prescreened through our puppy home study process. Due to Covid-19 we are restricting in person visitors. If you would like a virtual visit, we would love to accommodate that.
Do lagotto dig? Yep. Not gonna lie about this. Lagotto are working dogs. They love to dig, but they are not just "digging" to make holes in the ground. They are actually hunting. Lagotto have been bred to hunt truffles. Truffles are really smelly and expensive mushrooms that grow underground. As a result, lagotto are frequently seen digging a hole and then looking inside. Our lagotto have trenched out mole holes on our own farm and crabs on the beach.
Can I teach my lagotto not to dig? You can try. The best way to manage digging is to provide a digging spot for your pup.
Do lagotto like water? Yes. Most lagotto love to swim. Some even like to dock dive. Teach them early on and you should have an avid swimming buddy.
Are lagotto hyperactive? I would not consider this breed to be "hyperactive" however some lagotto are more active than others. They need exercise daily and lots of attention from their families. We match our puppies to their families using our puppy home study and puppy temperament testing. We would never match a super active puppy to a family that does not have the same activity level and vice versa. This process ensures that the puppies and our families are a good fit for one another.
Do lagotto shed? No. We have not seen shedding in any of our lagotto. Our DNA tests have a "likely to shed" section for each of our dogs. Please see your puppy parents DNA testing for further information.
Are lagotto hypoallergenic? Yes. Although no dog is 100 percent hypoallergenic, lagotto are a breed that seems to be allergy friendly. My husband has severe asthma and is highly allergic to dog dander. He does not react to our lagotto. If you are concerned about allergies we encourage you to meet and greet a lagotto prior to considering one. Spend time with the pup and really get to know the breed prior to committing.
How do you socialize the puppies? House Woller uses researched based literature to help us raise our puppies. Puppies are socialized using the Avidog international methods. We hold our puppies daily, providing them with belly and feet rubs, ear massages and lots and lots of kisses. We talk to them and to their mother everyday. As they get older we have people from our lives come and play and hold the puppies.
How are puppies cared for? Puppies are cared for by their mothers with our support. All of our puppies live inside our homes, most having their own private room. We provide our puppies with early neurological stimulation in order to help brain development and growth. We played lullabies for our puppies as they get older during nap time or sleep time. Puppies are sleeping through the night when they leave House Woller.
Are puppies potty trained? No. Your puppy does not go home potty trained. They will go home litter box trained. We use pine horse bedding pellets in the litter box. The pellets smell similar to outdoor grass. We train this way to help the puppy transition to going potty outside when they get to their forever home.
Do you temperament test your puppies? Yes. We temperament test our puppies at 7 weeks old. We use the Volhard method of temperament tests. We like that the test is easy for our puppy parents to understand and easy for our puppy helpers to administer. We do provide a copy of the puppy temperament test in your puppy binder.
Will my puppy's color change? Yes. Lagotto puppies usually change colors as they grow older. There are two reasons that lagotto change color. Some lagotto have a "fade gene" meaning that their original puppy color will genetically fade as your lagotto grows. At this point in time, we do not have any adult breeding dogs with the fade gene in our breeding program. The other reason that lagotto puppies change color is that they are growing. The breed has natural propensity to change color when the coat changes from the puppy coat into the adult coat. See our "colors of the lagotto" page for more.
Is it difficult to groom a lagotto? Not in our opinion, however it is sometimes difficult to find a groomer that is familiar with the lagotto and their coat type. We shave our dogs down into a working coat two to three times a year. Doing this keeps our breeding dogs happy and easy to care for. Lagotto that are going onto he show ring receive show cuts and are groomed about every six to eight weeks with trims between. See our "grooming" page for more information.
What do you feed your puppies? All puppies are breast fed for the first 6 weeks of their lives. We do not use supplements while they are nursing. Once they begin to wean we transition them to a water based kibble, making it more and more crunchy as they grow. See our "feeding" page to see which foods we are currently using.
Do you send information home with our puppy? All of House Woller puppies go home with a puppy book. This book is about your individual puppy, their parents and the lagotto in general. It is important that you and your vet become familiar with the lagotto breed and your individual puppy. There are breed specific conditions and sensitivities that lagotto have. It is important that you share your puppy book with your vet.
How big are the puppies when they go home?Puppies go home at 8.5 weeks old. They are generally between 7 and 10 pounds.
Can I fly home with my puppy?Yes. Puppies can fly home with you inside the cabin at 8.5 weeks old. The airline will charge you an extra fee for this.
What type of carrier should I buy if I am flying home with my puppy? Lagotto puppies fit nicely into a large sherpa.