Born to Dig

With puppy season at its busiest in the Spring and Summer seasons, there’s no better time to get to know our adult Lagotti Romagnoli at the Kennel than the later months of the year. A less crowded kennel also gives our truffle dogs plenty of time to enjoy what they’re known best for: digging!

There are currently five adult Lagotti residing at the Kennel at Blackberry Farm – four females and one male. As the granddaughters of Tom, the first Lagotto Romagnolo brought to Blackberry from Italy, Cannella and Spezia were both born and raised here on the Farm. Our three-year-old male, Budino, came to the Farm when he was eight weeks old, and Miele and Senape were both born in Italy before we welcomed them to our pack in February.

A benefit of bringing in Lagotti from Italy is that most of them are bred specifically for truffle hunting rather than show standards. With the ultimate goal of our truffle program being to harvest truffles on property with the help of our Lagotti, it’s important that the dogs we raise maintain their natural hunting and digging instincts.

“Because we don’t breed for show standards, you’re going to get more diversity in size and color,” says Kenna Henderson, who has been working at the Kennel since January 2021. Before joining the Farmstead team as a dog handler, Kenna worked with the Blackberry Farm Housekeeping team for three years. “What matters most is that they’re happy dogs. That’s what we care about.”

As we wait to see how our truffle orchard progresses in the next few years, our Lagotti have lots of hunting and digging to keep them busy. Throughout the yard around the Kennel, you’ll likely find a few trails that our truffle dogs have dug up as they’ve tracked moles underground.

“They’ll go out in the yard and just stop and look at the ground – kind of like a cat when it sees a bug,” says Kenna. “Then eventually they’ll get closer and closer and start ferociously digging. Their front paws are bigger than their back paws and are very round, so they’re like little shovels. Their vertebrae are built in such a way that they can just curve themselves into their hole and dig.”

In addition to tracking moles, Kenna says our resident truffle dogs enjoy digging for grubs and roots this time of year.

“You'll notice they dig more frequently when the seasons change,” she says. “There are lots of new smells – the rain brings different smells, different native fungi are growing, the grass smells differently, and there is going to be different creature activity underground.”

With most Lagotti puppies born on the Farm getting sent to their forever homes by Fall, it’s rare to see them this time of year. However, you’ll notice if you’ve visited the Kennel recently that there are two puppies who recently joined the Blackberry family. Mattina and Notte arrived at the Farm in late October, and the plan is for them to stay with us.

As we wait for puppy season to kick into full gear again, stop by the Kennel to spend some special time with our adult Lagotti, and watch as they dig and play to their hearts’ content!

Curious about the truffle program at Blackberry Farm? Click here to learn more.