Build the introduction around the Lagotto's nose
A Lagotto Romagnolo is a truffle-hunting dog whose world arrives through scent, and a first meeting designed around sniffing plays directly to how this breed relaxes. Choose a grassy, neutral route where both dogs can investigate the ground as they walk, and expect your Lagotto to gather most of his early information about the new dog from where that dog has walked rather than from the dog himself. Rushing him into a face-to-face greeting skips the stage he trusts most. Let the parallel walk be slow, with permission to pause and sniff, and treat a Lagotto who keeps returning to ground scent as a dog who is coping well.
Walk parallel routes with sniffing built in
Parallel walking suits a Lagotto particularly well when it is allowed to meander rather than march. Start across a wide path or quiet road from the new dog, reward your Lagotto for soft glances and easy disengagement, and let the gap narrow across outings as his body stays loose and his tail moves freely. A Lagotto who becomes watchful — standing tall, closing his mouth, tracking the other dog with fixed attention — is asking for more distance, and giving it promptly keeps his trust in the process. Scatter a few treats in the grass when focus needs softening; searching the ground is this breed's natural way of taking a breath.
Time the first contact for after the scent work
By the time a Lagotto has walked the same ground as a new dog across several outings, the eventual meeting is almost an afterthought, which is exactly what you want. Allow a brief curved approach and a few seconds of sniffing, then call both dogs back to their handlers and resume walking, so contact is woven into the outing rather than becoming its climax. Lagotti are generally sociable but can be reserved and a little noise-sensitive, so a partner who greets politely and settles quickly suits them better than a dog who plays at full volume. End the session while your Lagotto is still choosing curiosity, and let the next outing start from that good memory.
Watch a thoughtful dog's subtler signals
A Lagotto Romagnolo rarely advertises discomfort dramatically, so handlers need to read the smaller print: a mouth that closes, whiskers pushing forward, weight shifting back, or a dog who suddenly finds the ground fascinating in order to avoid looking at the other dog. That last one — intense displacement sniffing right after a tense glance — is easy to mistake for relaxation in this breed. Genuine ease looks like loose movement, soft eyes, and sniffing that comes and goes rather than locking on. If the signals stay tense across a couple of outings at the same distance, hold that distance and consider whether the partner dog's style is simply too much for yours.
Carry the same calm into shared spaces
Once leash walks are easy, a Lagotto's first shared-space sessions go best in a garden or field where there is ground to investigate together rather than a small room with nothing to do but interact. Let the dogs explore, converge, and drift apart naturally, remove food and treasured toys, and keep a digging-prone Lagotto's entertainment from becoming a guarded hole both dogs want. Indoor time follows the same pattern: short, unhurried, with separate feeding and rest areas while the relationship is new. The people sharing these outings can keep each stage straight with KinsLe, where Care Teams notes who walks which dog, what distance the Lagotto is working at, and when sessions end.