This post aims to show potential truffle hunters that it is relatively easy to train your own dog. It won’t be expensive nor will you need a level of expertise. Anyone can do it provided that they have patience

Often when I tell people that we hunt for truffles, their first question is about how we train the pigs. It seems that the use of pigs in truffle hunting is very firmly ensconced in the collective consciousness. In reality though, the vast majority of tartufai nowadays prefer to hunt with dogs.

The day started at first light. Truffles have been thin on the ground until now but today there were signs that the season is picking up. In the photo above you get a close-up of a truffle which has just been exposed. This one was found at around 11am today (4th November 2019)  by Giovanni and Zeppo.

The quick answer to the question is that there are many breeds which make excellent truffle dogs. If this is not especially helpful that’s because we are asking the wrong question. Rephrasing the question to “What is the best breed of truffle dog for me?” makes it easier to start with some suggestions.