Truffle Dogs

Truffle hunting dogs have been used for centuries to sniff out and find truffles in Italy and France. Traditionally, pigs were used to hunt truffles because of their natural affinity for the fungi, however, because of their fondness for truffles, they were difficult to control once they had found the truffle. Many arguments with very determined swine ensued. Dogs, being lighter, easier to manage, and more trainable, have largely replaced the pigs in the search for “Black Gold,” or the Tuber melanosporum, black Perigord truffles. Dogs are also used to hunt white truffles, Chinese truffles, and black summer truffles.

Truffle dogs are in high demand and the techniques of training them have been fiercely guarded by competitive truffle hunters. Poisonings of trained dogs is not uncommon in parts of Italy, where competition for truffles is at it’s highest.

At Truffle Hunting Dogs, we’ve adapted proven detection training techniques to produce a highly reliable, prolific truffle dog to the emerging American market and to provide truffle dog training to established markets overseas.