Truffle Dog Training: Lucy’s Journey from Puppy to Hunter

‍

Meet Lucy, our Lagotto Romagnolo truffle dog

That’s right, dogs form a critical part of a truffle hunting team, being used for their unrivalled sense of smell.

But, as we’re fast learning, hunting truffles successfully doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a serious amount of training for both the dogs and the owners. And then a little more for good measure!

Last March, we welcomed Lucy, a Lagotto Romagnolo puppy, into our Flinders Truffles family.

Not only is she gorgeously cute with her chocolate-brown curls, but her breed is synonymous with truffle hunting, having been used widely for that purpose during both World Wars.

Lagotto Romagnolos are known for their intelligence, stamina and, of course, great sense of smell, all essential traits for a hunting dog.

No pressure, Lucy, but we had some high expectations!

Starting truffle scent training at home

There’s no such thing as “too early” to start scent training a dog. So, from Lucy’s earliest days on the farm, we’ve been getting her acquainted with the distinctive smell of truffles.

We started by soaking wooden clothes pegs in truffle oil and holding them under Lucy’s nose while saying the word “truffle”. This simple action can be enough to start building a word association.

As Lucy got a little older, we started hiding small pieces of truffle in containers around the garden. These are called targets.

It’s important to also hide some empty containers, known as controls, so you know whether the dog is smelling the container or the truffle.

And when playing hide and seek with a hunting dog, we also learnt that it’s imperative to hide your tracks. Otherwise, they’ll simply follow where you went. Clever!

It’s all about outsmarting the dog by covering lots of the garden with Jane’s scent, touching a range of foliage and taking a few false paths to throw them off your scent and keep them on the right one!

Taking truffle dog training to the next level

Lucy has been a delight to train and was certainly responding to our training. Even our beloved spaniel, Herbie, was getting in on the action!

But we felt we needed some additional support to take Lucy to the next level. Cue Steve Austin, a globally recognised professional dog scent trainer who runs courses in Sydney.

So, a few months ago, Lucy and Jane headed off on a road trip with some serious training ahead of them.

Enrolled in a five-day intensive course, Lucy was one of 11 dogs, including a Bichon and a Labrador, all there to develop their scent skills. Some were there for wildlife conservation, some for health issue detection and some for truffle training.

An intense, fascinating and empowering course ensued. Lucy and Jane were put through their paces.

Starting in the classroom, training began with a green wall featuring a range of holes with conduit pipes hidden behind. Upon command, the dogs had to select the right hole where their particular scent was hiding.

Upon doing so, the dog received instant recognition and a reward, be that food or a toy, depending on their own motivation. For Lucy, it’s all about the food.

With Steve’s guidance, we moved away from typical doggy treats and Lucy was soon living her best life enjoying small pieces of roast chicken.

And with a superior treat came far superior results!

It was a case of taking a step back to take a giant leap forward once on Steve’s course. Both Lucy and Jane became more comfortable and more confident in their skills as the course progressed, learning so much to bring back to the farm.

Practice, practice, practice

Now it’s about practice through continual training. This means training sessions every day, sometimes twice a day if time allows.

For now, Lucy is proficient at hunting out purposely hidden truffles. The next step will be to find naturally growing truffles on the farm. A future goal will be to just sniff out the mature truffles and leave the others until they’re ready.

But for now, it’s one day at a time.

Over the coming months, Lucy and Herbie, her sidekick, are training hard for their first official truffle hunt on the farm this winter.

What they will find is yet to be determined.

Watch this space!

‍

FAQs about truffle dog training

How do you train a dog to find truffles?

Truffle dog training begins by building an association with the scent of truffle. Dogs then practise finding hidden scented targets, distinguishing them from empty controls and signalling the location in return for an immediate reward.

Can any dog be trained to find truffles?

Many dog breeds can develop scent detection skills with the right training and motivation. Lagotto Romagnolos are particularly well known for truffle hunting because of their intelligence, stamina and strong sense of smell.

Why are Lagotto Romagnolos used for truffle hunting?

Lagotto Romagnolos are intelligent, energetic scent dogs with a long association with truffle hunting. Their ability to work closely with a handler also makes them well suited to the task.

How long does truffle dog training take?

There is no fixed timeframe. Training requires regular practice and continues as the dog progresses from finding hidden targets to locating naturally growing and mature truffles.

What reward worked best for Lucy?

Lucy responded best to small pieces of roast chicken, which helped keep her focused and motivated during training.

Can visitors see trained truffle dogs at work?

Yes. During the winter harvest season, visitors can book a truffle hunt at Flinders Truffles and watch the dogs search the orchard.

‍