During my time as a truffle dog hunter and trainer I have seen a number of different breeds become great truffle dogs. Not any one breed stands out as the best truffle dog and from what I have found it isn’t mostly about the breed but more about the personality. Does the dog have more of a working personality or a pet personality? I will explain these two personalities in due time but first a little about the physical traits which must be considered.

Physical characteristics

There are some physical characteristics which may hinder certain breeds from doing the physical labor of truffle work. As an example, brachycephalic dog breeds with short flattened muzzle and skull do have issues with hard prolonged physical activity. Also, certain breeds like grey hounds and whippets have been bred to do short distance intense activity and would struggle with the long distance of truffle hunting. These are just a couple of physical attributes which could hinder a truffle dog.

Canine personality attributes/traits

Below is a list of some attributes a great truffle dog needs:

High stamina and drive: Mostly genetic

Strong desire to please: Genetic/Nurtured

Strong reward drive (Toy, food, play, ideally not a chase drive): Genetic/Taught

In another session I’ll go through the different reward types along with benefits and drawbacks to each type.

Strong relationship with owner/people: Nurtured.

How to develop this will be another session.

Independent and confident: Genetic/Nurtured

How to nurture this will be another session.

Strong willed: Mostly genetic

These dogs can be more challenging for a novice dog trainer. There is a small summery discussed towards the end of this blog. More details in ‘Strong relationships’ session

Willingness to learn and be trained: Genetic/Nurtured

Able to work under distractions: (Nurtured /Taught)

This is taught via training and I introduce distractions slowly throughout my 3 course levels.

A lot of these traits are genetic however we are able to teach, nurture and grow some of these attributes in dogs which don’t naturally have high levels of these traits. These are some of the things I run through during my 3 courses (beginner, intermediate and advanced). My courses are not for the faint hearted though; they are each an intense 4-week course.

Working dog vs pet dog personalities

The attributes list describes a working dog personality. I’ve found that all dogs sit on a spectrum of the two extremes of working personality and pet personality. Some of these working dog traits which are great for a truffle dog make for a challenging pet dog. During the off season, which is 9 months of the year, the dog has to transition between a working dog with lots of physical activity and fun games all day to a more relaxed lifestyle in the off season. What makes a good working dog creates a bored and restless pet dog in the off season. So, keep in mind your family’s ability to keep a working dogs mind active and physical needs met as that will be the challenge in the off season. Similarly, if your dog is happy to chill out with you and have pats most of the time they have more of a pet personality. They may not be that into running around for hours on end. So getting them motived when it’s time to work could be challenging. However, in the off season they will be comfortable in their pet lifestyle.

There are of course the dogs in between these extremes and this is the type of dog most people will be looking to find. Somewhere closer to the working dog personality but ideally not at the extreme end unless they have the lifestyle to suit. My dog Kovu has a strong working dog personality and my other dog Zara also has working personality but not to the extreme level that Kovu has. Look at the blog picture I have chosen (also shown above), it is not by chance. It is an excellent example of what you want your dog to look like when you have their chosen reward. This photo shows the level of intensity you want your extreme working dog to display. Zara will work for 45 min – 1 hour at a time before she needs a mental break. Her drive is not as extreme and will get tired mentally after 45min. Kovu on the other hand would work for hours on end if I let him, which I don’t, and I have to give him forced breaks. I have to tell him to drop and have a rest, all the while he just looks up at me waiting for the signal to keep going. In the off season I walk them 1 hour per day. These kinds of dogs are not ‘a walk a few times a week’ kind of dogs. They are a daily commitment.

Also keep in mind your ability to train a dog who is strong willed and independent. This kind of dog will be harder to train and you will have a be an exceptional leader for this dog to hand you the reins to be their leader. A submissive dog will happily let their owner be the leader of the pack and give you that leader position. On the other hand, with a dominant independent dog you have to earn the right to be their leader. What makes a good leader is a whole other topic too big to talk about in this blog. But take into consideration your own skills at a dog training and whether you would take on a dog with a strong personality.

What age can you work out their personality.

If you get a puppy, their adult personality hasn’t yet developed so it can be difficult to chose the right personality. By about 1 year old their adult personality will be more obvious so picking out a dog around this age is ideal. You may put in 1 year worth of raising a puppy, training and getting attached, for them to have a strong pet personality and could only want to work for 30 min at a time. If you get a puppy you have to keep in mind it’s a roll of the dice as to what their personality will be. Puppies are great as you know their family history and know they don’t have mental damage or reactive/fearful triggers but you just don’t know their adult personality straight away. If you have the time to roll the dice with a puppy then that’s great but if you need a working truffle dog asap then getting a 1–2 year old dog is a better option.

Important things to consider when choosing a dog:

Prospective truffle dog owners also have to consider what they will use their truffle dog for. If, like me you, you plan to work as a contractor to multiple farms then having a high stamina/high energy dog is imperative so you will be looking for a dog towards the working end of the spectrum. You must also realize you have a high energy dog even during the off season which is 9 months of the year. There is no off switch, you have to commit to that high energy all year round and make sure that personality will suit your family. If you have a small truffle farm of 100-200 trees and can do a couple of rows per day and take you time then high stamina dog isn’t as important and a dog with a more balanced work/pet personality may suit better.

The best idea is to have an idea about what bred you may want and research the common health issues and physical needs with that breed of dog to make sure its compatible for truffle hunting, your particular farm and your family situation.

Summery:

All in all, look at the dog’s personality rather than only the breed. Take into account the physical attributes of the dog and your own family’s lifestyle when deciding on the personality of the dog you choose. A really good option could be to foster a 1 - 2 year old shelter dog, for a time, to determine their personality and their keenness for scent training.

This is what I will be doing when the time comes when I need to train new truffle dogs. Eventually the aim is to find the right personalities, train them and sell them as fully trained truffe dogs for the right family. I am hoping it will be a long time before I need to start this process. However, my dogs are 10 and 8 years old so who knows when I’ll be scouring the dog shelters for the next high intensity, high maintenance, strong willed, independent dog. Most likely is only at the shelter because their working personality, by chance, landed itself in a family with pet lifestyle. I might even see you there looking for your own potential truffle dog.