Truffle hunting with dogs
How does a truffle dog find truffles?
A truffle dog detects a scent in the soil and signals it to the handler. Watching Lala lets you follow three stages: searching, indicating a spot and lifting the truffle with guidance.
Written by the La Truffe française teamUpdated on
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The topic guide : Truffle hunting with dogs
Searching below the surface
The truffle is not visible from the path. The dog uses its sense of smell to locate a scent while the handler watches its behaviour. Searching can involve pauses and returns to an area. Visitors discover an activity paced by the animal's work rather than a fixed circuit.
The indication and the handler's response
When the dog focuses on a spot, the handler interprets the indication and checks the soil. Approach only when invited. You can observe how the soil is moved aside and ask about the find. The dog's indication alone does not establish the species or the weight of a possible harvest.
Give the pair room to work
Keep the requested distance, avoid calling the dog during its search and ask before stroking or feeding it. If you want to bring your own dog, confirm this before the session. These simple precautions let the group follow the explanation without interrupting the work.
Questions to ask during the workshop
Ask how this dog indicates a scent, when the handler intervenes and how the session adapts to the day's conditions. These answers describe the pair present, not a universal training method. Our three-hour workshop lets you search with Lala and take part in careful extraction under our guidance; it is not professional dog training and does not promise a quantity found.
Our editorial approach
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A photographic account of a visit with Pascale and Lala documents our truffle-hunting practice. Université Populaire Tricastine also lists an activity to be led by Pascale on 15 January 2027, under that organiser’s own terms.