My Truffle story

There is no better feeling then wandering around the forest with my beloved companions watching them thrive knowing they have a purpose. Truffle hunting is a great way to form a tight bond with my dogs and get back that feeling of being balanced. 

 It all started with a dog named Sadie, who is now watching over us from doggy heaven. Sadie was a goofy yet intelligent Doberman and Labrador mix. She was such an amazing canine, from discovering truffles to saving a drowning bird in freezing water. Sadie was truly a very special dog! One day we were on a hike and I begun noticing spots where someone or something had been digging and I kept seeing these little black ball looking things as I did not think anything of it. Well, as time went on I would notice Sadie digging around in the dirt and I still ignored it. One day we had all of the dogs out on a hike and everyone was extra excited that day, I look over and I see Sadie kicking around a little round ball looking thing. She continued playing and throwing this object up into the air clearly trying to get my attention and when I approached her she pointed with her nose to this amazing smelling little black thing while wiggling her whole bottom at the same time. She was thrilled that she finally got my attention! I had no idea what this thing was but it smelled very good and interesting so I took the item home, washed it off, cut it open, and begun taking photos and asking around. I  posted some photos on a local foraging Facebook group in hopes of getting some leads. Come to find out she was finding Native Black Truffle mushrooms! Black forest gold they called it! I was overcome with excitement and began doing research upon research trying to learn as much as I could about these little gems. I learned that truffles only grow wild in Italy, Western Washington, Western Oregon, and very small parts of California and that's it. They can only be found by a trained dog or pigs. Since then I have trained 2 more dogs and even attended a few advanced professional training classes with The Truffle Dog Company in Seattle. This is truly my passion as It just came so naturally to me. I am able to do exercises and training techniques very easily due to my natural ability to train dogs. Truffle hunting takes months and even years of dedication, training, and scouting spots before being successful but with the proper knowledge, tools, and perseverance it is possible to become a truffle hunter. 

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