552 An Introduction to Truffles and the Dogs Who Find Them!
Hobbies & How-to | Available (Membership Required)
What are truffles – the edible fungus, not the chocolates that are sought after by foodies around the world selling for upward of $800/pound? And how do the doggies find them?
For ten years, Lois Martin and her canine partner, Monza, traveled the southeast surveying truffle orchards inoculated with European truffles. Their journey led them to learn about truffle species native to the southeast and to hunting/collect native species for researchers. Hear about their discovery of a NEW species of truffle on Christmas Eve that was later named in honor of truffle dogs, Tuber Canirevelatum!
This class will be in two sessions. In the first, we will learn about truffles and their symbiotic relationship with trees, the North American truffle industry, and what native species have been found in east Tennessee. The second session will focus on the canine partner! We will review how dogs learn, dog breeds used most for truffle hunting, and include demonstrations on basic training.
Lois Martin
Lois Martin recently retired from the corporate world as an IT project manager/business analyst. She is a certified dog trainer through the Karen Pryor Academy. Lois is affiliated with the Truffle Dog Company, and as a hobby/side gig, she and her dog Monza, a Logotto Romangnolo, surveyed 20+ truffle orchards across the southeast.
In their travels they stumbled onto native truffles and became interested in finding native species. In her career, Monza located over 12 different species of truffles and other tuber-like species. Monza's career culminated with discovering two new species of truffles before she passed away in 2025. Currently Lois is training her new dog, Pippa, who is making amazing progress with the training and aspires to be a great truffle dog!