New Zealand Truffle Dog Services

10/06/2024

Truffle hunting for a grower.

Indi is such a leader for finding truffles for growers, who provide amazing truffles to Siso Bar and Eatery.

10/06/2024

AnMPI dog available for adoption

09/06/2024

A great start to the day with a couple of beautiful T. borchii and some smaller ones.

Still no truffles in two of the truffieres visited today with possibles of both black and white in the last one. Fingers and paws crossed whist awaiting the results.

08/06/2024

Such an exciting day today. Found more T. borchii for an existing client and THEN found first T. borchii for another client. Wahoo...always exciting when you find a growers first truffles.

Just found a photo from this mornings first visit and subsequent find.

07/06/2024

What a lovely day for truffle hunting.

Mac did a great job of searching the first few rows and Indi finished the survey. Over 150 markers placed and about 500g found on the surface under leaves.

01/06/2024

What an amazing surprise yesterday from Annette and Matiu of Ohiwa Black Diamonds Truffles.

The lip balm is amazing and worked well on my sun chapped lips after truffle hunting during the day.

19/05/2024

Truffle conference finished yesterday and I stayed an extra night to enjoy the essence of Queenstown.

Great conference packed with innovative speakers. Looking forward to next year's!

Goodbye Queenstown and the awesome view.

16/05/2024

What an awesome view to wake up to for the first day of the NZ Truffle Associations conference.

Three workshops today, the main inside conference event tomorrow followed by a dinner and then a visit to the Black Quail Estate to talk about their truffière.

Going to be a great weekend of information and meeting awesome growers.

01/05/2024

2024 Season Starts Soon - https://mailchi.mp/6bab05b384b9/2024-season-starts-soon

10/04/2024

Unlock Your Truffle Potential at the 2024 Truffle Conference!

NZ Truffle Association conference is being held in Queenstown from May 17-19. Come and explore the world of truffle cultivation, truffle hunting with dogs, and market potential. Whether you're a curious newbie or a seasoned grower, there's something for everyone.

Click this link to discover more: https://www.nztruffles.org.nz/annual-conference/nzta-conference-at-the-heritage-hotel-queenstown-from-may-17th-to-19th/

12/03/2024

Happy New Year from Truffle Dog Services! - https://mailchi.mp/cb93bb063c93/happy-new-year-from-truffle-dog-services

03/02/2024

Training with Zorro has continued to progress.

Being away at present I have had opportunities to work with him around a number of different trees with both T. aestivum, T. melanosporum and T. borchii. Either individually or in combinations.

The weather was overcast, warm but humid with a temperature of 20 degree C expected. Quite cool compared to the previous days.

I threw (so I didn't get too close to the trees and leave a track) 10 truffle baits into long grass around some walnut trees (sorry, truffles don't grow under these trees, but I use any type of tree orchard when I am training the dogs) at 14:30 in the afternoon. I then become engrossed in my work and the time disappeared.

The search didn't start until 16:30! A 2 hour 'cook' time.

Zorro came out full of beans and like a tornado wanting to start searching everywhere at top speed. Although very tiring trying to hunt this wayZorro was on form and found all 10 baits (9 Tuber melanosporum and 1 Tuber borchii.

What I got reminded of was to 'listen to my dog'. I had forgotten where I had thrown all of the baits, and a couple of times Zorro went off the 'track'. When finally I 'listened' to him he took me over to some nearby bushes and promptly picked up and threw a truffle bait at me. Hmmmm...nothing like the dog teaching you a lesson.

That's Zorro for you.

14/01/2024

It is very hot here and trying to train dogs for mainly winter work doesn't really mix well with the heat.

Today the heat has broken and rain is falling between a drizzle and a downpour.

As part of training I make a note of the number of baits that I have placed out for the dogs, but by the time I come in have forgotten where I have placed them all! Whilst harnessing Zorro the rain was just a gentle drizzle.

Zorro was first up for training. He hasn't worked since the end of August so was expecting a hyper boy and he didn't disappoint. Once the harness was on he was screaming at the door to start. I had fortunately prepared myself with food, toy and empty container attached to me, and off we went.

As soon as we stepped out the door the clouds opened and a deluge descended. Undaunted by this Zorro was in the Zone to locate. His scenting around the new wood that arrived yesterday, and then the fence, showed he was keen to locate.

He missed the first bait, and found the second and then the third. These were along the fence line and hiding under the grape leaves. Walking over to the (fruit) orchard we started at the blueberries, moving onto the first cherry tree and located a bait. After rewarding with food, we started searching again, and found another bait, rewarded with a soft toy. Swapped the toy for food, and then started searching again...all this time he is pulling at the leash, and not concentrating on the search pattern. I ask him to come back and we start again at the pear tree and onto the second and third cherry trees where he locates another two baits, and another around the first feijoa.

It is a continual balance of allowing him to move forward to search, and at the same time keep to the search pattern of up and down the row of trees. We worked through the rest of the small orchard where Zorro located 11 out of 14 baits.

After every training session, I reflect on what happened during this training, and then design the plan for the next session. There were a number of suggested training after this session:

1. Practice towards a confirmed indication, rather than the head nod he showed today - this can be completed inside if it is raining.
2. Work on keeping his enthusiasm for the work whilst slowing him down to make a more consistent search of each tree - will work through a plan to do this.
3. Distraction work needs to be increased as I now have a family of cats that have taken up residence that wander all over our training area.

What are you working on with your dogs to prepare them for your next truffle season?

22/11/2023

It's was an interesting truffle season - with the warmer weather affecting the growth of the truffles, this year's harvest was not as plentiful as we've seen in the past. We had a great time seeing the truffle producers out in their truffière, and we look forward to the 2024 season! Share your truffle stories below! 🤗

#2024

30/09/2023

Great advice from Kings Truffles .

05/09/2023

More info on the dogs nose.

Dogs can sniff out disease and analyze new odors even as they exhale. But how?

10/07/2023

Waikato Survey this weekend - https://mailchi.mp/87eecd2a0d97/waikato-survey-this-weekend

03/07/2023

Great explanation on the roots of trees.

04/06/2023

Friend sent this to me and couldn't resist sharing.

🤣🤣🤣

30/05/2023

We were invited to Matangi Truffles to participate in the recording of Rural Delivery. Great Story.

A television series celebrating New Zealand’s rural sector since 2005. Screening on TVNZ 1 on Saturdays at 8.00 am and Sundays at 6.00 am. Made with support from New Zealand On Air.

16/05/2023

Dianne and Byron are truffiere owners in Matangi, Waikato.

New Zealand Truffle Dog Services were invited to complete some pre-season training during the filming of their truffiere for Rural Delivery. Dianne placed out truffle pieces in containers, to simulate hunting in a truffiere, and the Tigga was bought out to show how she searches and locates truffles.

Great couple and look forward to seeing the show.

02/05/2023

2023 Season about to start - https://mailchi.mp/bfa800f1b443/2023-season-about-to-start

24/04/2023

14/04/2023

Awesome conference..

28/02/2023

A great opportunity for someone. Awesome property and lovely truffles.

The ultimate lifestyle property in every sense of the word, this beautiful retreat on the east-side of town is set ...

27/02/2023

Well established truffière in Gisborne.

Does a little slice of paradise, close to the City, come up for sale. 2.3472 hectares of an assortment of fruit trees along with a truffle farm, capable of p...

27/12/2022

The pups and I went in a long journey to the wairarapa. Overnight in the caravan and looking at a prospective home for one of the pups.

Lovely view of Ruapehu on the way down with just a smidgen of snow on top.

18/12/2022

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year to everyone.

May Santa Paws bring everything you desire, and that Mother Nature is kind and provides the right weather for you to have another awesome 2023 truffle season.

18/12/2022

Updated: Visit to the vets today for their second vaccine. Next one due on 11 January.

The puppies are fully grown and looking for their new homes. They are 12 weeks old and are all doing well. They are friendly whilst independent, love playing with toys, each other, and their parents Tigga and Zorro.

They will have their second vaccination next week, and working on Santa Paws finds them a lovely home, either as a pet or a truffle dog in training.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/pets-animals/dogs/dogs-for-sale/other/listing/3902226785?ed=true&bof=v5gJ4YPg

Three siblings from the last litter are either operational or will be operation in 2023 working in airports around the country. Two puppies from this litter will also be trained to work within the airport perimeters.

06/10/2022

It's always sad when the truffle season comes to an end.

We are grateful for the wonderful growers we have met over the 2022 season, and thrilled with the amazing number of truffles that we have marked throughout. Within the first 5 weeks of the season we had marked over 800 (using new markers) truffles and had run out of this years blue markers a couple of weeks later. We then started using the remainder of the 2021 seasons yellow markers to finish the season off.

We had a few new producers of Tuber borchii, all of which were super amazing first finds. New T. borchii (Bianchetto) producers in Waikato, Auckland and the Manawatu.