Lack of truffle-hunting dogs is putting leash on our ability to unearth treasure

Scotland’s truffle treasure trove is facing what’s been described as a “bottleneck” due to insufficient numbers of dogs to find them.

Keen-nosed truffle dogs play a key role at harvesting, but there’s a drastic shortage of trained hounds and handlers. “The job the dogs do is absolutely amazing,” said Paul Thomas, who was accompanied by Labrador Whinnie, left, an enthusiastic snuffler

of truffles. “They’ll go into an orchard and zigzag around sniffing until they get the scent.

“They’ll even put their paw on the truffle to guide us right to it. “We have a real problem with orchards coming to maturity and no dogs and handlers to go in.”

Different species are used across the world, including the highly regarded Lagotto Romagnolo and even cadaver dogs.

Labradors, spaniels and puppies are among the most easily trained breeds used in the UK.

However, the lack of suitable dogs in Scotland is such that the Thomas family are getting a new puppy at the end of the month which will swiftly be undergoing training for use at the Bute sites.