The free Beginner's Playbook — everything I wish I'd known before I started with Buddy.
When I started training Buddy to find truffles, I read fifty books, bought fifteen courses, and wasted most of a year going in circles. This is the short version — the twenty-one things that actually matter when you're starting out with your dog. No fluff. No truffle oil tricks. Just the foundations.
If you have a dog with energy to burn, a curious nose, and an owner who'd rather be in a wood than a dog park — this is for you. It's for people who want to give their dog a real job. Who want a hobby you do together, outdoors, in every season.
Finding a truffle is a bonus. The reason you do this is for the connection, the work, and the dog.
If you're looking for mastery-level training or you run a commercial truffle operation, this isn't that. I do that work too — see Consulting →
Built from five years of mistakes, then figuring it out.
The BSH System is what I built to turn Buddy into a reliable truffle dog — and has done the same for hundreds of others since. It's the first framework to combine old-school truffle hunting craft with modern scent detection science. A clear pathway. Sequenced for success. Adaptable to the dog in front of you.
The foundation. Everything else depends on this.
Communication, motivation, focus, hunt development. Before you ever introduce truffle scent, you build a dog that listens, works, and trusts you. Skip this phase and you'll pay for it later — I know because I did.
Teaching the nose what to look for.
Scent discrimination, indications, search patterns. This is where you introduce real truffle odour and teach your dog how to find it reliably — first in controlled setups, then in progressively harder environments.
The real thing. Woods, weather, and wild truffles.
Transition from training to actual foraging. Stamina, discipline, reading terrain, reading your dog. This is where the work becomes the reward.
Short, honest answers to the six questions I hear most. No theory. No filler. Just what I'd tell you if we were walking through a wood together.
Buddy kicked off the search with a big truffle find within the first minute. He was quite sensational — doing laps at high speed around the woods. Extraordinary to think his nose was able to work so well as he was going past so fast.
Ben has made my year — and my dog's — complete. Freddy has now finally found his first Brumale and Aestivum in the wild. Not in competition, not hidden by me. In the wild.
We were lucky enough to go out with Ben and Buddy, and I was amazed when Angus found his first truffles. Very much looking forward to trying again soon.
A great course to learn the basics to train your dog to find truffles, followed by some lovely truffle-inspired dishes. A great day out and highly recommended.
Oscar was let loose to search on his own. Great news — he found his first truffle and I was super proud! Thank you Ben and Buddy for your extreme patience and sharing your knowledge and passion.
A terrific day of learning about truffle hunting with our dogs. Ben and Buddy did us proud — showed us how the experienced dog works, which enabled our dogs to find real truffles. Lunch in the woodland, a delicious foraged mushroom soup with shaved truffle. Highly recommended.
What it actually looks like when you spend a day with me and Buddy.
Discovery Days, Experience Days, Shadow Days and our members-only camping retreat. Come for the training. Stay for the feast.
A hands-on introduction to truffle dog training.
Learn the foundations of truffle dog training through practical exercises, guided scent work, and a first taste of what real truffle hunting involves. Designed for beginners and intermediates alike.
Learn more →
A real wild truffle hunt with me and Buddy.
Guided woodland hunt, truffle cooking in the woods, and the story behind every find. For food lovers, nature enthusiasts, and the curious.
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Shadow a working truffle hunter.
Come out with me and Buddy on a real foraging day. Weather included. For serious students of the craft who want to see how it's really done.
Learn more →
Members Only
Two days in the South Downs with the Club.
Camp under the stars, cook over fire, and forage real truffle woodlands together. Exclusive to Truffle Dog Club members.
Learn more →Ongoing ways to learn, train, and connect — for whatever stage you're at.
Workshops, one-to-one coaching, group coaching, and the online Truffle Dog Masterclass.
Learn more →
A free private community of 420+ truffle foragers. Monthly live events. Founded by me, run together.
Join the Club (free) →
Truffle orchard consulting, truffle dog hire, site surveys, and commercial training for landowners and operators.
Professional enquiries →
In 2020, my business collapsed, and I ended up going through bankruptcy with a young dog called Buddy and no idea what to do next. One day, a YouTube binge made me realise we had truffles growing in the UK. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it.
It was true though. Buddy and I started training together — making many mistakes, at first — and what began as a way to get through a difficult time became the thing I do now. I've since trained hundreds of dog-and-owner teams, co-founded the UK Truffle Festival and the UK Truffle Dog Championships, hosted the Truffle Forager Podcast, and built a private community of over four hundred truffle foragers.
The work taught me something I didn't expect: the truffles aren't the point. The dog is, and the relationship you build. Everything else follows.
Two events bringing the UK truffle community together each year.
The Beginner's Playbook is free. Twenty-one tips, a clear system, and the shortcut through the mistakes I made.
The truffles aren't the point. The dog is.
Grab the free Beginner's Playbook — 21 essential tips to hunt truffles with your dog.
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