Professional consulting for truffle dogs and harvest operations
Truffle Forager's professional consulting arm. Truffle dog performance and harvest operations for woodland owners and commercial orchards, from one hectare to tens of thousands of trees.
UK-based, international operation
Truffle Canine Performance & Operations Consulting
TCPO is the professional consulting arm of Truffle Forager. It exists for one reason: truffle dog performance and harvest operations directly affect yield, labour cost and profitability, and most orchards and estates have never had that side properly assessed.
We work alongside orchard managers and agronomists, not in place of them. TCPO does not give agronomy advice on soil, trees or inoculation. Our focus is the canine and operational side of harvesting: how the dogs work, how the handlers run them, and how the whole process is structured on the ground.
The scale runs from a single woodland owner with one dog to commercial operations running multiple dogs and handlers across tens of thousands of trees.
Five ways to work with us
Five strands, one grounding: real fieldwork, a trained detection dog, and a straight read on what's going on. Select a tile to jump to the detail.
Truffle Orchard Consulting
Evaluation and optimisation of truffle dog performance, handler systems and harvest workflow, working alongside your agronomist rather than replacing them. Scales from a single woodland to multi-team commercial orchards.
See detail Entry PointWoodland Assessments
We assess your woodland, soil, tree species and conditions to gauge truffle potential, remotely or on site.
See detail Done For YouHarvesting Services
Trained dogs and handlers hunt your land through the season, locating and harvesting what's there.
See detail CollaborationEstate & Hospitality Partnerships
Woodland licensing, estate collaborations and chef or producer partnerships built on real ground.
See detail Media & SpeakingSpeaking & Media
Press, podcast, TV and event contribution from someone working the subject day to day.
See detailTruffle orchard consulting
The core of TCPO's work: how your dogs perform, how your handlers run them, and how the harvest is structured. For landowners, estates and orchards at any scale.
Truffle dog performance evaluation
A direct assessment of how your dogs are searching and alerting, and where handling protocols are helping or hindering them.
Harvest workflow analysis and time-on-task assessment
Observing the harvest as it actually runs, measuring where time and effort are going, and identifying where the process is losing efficiency.
Dog rotation, handler systems and search efficiency
Optimising how dogs and handlers are rotated and deployed across the ground, so effort is matched to where truffles are most likely to be found.
Transition planning between harvesting methodologies
Structured support when moving from one harvest approach to another, so the change doesn't cost you a season of disruption.
On-site observation, data capture and operational reporting
Time spent on the ground watching the real process, backed by clear reporting that supports the decisions you need to make afterwards.
TCPO does not provide agronomy advice on soil chemistry, tree stock or inoculation science. That side of the project stays with your orchard manager or agronomist. Our lane is the dog, the handler and the operation built around them.
50,000+ tree commercial orchard
TCPO was engaged by one of the largest truffle orchards in France, spanning over 50,000 trees, to review their harvesting process end to end: how the dogs were searching, how the handler teams were working, and where the process was losing time.
Over a multi-week consultative project, we retrained the dog-and-handler teams and restructured the harvest workflow. The result was a fourfold increase in harvesting efficiency, achieved without adding dogs, handlers or acreage. The gain came entirely from how the existing team and process were run.
Woodland assessments
Not sure if your land could hold truffles? We assess your woodland, soil, tree species and conditions to gauge potential, remotely or on site.
Remote assessment
A first read on potential from maps, soil data, tree species and photos you provide. A practical, low-cost way to rule land in or out.
In-person site visit
A walk of the ground itself, checking soil, tree stock and conditions against what makes truffle-suitable land.
Clear next steps
An honest verdict on potential, and what a next step, cultivation, harvesting or simply monitoring, would actually involve.
Truffle harvesting services
Have truffles, or suspect you might? Our trained dogs and handlers hunt your land through the season, with discretion and real care for your ground.
Done-for-you hunting
Trained dogs and handlers work your ground through the season, so you don't need your own team in place to harvest what you have.
Ground-first approach
Every visit is run with real care for the land, minimal disturbance, and respect for a working or private site.
Discreet by default
Location and yield information stays between us and you. Nothing about your ground is shared without your agreement.
Estate & hospitality partnerships
Woodland licensing, estate collaborations and chef or producer partnerships, built on real ground, not marketing gloss.
Estate & Woodland Licensing
Structured arrangements for estates that want to open woodland to guided truffle activity or ongoing detection work.
Chef & Producer Collaborations
Supply relationships and content collaborations built on real provenance and honest sourcing.
Event & Experience Partnerships
Joint events and experiences that draw on genuine field credibility rather than borrowed authority.
Brand & Content Partnerships
Longer-term brand collaborations where authenticity and hands-on expertise matter to the outcome.
Speaking & media
Press, podcast, TV and event contribution from someone working the subject day to day, not a talking head.
Interviews
Print, radio and broadcast interviews on truffle hunting, dog training and UK and European truffle operations.
Conference & event talks
Speaking engagements for agricultural, hospitality and food industry events, and truffle-specific conferences.
Podcast & written commentary
Podcast guest appearances and written expert commentary or quotes for articles and industry publications.
From a single dog to 50,000 trees
Ben Sweet started training truffle dogs in 2021, working with his own dog Buddy before going on to train other owners through structured, positive-reinforcement methods. That work grew into something larger: large-scale commercial orchards, spanning multiple hectares, tens of thousands of trees, and multiple dogs and handlers, began asking for help.
At that scale, dog performance, harvest protocols and operational systems stop being a nice-to-have. They directly affect yield, labour efficiency, sustainability and profitability. That progression, from training individual dogs to advising commercial harvest operations, is what created TCPO.
The approach stays the same at every scale: observation before recommendation, data over assumption, and practical, field-tested adjustments rather than theory. The same principles used to train a high-performing dog, clarity, structure, feedback and continual refinement, apply just as well to a whole harvest system.
- Founder, Truffle Forager and the UK Truffle Festival
- IMDT OCN-certified dog trainer
- Training truffle dogs since 2021, UK and international fieldwork
- 4x harvest efficiency result on a 50,000-tree French orchard
Every scale, one standard
From small woodland and estate owners to enterprise-scale commercial orchards. Want to train your own pet dog to hunt truffles? Our training programmes are the better place to start.
Woodland & estate owners
A single owner or estate with one dog and a defined patch of ground, wanting a professional, independent read on performance or potential.
Growing operations
Orchards moving from a hobby footing to a working harvest, adding dogs, handlers or acreage and needing the operational side to keep pace.
Commercial orchards
Multi-hectare operations running multiple dogs and handlers across tens of thousands of trees, where small operational gains compound into significant returns.
The consulting approach
Observation before recommendation. We watch how your dogs, handlers and harvest actually work before suggesting anything changes.
Data-led, not assumptions. Time-on-task, search patterns and outcomes are recorded and reviewed, not guessed at.
Practical, field-tested adjustments. Every recommendation has been used on real ground, not drawn from theory.
Clear reporting. You get findings written up in a way that supports the decisions you actually need to make.
Independent and confidential. TCPO is aligned with your orchard's performance, not with selling a product. Discretion is standard on every engagement.
TCPO FAQs
TCPO stands for Truffle Canine Performance & Operations Consulting. It is the professional consulting arm of Truffle Forager, focused on truffle dog performance and harvest operations rather than dog training for individual pet owners.
No. TCPO works alongside your agronomist or orchard manager on the canine and operational side of harvesting. Soil, tree stock and inoculation decisions stay with your agronomy team.
No. TCPO works across the full range, from a single woodland or estate owner with one dog through to commercial operations running tens of thousands of trees. The scale of the engagement is matched to the scale of your operation.
Yes. TCPO is UK-based but works internationally, including a flagship multi-week engagement with a 50,000-tree commercial orchard in France. Get in touch regardless of location and we will let you know what is possible.
It depends entirely on the scope, whether that's a single site visit or a multi-week operational review. Enquire and we will give you a straight quote once we understand the brief.
Yes. TCPO is for landowners, estates and commercial operations. If you are an individual wanting to train your own dog to find truffles, that sits under Truffle Dog Training instead.
Start a conversation
Whether it's a single-dog woodland or a commercial orchard running tens of thousands of trees, enquiries are handled directly and confidentially. No pressure, no obligation, just a straight answer on whether TCPO is a fit for your operation.
Every enquiry is reviewed personally, usually within a couple of days.