Introduction to Truffle Hunting Syllabus

The program commences with an introduction to basic groundwork for truffle scent training including games and exercises to strengthen your bond with your canine and boost confidence. It proceeds with a step-by-step guide to include how to create reliable alerts and strengthen searching behaviors.

Objective: By the end of the course most student’s dogs will be able to:

  • Identify the source scent of a truffle.
  • Locate a hidden truffle indoors with limited distractions.
  • Begin developing consistent alert behaviors.

Success Criteria:

  • When presented with more than one identical targets, the dog will correctly identify the one containing truffle scent with at least 80% accuracy.
  • When given a verbal cue, the dog will correctly locate a single hidden target indoors 4 out of 5 times without showing signs of frustration or stress.
  • When locating a truffle scent, the dog demonstrates an initial identifiable alert with 90% consistency.

Lesson Plan:

Week 1:

Designing Sessions for Optimum Learning

Scent Imprinting/ Identifying the Correct Scent

Basic Indoor Box

Week 2:  

Shaping an Alert

How Scent Moves

Week 3: 

Teaching Reliable Alerts

Intermediate Indoor Box Hides

Week 4: 

Advanced indoor box hides

Week 5: 

Advanced Indoor Hides (without boxes)

Week 6: 

Multiple Hot Targets

Scent Discrimination

Exercises and Assignments:

Each lesson will include written instructions and video demonstrations for exercises.

Share This

TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedin