Can I ask does anyones dogs have jobs other than truffle hunting. My Flat Coat pup will eventually be a working gun dog. However I’m still hoping to sent train for truffles. Just hope I’m not asking too much.

Share you aha moments, questions and feedback here.

Hi I am Natalie below are pics of my Flat Coat retriever Tallie. She is a Ronevorg Flat Coat and is 3/4 Swedish. Tallie was five months old on Friday. We live in Worcester and are really looking forward to 🤞🏻train to find truffles and go off and have adventures. Myself I am a complete novice to Truffle hunting. I had a one day Truffle experience day last year with The English Truffle company and knew that this was something I wanted to do for myself. I love being outdoors, I love dogs, I love food. I’m a natural finder/forager/treasure hunter. It could be shells, sea glass, fungi, treasure (yes I asked for a metal detector for Mother’s Day). Really looking forward to being part of this community. Thank you Ben for setting this up.

We had a ruff day last week, whilst having a tooth removed Ralph had a cardiac arrest. Thankfully the team were quick to react and here he is resting at home. Heading to mature native woodlands tomorrow for a bit more training and exploring.

I must be honest—I never used to think much about the "rules" of truffle hunting. But as this hobby becomes more popular, I feel it’s an important topic to discuss. I imagine new members joining our club will be eager to ask, “Where can I go to hunt truffles in the UK?” In other words, asking others to reveal their secret truffle spots—places that likely took a LONG time and effort to find. This got me thinking, and I wanted to start a conversation with all of you to help us decide what should—and shouldn’t—be considered ‘unwritten rules’ within our club (and beyond, for that matter). To share or not to share—that’s the question. This is something I’ve seen come up a lot in foraging circles: how we treat the “secret spots” we’ve worked so hard to discover. I get it. If you’ve been searching for truffles for what feels like forever and keep coming up empty-handed, it’s frustrating. Trust me, I’ve been there, and I’m there again now since moving to new digs. But here’s the thing—finding truffles isn’t just about hitting the jackpot. It’s about the journey, learning the craft, and exploring the outdoors with your dog. Now, let’s talk about these ‘unwritten rules.’ Some feel that asking for specific truffle locations—especially GPS coordinates or “What Three Words” spots—is a bit rude and certainly it's lazy. And I tend to agree. Why? Because finding these places typically takes hours of research, footwork, and a lot of trial and error (which is part of the joy—don’t rob yourself of this experience!). That said, it doesn’t mean we can’t help each other. Sharing information on environmental factors to look out for—like tree species, soil types, or general areas—is, to me, totally fine and a great way to support each other’s learning. Pointing people toward helpful research, books, or resources is also great. But directly asking someone for their truffle hotspot for free without building much of a connection with that person? That’s where I think it crosses the line.