From around the World

Part VII

Truffle Dogs

Okay, hands up any of you who have eaten a truffle, and I don’t mean the chocolate kind! Now, I must confess I have never tasted this particular delicacy, and I have also never trained a truffle dog. Something must be sorely lacking on my CV.

At the top of the tree in the truffle discovery stakes is a breed of dog that is virtually unheard of outside this specialist world

The Lagotto Romagnolo is a small—to medium-sized Italian breed of dog that was historically used as a gun dog but has secured its reputation as probably the greatest exponent of the art of finding truffles. It is often mistaken for a “doodle” type dog, particularly with its appealing fluffy appearance. With its adorable looks, it is also becoming a much-favoured family pet.

Technically, any type of dog can be a truffle hunter, but the best will be working breeds, including Labradors, German Shepherds, Springer Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, and Belgian Malinois.

More about truffles

Despite the truffle being a fungus, it is not a mushroom as it is found underground.

There are white and black truffles, and the price depends on various factors. There is a huge discrepancy price-wise between the white and black truffles.

As of March 2025, the retail price of a white truffle is $4000 per pound.

The black will only fetch between $300 and $800 per pound.

As I understand it, originally, the pig was the favoured animal for the truffle hunters. However, the difficulty was that the pig not only could find the truffle but also adored eating it. So, the battle started as the human attempted to seize the truffle before the pig consumed the delicacy. In so many instances, the pig won!

So, with truffles going for such amounts of money, it is not surprising that the price of a top-of-the-range Lagotto Romagnolo is anywhere between $1500 and $4000. Bearing in mind the financial rewards earned by professional truffle hunters, I’m very surprised that they are not even more expensive.

So, how many of you are considering a career change?

Saving the unborn

The Akita. A large dog native to Japan and is known worldwide as the Japanese Akita, however, they are popular and bred in the USA and unsurprisingly sometimes referred to as an American Akita.

Accoucheur. Male midwife (Old English, very rarely used, not even sure of the pronunciation.)

Now, before we get into this story, it will be obvious from the beginning that, as a mere male, I have no understanding of the intricacies of pregnancy and childbirth. Therefore, not being a doctor or a qualified accountant, my only claim to fame in this department is assisting a canine mum in delivering puppies. Unlike their human counterparts, dogs appear to shell them out like peas and only require minimal assistance. The only noticeable difference is the numbers. Most ladies, unless fertility treatment is involved, give birth to one or two babies. However, the canine mum does the multiple birth bit. My record in the assisting department is 12, Joy noted gleefully that the dog showed no signs of distress or exhaustion I, however, was shattered. I have come to the conclusion that if us males were to do the pregnancy thing the population of the planet would crash, however, I digress.

Alhanna and Ricky Butler were ecstatic. Alhanna was pregnant. As a conscientious prospective mum, she tried to do everything right. Exercise, vitamins, and diet were a top priority, and she followed each aspect religiously, but despite this, her health declined. As I understand, it is very easy to assume that any health issues would be the result of the body’s reaction to pregnancy.

To make matters worse, their Akita dog, Keola, started to display some very odd behaviour. She barked at Alhanna and stared intently at the “bump.” So much so that the couple became very concerned that the reaction of their beloved pet was now becoming a cause for concern. Was this a jealousy issue? What would happen when the baby was born? Could Keolabe be trusted? Would they have to rehome her?

A visit to the doctor did not being any relief as he explained that these reactions were normal and Alhanna returned home.

Fortunately, Keola knew better.

Far from happy

The dog continued to stare at her mistress, started to gently nudge, and sometimes howled. Keola was not happy—far from it—she was decidedly distressed. This caused Alhanna to make another appointment with a doctor. The diagnosis was immediate.

Alhanna had a double kidney infection so severe that her life was in danger, as was the life of her unborn child. Because of the delay in recognising the life-threatening condition, it was advanced, making treatment difficult.

Fortunately, with the medication and the care Alhanna received, she made a complete recovery and was able to carry her baby full term.

Baby Simon and Keola are now the best of mates and it’s fair to say it’s not often the family dog saves the life of the child before he is even born!!

In a previous blog, I jokingly suggested that maybe before we see the doctor, we will in the future walk past a line of dogs who will be able to spot what we are suffering from, and the doctor will be able to prescribe the appropriate medication. With dogs’ ability to smell infections, cancers, and other medical conditions, maybe it’s not so fanciful after all.

Out of the mouths of babes

Why do dogs have such short lives?

This story has been widely reported without the name of the veterinarian so I am unable to ascertain the veracity of the tale, however, the sentiment is what matters and answers the question that we all have asked.

A veterinarian examined a 10 year old Irish Wolfhound and found it to be suffering from terminal cancer. It was agreed that the vet would visit the clients home the following day and he would put the giant dog to sleep in the comfort of his own home. The vet arrived to carry out the task and found his clients waiting with their 6 year old son. Rob and Lisa thought that their son Shane would benefit from the experience even if it was to be a sad one.

The deed was done and the discussion between the adults turned to the short lives that dogs have compared to humans. The young lad showed no signs of distress which was unexpected as the dog had been his constant companion all of his life but at this point he interrupted and informed them why dogs have such short lives.

“People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody all of the time and being nice, right. Well dogs already know how to do that so they don’t need to stay as long as we do.”