That Truffling B*tch

Okay, so it's a harsh hilarious title. J came up with it and it literally made me laugh out loud. So it stuck.

But what's important here is: what do you think of when you read "truffles"? If you're anything like me, you instantly have visions of See's Candies dancing around your head. Mmmmm....Chocolate Truffles....
So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered today (for the first time...in my 30's!) that truffles are also known as a certain type of mushrooms! I had no idea!!! I feel like I'm the last to find out!

(I love mushrooms but this picture makes me eeewwww!)

Photo: Fatal Foodies

As if the Internets ever let you leave after just one website, I found out through link-hopping that truffle hogs are used to snort out truffles. One big snag: they tend to eat them once they've located them. It'd be like sending me on a chocolate truffle hunt - I'd somehow never seem to find any. ;) Nom, nom, nom.

Of course, you can guess where this is leading. Enter: Dog the Truffle Hunter!

Dogs aren't too fond of truffles and would prefer something more tasty and less "earthy" as a reward. (Which I don't quite understand, considering how excited the dogs get when walking through a field full of geese...GUH-ROSS!)



Photo: C. Jones

When I visited the webpage Fun Facts About Fungi -- every group has its share of nerds...hello! have you ever been to a dog training convention! We're totally geeky! -- I was pleased as punch to read how the hunters train their dogs. With treats and rewards! Hooray!
Guess what West Coasters!?! This weekend marked the 6th annual Oregon Truffle Festival in Eugene, Oregon, complete with a Truffle Dog Training Seminar, complete with odor detection instruction and everything! Nose work to the max! If Kuna wasn't such a garbage disposal, I'd sign him up for this! But I just can't trust that kid around anything that will fit in between his teeth. (Well, that and the fact that we're on the wrong coast for this particular event.)

So, while I'm totally embarrassed I had no idea what truffles are, I'm super excited to find out about yet another wonderful way dogs animals help out their human friends!!

Go ahead - you can tell me. You totally knew about truffles, truffle hogs and truffle dogs...didn't you? DIDN'T YOU! sigh.