Suffolk truffle sniffing dog wins prize at UK championships

Last weekend, Nina Roe from Orford and her black Labrador Oscar travelled up to East Sussex to put Oscar’s skills to the test for the very first time.

Since Oscar was a puppy, Nina explained, she has been teaching him to sniff out truffles since he was 14 weeks old.

“I’ve always liked truffles,” said Miss Roe, 38, a freelance chef and owner of the catering company Hay Hay Suffolk.

Nina was delighted when Oscar came in third place this weekend. Image: Nina Roe (Image: Nina Roe)Oscar has been learning to sniff out truffles since he was a puppy. Image: Nina Roe (Image: Nina Roe)

There are few places local to Suffolk where Oscar could hone his craft, with the closest place to find truffles being Thetford, or the Sandringham estate, where trees planted by the late Duke of Edinburgh are laden with ‘black diamonds’.

Miss Roe taught Oscar to hunt truffles by laying artificial scents which she bought online around her garden.

So, when the two of them made the journey up to Plumpton for the championships, she had no idea how Oscar would fare.

However, he took to the task like a duck to water.

Oscar found 4kg of truffles while out exploring the East Sussex countryside. Image: Nina Roe (Image: Nina Roe)

The competing dogs were given 10 minutes to find 10 truffles. The competition was tight, with the winning dog finding all of the concealed truffles, while Oscar found eight.

He came in third place and was rewarded with a silver cup to the delight of his proud owner.

“It was amazing,” Miss Roe said. “We had such a good time.”

While they were out exploring the East Sussex woodland, Oscar continued showing off his talent, finding a whopping 4kg of truffles in just three hours, unearthing a prize for his owner every 30 seconds.

Miss Roe is now planning to make her own truffle-infused products, such as salt, honey and butter.