Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Fresh Air Up First Featured Embedded The NPR Politics Podcast Throughline Trump's Terms More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics In Oregon, a dog competition tries to get more dogs into truffle hunting Organizers of a truffle dog championship for amateurs in Oregon hope it will draw more people to truffle hunting with dogs, which some experts say could improve the Pacific Northwest's truffle crop. National In Oregon, a dog competition tries to get more dogs into truffle hunting February 9, 20265:10 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered From By Crystal Ligori In Oregon, a dog competition tries to get more dogs into truffle hunting Listen · 4:08 4:08 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5693205/nx-s1-9641566" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Organizers of a truffle dog championship for amateurs in Oregon hope it will draw more people to truffle hunting with dogs, which some experts say could improve the Pacific Northwest's truffle crop. Sponsor Message
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The delicacy of truffles has long been associated with Italy, France and Spain. But there is a growing movement in Oregon to put native truffles there on the culinary map. To that end, last week in Eugene, there was a dog competition built around finding those treasures in the Oregon Woods. Oregon Public Broadcasting's Crystal Ligori reports.
CRYSTAL LIGORI, BYLINE: It all starts in a dirt-filled arena about two hours outside of Portland. Thirty-four dogs are here to compete in the 12th annual Joriad North American Truffle Dog Championship.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: All right, dogs ready? Trainers ready? Three, two, one, start.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG SNIFFING)
LIGORI: The dogs compete three at a time, frantically trying to sniff out the pungent aroma of an Oregon white truffle in rows of dirt-filled boxes. From the stands, it's quiet until...
UNIDENTIFIED CONTESTANT: Truffles.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Truffles.
(APPLAUSE)
LIGORI: The competition is part of the Oregon Truffle Festival, which for two decades has been trying to spread the word about the fragrant local fungi. Charles Lefevre has a Ph.D. in forest mycology and owns a company that specializes in truffle cultivation. He cofounded the truffle festival and created the dog competition. And he says Oregon truffles should get more recognition.
CHARLES LEFEVRE: Our experience was that the Oregon truffles, they were much better than their price and their reputation suggested.
LIGORI: According to Lefevre, Oregon truffles still aren't as valuable as truffles from Europe. He says they may go for about $750 a pound, compared to some Italian white truffles, which can be priced anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000 per pound. Lefevre says while truffles are ubiquitous from northern California all the way up into British Columbia, finding the ones you want to eat requires help.
LEFEVRE: A truffle has to be fully mature and then ripe like a fruit. Think of it like a peach. And the dog's job is to choose those truffles that are ripe and leave the rest in the ground to continue to ripen.
LIGORI: According to Lefevre, the alternative is what's called raking, where foragers use a rake and significantly disturb the dirt and duff around trees to find truffles growing within the root systems. The problem is that not only does raking tear up the forest floor, it's indiscriminate, collecting both ripe and unripe truffles. And Lefevre says a person can't tell the difference except by taste, but dogs can smell it.
LEFEVRE: By just introducing truffle dogs, we could dramatically elevate the quality of the truffles on the market and ultimately their reputation.
LIGORI: Pigs have fallen out of favor to hunt truffles because...
LESLIE SCOTT: They couldn't pull the female sows off the truffles fast enough.
LIGORI: That's Leslie Scott, who cofounded the Oregon Truffle Festival with her husband, Lefevre. She explained that pigs love to eat truffles a little too much and naturally seek them out. Dogs have to be trained to find them but are less likely to eat them. Lefevre and Scott created this competition to start building excitement around truffle dogs because...
LEFEVRE: We needed to build a labor force.
LIGORI: However, all the competitors are amateurs, and a lot of them are here to have fun rather than go for a career in truffle hunting. Here's Brian Norman, who won first place with his dog, Lazlo.
BRIAN NORMAN: I'm in wine, so it comes with food and bev and gastronomy. We give them to friends in restaurants, and it really is a great tool to start a conversation about food, about wine, and it's beautiful to understand the land here.
LIGORI: The competitors who want to remain hobbyists say it's because the work is physically demanding, and the harvest can be inconsistent because it's dependent on the environment. But there are some people who do the competition and later try to hunt truffles professionally. Scott and Lefevre acknowledge it's an uphill battle to get more dogs and people into the industry full time, but they hope that interest will grow.
SCOTT: Creating culture takes a while (laughter).
LIGORI: For NPR News, I'm Crystal Ligori in Eugene.
(SOUNDBITE OF POST MALONE SONG, "SOCIALITE") Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();