Hello, As long as your dog shows good potential for that type of work, it should not be too late. A lot of the success with truffle hunting starting with an adult dog depends on the individual dog and the presence or absence of any current habits they may have that would make off leash work and focus while outside hard, as well as pup's natural scenting ability. If pup is responsive off leash or shows good potential to be able to be trained at an off-leash level, and tends to use their nose for other things, like treat hiding games, finding food when its dropped, sniffing animal smells, or locating you when they don't know where you are - then they probably have a good scenting ability that could be directed to truffle hunting. Truffle hunting requires a dog who can focus and has a sensitive nose. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Jan. 31, 2023

Hello, Since he is finding some, that's actually pretty good for his age at this point in his training. Are you rewarding when he finds them, to really build his excitement about looking for them? I would keep things fun at this age, expecting that some distraction is normal this young, and really making it worthwhile when he does well. He likely needs practice more than anything else, and a bit of maturity. Just be sure to keep the training something he enjoys at this stage. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Dec. 27, 2022

Hello, I would pay attention to whether the parents of the puppy have succeeded at anything involving scent work, like service dog work involving detecting something by scent, or tracking works like barn hunts. Generally the Maltese was not breed for its scenting ability. Poodles can have a good sense of smell if that trait was retrained in the lineage of the puppy you get. Whether your puppy inherits the sense of smell and focus needed for truffle hunting is going to depend a lot on the individual. Choosing a puppy whose parents have some sort of history of scent work even for other things besides truffle finding, would increase your chances of getting a puppy who is able. Another consideration is the Maltipoo's size and exercise abilities. Tracking can involve covered a lot of ground unless you already know of a site where you are likely to find truffles and can carry pup to to save their energy for exploring the local area. If you are getting a Maltipoo regardless of truffle hunting abilities, then I would say practice playing scent games while the puppy is young to see if they seen to have a good sense of smell. If they do, then why not try to teach pup? Learning new things can be beneficial to a dog either way. If you need a dog who you know will succeed at truffle hunting, then I would choose a breed that's known for their good sense of smell instead of a Maltipoo. Also, it's not a silly question when you genuinely don't know and want to know the answer. That's just learning. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Nov. 7, 2022

Hello Pam, I suggest working on the structure of your walk first. You want pup to be working during the walk - having to stay behind you, focus on you, perform commands periodically, and not have his mind on scanning the area in search of others. The walk should start with him having to exit your home very calmly, performing obedience commands at the door if he isn't calm. He should wait for permission ("Okay" or "Free" or "Let's Go") before going through the door instead of bolting through if that's an issue. When you walk he should be in the heel position - with his head behind your leg. That position decreases his arousal, reduces stress because he isn't the one in charge and the one encountering things first. It prevents him from scanning for others, staring down, and ignoring you behind him. It also requires him to be in a more submissive, structured, focused, calmer mindset - which has a direct effect on how aroused, stressed, and aggressive he is - it makes him feel like the responsibility is on your shoulders not his around others. Additionally, when you do pass others, as soon as he starts staring them down, interrupt him. Don't tolerate challenging stares. If pup has ever redirected aggression toward you while aroused, I would start by desensitizing pup to wearing a basket muzzle, so the muzzle can be used to keep you safe while working through the training. Remind him with a gentle correction that you are leading the walk and he is not allowed to break his heel or stare another down. It is far easier to deal with reactivity when you interrupt a dog early in the process - before they are highly aroused and full of adrenaline and cortisol, and to keep the dog in a less aroused/calmer state to begin with. This also makes the walk more pleasant for him in the long-run. Leading the walk this way can actually boost a dog's confidence in the long run around others because the dog feels like you will handle the situation so they can relax. Thresholds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-w28C2g68M Heel article - The turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel Reactive dog - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY8s_MlqDNE Severely aggressive dog – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfiDe0GNnLQ&t=259s Outside of the walk you can work on building pup's trust and respect for you in other ways too to help his confidence. The following commands and exercises are also good for that: Agility/obstacles for building confidence if nervous in general: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvtxiDW6g0 Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5DVPWIWo Any tricks that challenge him mentally, require impulse control, and equal him learning new things successfully. A long down stay around distractions is a good thing to practice during walks periodically. A good way to do introductions with other is to recruit friends and use the Passing Approach and the Walking together methods from the article linked below, practicing passing a person over and over again and rewarding calm responses from pup. After a few practice session of this, when he can walk calmly side by side with the person finally, go on walks together with pup in a structured, focused heel. If pup is a bite risk with another person, a basket muzzle should be used and enough distance to keep the other person safe while walking kept. Pup's tools should also be ones that allow you to safely control pup during the walk and pup not be able to slip a collar or pull you over to someone. Repeat this with lots of different dogs and people, one or two at a time. https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs When he greets people, take safety measures like a leash or basket muzzle that he has been desensitized to ahead of time, and you can also have the other person toss him treats when he is being calm from a distance he is comfortable with. When he is okay with people approaching with lots of practice, then gradually decrease the distance between pup and the person during greetings as he improves. Once he can handle the person being close consistently and respond calmly, have the person give him commands, like Sit, and reward pup's obedience by tossing the treat at pup's paws to increase trust and communication. Finally, when he isn't a bite risk anymore, and is interested in being petting by those he is more comfortable with, have the person briefly pet while feeding a treat at the same time, to desensitize him to being touched by others as well. Again, safety measures need to be taken into consideration and the training moved through gradually, the speed being based on how pup is responding to it, to avoid a bite risk for anyone involved. Ideally a training staff with a trainer you are working with, could help with this part of the training also. Check out this video by Jeff Gellman, who specializes in aggression. Here he demonstrated safety measures (a back tie), when to have people reward a dog (during calmness and not during aggressive displays), and how to appropriately use punishment when treating aggression (with good timing, calmness, and in combination with positive reinforcement for calm behavior and with the appropriate safety measures for your guests). Aggression video: https://youtu.be/mgmRRYK1Z6A For all of this training, I do recommend working in person with a training group that specializes in behavior issues like aggression and reactivity, has multiple trainers on staff to desensitize pup to numerous "strangers" who know how to interact with pup, and will do at least part of the training at your home or locations where pup tends to be reactive at. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Dec. 30, 2021