Methods to find truffles - Part VI - Summary Table

Summary Table

Type	Description	Advantages	Disadvantages
Dog	Allowed by law. It is considered the best method. Feeling dog –man and passion in hunting.	Accuracy in identifying. Minimally invasive to the environment. The dog digs only the ripe product (except in rare cases).	The dog is not a robot, you have to know how to handle, it gets tired and it is not infallible. Cost of ownership of the animal.
Pig	Not allowed by law. Archaic method, the oldest. Nice to see.	The pig’s sense of smell is higher than the dog probably.	Invasive and harmful to the environment. Difficult to handle and it eats the truffles. Difficulties in transport. High cost of ownership.
Fly	Not specified in Italy, the law only talk about the dog. French method.	Minimally invasive.	Can be used only at certain times of the year. It needs a lot of passion and skill. Too slow and difficult to apply.
Olfactometer / Electronic Nose	Method in experimental stage.	Minimally invasive. There are not the problems of duration as in dogs.	Difficulty of instrument calibration. Overall dimensions of the equipment. No passion and interaction.
Digging	It is forbidden by the law. This is the method used by the poachers, especially during night.	You can find everything that is underground.	The probability of dig without finding anything is much higher than the other methods. It destroys the environment and you can break/cut the truffle. Risk to collect the immature product.