The Great British Truffle Festival in East Sussex shows how owners can keep their dogs ‘happy and contented’

The event, organised by Melissa Waddingham, is on Saturday, November 16 (9am-5pm), at Plumpton Racecourse. Visit thegreatbritishtrufflefestival.co.uk.

Melissa, 60, is a dog owner and the founder of Truffle and Mushroom Hunter, which gives people the chance to hunt truffles in all parts of Sussex.

She came up with the idea for the festival ‘many years ago’. Melissa said: “In about 2008, when I started to have a much greater interest in truffles, there wasn’t really a lot around about then. There was a lovely lady called Marion Dean who did a truffle competition and she was one of a small handful of people who were starting to raise awareness and train dogs and just talk about truffles publicly.”

Melissa took part in one of Marion’s truffle hound competitions with the first dog she was training in around 2010 as a self-described ‘novice’. She loved these events so she started her own in 2022.

The Great British Truffle Festival aims to bring together truffle enthusiasts of all skill levels, as well as experts, dog lovers, foodies and nature enthusiasts. There will be workshops, a have-a-go-arena and cooking demonstrations, plus The Truffle Hound Competition, which is split into bronze, silver and gold categories.

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Melissa said this competition is ‘a great opportunity when you’re teaching your dog to see where you’re at’. She said: “It’s a great benchmark because sometimes some of these hobbies are a bit isolated. You tend to do these things on your own and you’ve got nothing to compare with.”

Melissa continued: “There’s lot of reasons people like to do it. Primarily to have an end result of a really beautiful truffle because it’s perceived as a delicacy and a luxury food.”

But she said the main reason to go truffle hunting is because it creates a ‘fantastic bond’ between an owner and their dog: “You work on a greater level than just having a family pet.”

Melissa said: “It’s such a lovely working relationship and you can’t do it without each other.”

She added: “Primarily people want something for their dog to do because it’s really stimulating and this is why a lot of other people do scent work and with various different odours."

She said: “Dogs are physically doing what they’re supposed to and they come back and eat and go to sleep and you have a really happy and contented dog. All my dogs live that kind of lifestyle.”

Melissa added that it is also beneficial for the mental health of owners to get out in the countryside.

The upcoming festival will have smaller fun contests too, for Best Dressed Hound and Hunter, Best Dressed Pooch and Top Sniffer. There will be plenty of stands about subjects related to truffles, as well as truffles for sale and scientific talks.

Melissa said: “It’s not just about hunting, it’s about the whole science and the whole ecology and sustainability and wanting to improve things around us as rather than do any damage.”