"Anyone thinking of doing the Zoom truffle hound training with Melissa then do it, you certainly won’t be disappointed.
I discovered Melissa thanks to good old google and booked a private truffle hunting lesson with her and my girl Dream.
I’d been doing scent work with Dream for a while, my end goal always being to find truffles so imagine my excitement when we did on our first ever real foray.
Melissa took us out with her two fabulous dogs and I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.......within minutes they were finding truffles, just fabulous to watch.
Melissa’s knowledge and expertise is incredible. She explains in depth all about truffles, what signs to look for, how to check and smell that a truffle is there and all the while being very careful and respectful of the woodland.
With all that in mind and Melissa’s help it wasn’t long before Dream found her first truffle. Imagine my excitement when she indicated on the ground and hiding under that exact spot was her first ever real truffle find!
We had a fabulous time and booked another private lesson not long afterwards and again we were successful.
I can’t thank Melissa enough. Sadly we don’t live in a truffle area so our time and opportunity to go truffle hunting is limited. Really hoping we find more this year and looking forward to seeing Melissa again for some more exciting truffle forays!"
Nicky and Dream x
Roni Guetta
2021-02-26, 11:40
From Roni Guetta : We had our intro to truffle hunting session with Mel. And I couldn't recommend it enough. She gave us great tips and exercises, and we have been having such a fun time with our doggie.
She has loved the games and challenges, and can't get enough of looking for truffle in the house - early days ?
We can't wait to go into the woods with her next winter. I totally recommend if you like the woods and want an activity to do with your furry friend.
Plus a picture of Lupa enjoying her rest after some play
Thank you Roni and Charlotte
Joe Toley
2021-02-26, 11:38
Thank you Joe Toley for such a detailed and kind review:
"Wow! Just finished my first session with Melissa and found her passion for truffles and training extremely motivating. Melissa was so quick to read the abilities of Winnie (my spoilt cockapoo) and provide the right training exercises that were both challenging and enjoyable for her. It was really rewarding to witness Winnie's progress in such a short amount of time and understand how she was thinking and learning with each exercise we completed.
The 'online' training aspect worked extremely well and Melissa was able to provide clear advice and guidance on training techniques. I have come away from the session feeling motivated and with a clear training path for progression which is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you Melissa and look forward to another session with you to develop our skills further!"
Steph Hicks
2021-02-15, 19:42
We had a great first Truffle dog training session with our Spaniel and (amazingly!) with Melissa on Zoom! We were so impressed that we managed to have such a useful session despite her not being there in person because of COVID. Really excited to get going on all the training and put her top tips into practice.
Rob Edlin
2021-02-02, 07:55
Melissa is a great, knowledgeable and friendly trainer, we enjoyed a great session with our young Working Cocker Spaniel in some woodland for his first truffle hunt, after the expert guidance from Melissa he found autumn truffles and we learnt how to help him hunt more efficiently and understand his behaviour.
Following on from this session and after searching and finding our own secret locations, we now have one of his puppies and used the same techniques learnt to train him too and we now have two exceptional truffle hunting dogs.
In addition to truffles, the dogs are now trained to find porcini, chanterelle and even chicken of the woods with them sniffing the air and looking up rather than just on the ground.
I think it's amazing that Melissa is offering remote zoom training, with her exceptional knowledge you're sure to improve your own knowledge and help your dog enjoy hunting with you and gain insight into this otherwise quite secretive world.
Thank you again
Rob, Andrea & Barney and Patch of course!
Julia
2013-11-17, 17:15
A Lovely message from one of my clients to myself and Iona Fraser:Lovely ladies
Thank you so much for a truly mind altering experience, you have opened a door into nature that will help my clients my children's clients and spread the word for generations to come. I think turkey tail is amazing and want to start giving it to two of my clients, one with breast cancer the other with lymes.To reclaim the lost knowledge by working with gifted practitioners is an honour and i thank you.
I cant believe how much we found and would like to do the walk all over again.let me know if there are any space on the other bioblitz forays i would love to help .
all the best
Julia
Bryan and Honour Hayes
2013-10-20, 23:14
Dear Melissa,
Just wanted to say thank you so much for the walk today. Bryan and I found it hugely interesting, certainly very informative and well organised. Thank you so much.
Do please let us know if there are other walks.
Sorry not to say goodbye but both got very wet and cold! Next time will dress more appropriately!
With kind regards,
Bryan and Honor Hayes
Bill Rendallon
2012-12-12, 10:11
And I was part of the party. Nothing really that I can add to Neil’s comments except that I had my truffle on an omelette and very good it was too. Perhaps the truffle was elusive; it certainly wasn’t illusory.
Bill.
Pat
2012-12-10, 20:13
Hi Melissa
I just wanted to say thank you for such a brilliant new experience even though the weather was cold and wet. I have walked over the Southwick downs for over 15 years and never realised that such a variety of fungi existed up there when you look closely enough. I have never heard of the puff ball mushroom and it was amazing to see it especially in comparison to the tiny fungi. Thank you for sharing your expertise and making the day so interesting.
Love to do this again
Many thanks Pat
Sally Houghton
2012-12-05, 23:12
Dear Melissa,
just to thank you for last Saturday, even though there were no truffles to be found! Maybe next year we will join you on a mushroom foray then we should have better luck.
The weather last Saturday just wasn't in our favour but never mind it was still a good day,
Thanks again Sally and Ian Houghton
Neil Thomas
2012-12-02, 21:00
I went on Truffle Foray today with Melissa and Zebedee. It was a crisp and cold day in West Sussex but the excitement of the hunt kept the party warm!It was an eventful morning with sightings of lots of potential truffle homes, but alas they were all bereft of the fantastical fruit. Zebedee kept up the pace and we were rewarded at the end of the day with 4 truffles! – Thank you Melissa and Zebedee whose keen noses smelt out the truffles. I’m about to have mine on my wild mushroom risotto now along with the hedgehog mushrooms we foraged – yummy. Great fun, fabulous countryside and a rewarding adventure with lots learned about the illusive truffle. I would recommend a guided foray anytime with Melissa and Zebedee. Good luck with the next one.
Regards,
Neil Thomas
Kim Farr
2012-11-17, 23:09
Thank you for a wonderful day, I had so much fun and think I might have the fungi bug !!! Just gutted that Nat and Charlie didn't come as I know they would of loved it too !!
Iona Fraser
2012-11-05, 23:05
Theres the little fella! Had a great day foraging for truffles - thank you melissa.
Iona Fraser
Carol Woodcock
2012-10-28, 10:06
Very cold and wet afternoon but was amazed at howmany we found. Thank you and your team for your time and expertise
Barbara Abbs
2012-10-25, 12:29
Thank you for a wonderful day truffle-hunting in East Sussex. Never thought we’d find any but we did and it was fascinating watching Zebedee at work.
I also enjoyed learning about the ecology of the wood and spotting many different types of mushroom.
Liam Knapp
2012-10-17, 13:30
Hi Melissa,
What a fantastic day! Had so much fun, Bowski obviously enjoyed himself, he was snoring like a pig in the car on the way back. We are going out this weekend to do some more training and try our luck!
I have passed your blog on to my mate Matt at The Ethicurean after raving about you. I hope you’ll be able to do something together!
http://theethicurean.wordpress.com/
I’ll let you know how we get on,
Liam
Anna Keleher
2011-12-09, 20:59
Hi Melissa,
Many thanks for sharing your expert knowledge and skills of truffling with Ghyllie and I. The truffle hound training session we did at your home was powerful, fun, relaxed and focused. You and your son, also made us feel welcomed into your home and its important to establish trust.
The activities and games you set up for us have given impressive results so that we’re already out there searching for wild truffles at home. Looking forward to many hours of happy hunting this winter.
A shame I didn’t have time this trip to take our training experience a step further going to the woods under your guidance. But…luckily for me Ghyllie is already pointing out the truffles with his paw, so now I have only to fetch a trowel and see if what he is telling me is TRUFFLE.
"Anyone thinking of doing the Zoom truffle hound training with Melissa then do it, you certainly won’t be disappointed.
I discovered Melissa thanks to good old google and booked a private truffle hunting lesson with her and my girl Dream.
I’d been doing scent work with Dream for a while, my end goal always being to find truffles so imagine my excitement when we did on our first ever real foray.
Melissa took us out with her two fabulous dogs and I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.......within minutes they were finding truffles, just fabulous to watch.
Melissa’s knowledge and expertise is incredible. She explains in depth all about truffles, what signs to look for, how to check and smell that a truffle is there and all the while being very careful and respectful of the woodland.
With all that in mind and Melissa’s help it wasn’t long before Dream found her first truffle. Imagine my excitement when she indicated on the ground and hiding under that exact spot was her first ever real truffle find!
We had a fabulous time and booked another private lesson not long afterwards and again we were successful.
I can’t thank Melissa enough. Sadly we don’t live in a truffle area so our time and opportunity to go truffle hunting is limited. Really hoping we find more this year and looking forward to seeing Melissa again for some more exciting truffle forays!"
Nicky and Dream x
She has loved the games and challenges, and can't get enough of looking for truffle in the house - early days ?
We can't wait to go into the woods with her next winter. I totally recommend if you like the woods and want an activity to do with your furry friend.
Plus a picture of Lupa enjoying her rest after some play
Thank you Roni and Charlotte
"Wow! Just finished my first session with Melissa and found her passion for truffles and training extremely motivating. Melissa was so quick to read the abilities of Winnie (my spoilt cockapoo) and provide the right training exercises that were both challenging and enjoyable for her. It was really rewarding to witness Winnie's progress in such a short amount of time and understand how she was thinking and learning with each exercise we completed.
The 'online' training aspect worked extremely well and Melissa was able to provide clear advice and guidance on training techniques. I have come away from the session feeling motivated and with a clear training path for progression which is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you Melissa and look forward to another session with you to develop our skills further!"
Following on from this session and after searching and finding our own secret locations, we now have one of his puppies and used the same techniques learnt to train him too and we now have two exceptional truffle hunting dogs.
In addition to truffles, the dogs are now trained to find porcini, chanterelle and even chicken of the woods with them sniffing the air and looking up rather than just on the ground.
I think it's amazing that Melissa is offering remote zoom training, with her exceptional knowledge you're sure to improve your own knowledge and help your dog enjoy hunting with you and gain insight into this otherwise quite secretive world.
Thank you again
Rob, Andrea & Barney and Patch of course!
Thank you so much for a truly mind altering experience, you have opened a door into nature that will help my clients my children's clients and spread the word for generations to come. I think turkey tail is amazing and want to start giving it to two of my clients, one with breast cancer the other with lymes.To reclaim the lost knowledge by working with gifted practitioners is an honour and i thank you.
I cant believe how much we found and would like to do the walk all over again.let me know if there are any space on the other bioblitz forays i would love to help .
all the best
Julia
Just wanted to say thank you so much for the walk today. Bryan and I found it hugely interesting, certainly very informative and well organised. Thank you so much.
Do please let us know if there are other walks.
Sorry not to say goodbye but both got very wet and cold! Next time will dress more appropriately!
With kind regards,
Bryan and Honor Hayes
Bill.
I just wanted to say thank you for such a brilliant new experience even though the weather was cold and wet. I have walked over the Southwick downs for over 15 years and never realised that such a variety of fungi existed up there when you look closely enough. I have never heard of the puff ball mushroom and it was amazing to see it especially in comparison to the tiny fungi. Thank you for sharing your expertise and making the day so interesting.
Love to do this again
Many thanks Pat
just to thank you for last Saturday, even though there were no truffles to be found! Maybe next year we will join you on a mushroom foray then we should have better luck.
The weather last Saturday just wasn't in our favour but never mind it was still a good day,
Thanks again Sally and Ian Houghton
Regards,
Neil Thomas
Iona Fraser
I also enjoyed learning about the ecology of the wood and spotting many different types of mushroom.
What a fantastic day! Had so much fun, Bowski obviously enjoyed himself, he was snoring like a pig in the car on the way back. We are going out this weekend to do some more training and try our luck!
I have passed your blog on to my mate Matt at The Ethicurean after raving about you. I hope you’ll be able to do something together!
http://theethicurean.wordpress.com/
I’ll let you know how we get on,
Liam
Many thanks for sharing your expert knowledge and skills of truffling with Ghyllie and I. The truffle hound training session we did at your home was powerful, fun, relaxed and focused. You and your son, also made us feel welcomed into your home and its important to establish trust.
The activities and games you set up for us have given impressive results so that we’re already out there searching for wild truffles at home. Looking forward to many hours of happy hunting this winter.
A shame I didn’t have time this trip to take our training experience a step further going to the woods under your guidance. But…luckily for me Ghyllie is already pointing out the truffles with his paw, so now I have only to fetch a trowel and see if what he is telling me is TRUFFLE.
Happy Hunting