Pigs naturally forage and rout (dig for food) in the ground with their snouts and are keen lovers of truffles themselves and will happily gobble them up if not trained to eat something else as a reward. Pigs were traditionally used in Europe to hunt for truffles because they can detect truffles at great depths, and required little to no training. In some locations using sows is still the preferred method, however the popularity and ease of use of hunting with dogs has taken precedence over the last century.

