Truffle hunting in Italy: one man and his dog

Although all the honour in truffle hunting goes to the dogs, watching a hunter at work, it's clear that it is the hunter's good instinct, feel for the terrain and experience that focuses the dog and makes or breaks a hunting trip. Apart from directing the dog to the right places, the hunter makes sure that when the dog does find a truffle  it doesn't eat it, sometimes even opening up the dog's mouth to fish out a precious truffle worth hundred of pounds from deep in the canine's mouth. Watching the hunter and his dog at work is to witness the perfect poetry of man and beast in harmony, a love so deep that the dog is willing to give up the much-desired truffle, and the hunter… well, Serafino described it like this: 'Of course I love my wife. But my dogs?? That's just something else...'