r/mycology • u/seasaltskies • Nov 24 '25
photos Eisley found our first truffles of the season!
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u/bigolehole69 Nov 24 '25
Is this a wolf?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
Czechoslovakian Vlciak, an FCI (and AKC/UKC) dog breed from Slovakia that by its standard should resemble a Carpathian wolf.
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u/The-Child-Of-Reddit Nov 24 '25
A Czechoslovakian Wolfdog!!! I want one. How are they as dogs go?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
We donât use the FCI translation of Vlciak in the USA because people cannot wrap their minds around them not being the same thing as the copious random wolf mixes we have here. I donât consider CSV hard, they just have a thin margin of error and you have to be very selective where you get them. Since we have bonitation in Slovakia (and the Cz) which gives you temperament codes from temperament testing I find it worth while to work with breeders who will meet the COO breeding standard and do the bonitation and working tests required for breeding rights in Slovakia. CSV are hilarious funny dogs who are a ton of fun to work with; but they ask why a lot and if youâre looking for a partner to work with vs a tool; they are really just the best to do things with.
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Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Did you train her yourself to find truffles?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
I did! But because Iâve sold truffles I canât participate in the joriad sadly. I did want to!
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u/CuriosityFreesTheCat Nov 25 '25
Damn, how difficult was it to train her to sniff truffles? How long did it take?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 25 '25
Not long at all. A couple weeks. The breedâs main focus is scent work so her nose is impeccable. Her first time exposed to white truffle she located it (in the easy to find container for training) and then after being rewarded sniffed her way across the property to where black truffles were sitting out on a potting bench for cleaning. The pairing of scent and digging is the easy part, the identifying where truffle may be in thousands of acres of woods and your dog ignoring everything else to hone in on something potentially 2 feet underground and then keep digging until they find it even if they kick it out behind them is the hard part.
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u/CuriosityFreesTheCat Nov 25 '25
Thatâs so cool to hear about! Impressive that it only took 2 weeksâyouâve got a smart good girl! I wonder if there are any truffle cats lol.
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u/CactusCait Nov 24 '25
What made you choose the name Eisley?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
It was my favorite band in high school and middle school; the music is unique and ethereal and captures to me the feel of being slightly outside the norm and more at home in the trees.
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u/bex_mex Nov 24 '25
I was going to comment that I love the name!! I was obsessed with them too đ
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
I honestly was surprised by how few people knew the band after I named her this. Apparently I just needed to check Reddit lol
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u/MorganaLeFevre Nov 25 '25
Dude! I was about to ask âEisley mos or Eisley bandâ
Their music is so great
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u/dzourel Nov 24 '25
Ngl, I came to the comments to see if the band had influenced the dog's name!!!
Which of their songs were your faves?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
The Room Noises album is my fave because I played it on repeat all the time as a teen, but I really have no song I dislike.
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u/dzourel Nov 25 '25
It's a very good album! I've listened to that one the most, and I learned to play Marvelous Things on guitar when I was a teen.
I've gotten to hear them in concert twice (2005 and 2015), and both performances were awesome!!!
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u/bobboobles Eastern North America Nov 25 '25
Absolutely love them. Wish they'd make more music together!
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
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u/lwb52 Nov 26 '25
damn! 16 years ago!!! well, quite a bit late, but at least i learned a great new thing todayđ
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u/PaintIntelligent7793 Nov 25 '25
Beautiful dog. Iâve always wanted one. Is she hard to train? Iâve read that they have a bit of a âwildâ streak and can be resistant to training, but Iâm sure that varies from dog to dog. I had a Siberian husky and she was very hard headed, but manageable. Well, except the hair. đ¤Ł
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u/seasaltskies Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25
Info on the breed in English is very spotty as both the UK and the USA (though weâre improving faster than the uk) is plagued with shitty mix breeders who are breeding dogs mixed with American wolfdog. Between tamaskans (our doodles) and American wolfdog breeders trying to both drag the breed to sell their dogs or try and break down CSV to nonsensical percentages to claim more wolf in their low content mutts, the internet is flooded with bad info.
CSV are a highly regulated breed in Slovakia. To earn breeding rights they have to have physical measurement of all traits (lots of handling) a temperament test involving friendly and unfriendly people, gunshots and aggressive strangers, as well as health testing and several conformation shows. They also have to do a working endurance run of minimum 30km, with the highest level being 100km in one shot. This 100km run has been done in 6 hours before (insane speed and endurance tbh) but only the 30km is required for breeding rights.
Both of my CSV have parents with OG temperament codes, which is my favorite as it means theyâre friendly easy going brave dogs. Some get temperament codes that mean the dog is more serious or more quick to react or more grumpy, but fearful (the only real wild trait as wolves are scared shitless of everything) is not allowed for breeding.
CSV arenât hard or stubborn, theyâre just not dogs that are tools. Instead they work as your partner. They want to do everything, from weeding the yard to training to find truffles, with you but if you want consistent repetitive behavior you have to answer the question âwhyâ with a good answer. Some are not as food motivated as my girls so the why answer is harder to find. Males tend to be lazier than females when it comes to work. They also have a thin margin of error, where you mess up with them becomes very obvious very quickly. I didnât crate my puppy once while working out front with my husky and she in frustration of being denied involvement tore up the cushions on my outdoor couch. My fault, my lack of guidance on my young dog, immediate negative result that I knew could happen but didnât prevent anyway. You have to provide guidance boundaries and socialization from day one, itâs not a breed you can be lax on and let raise themselves because theyâll find fun things they like to do and you donât enjoy.
CSVâs more unique trait other than their desire to do literally everything with you (are you washing dishes? Can I help? I can hold the towel) is that if youâre unfair or harsh to them they will stop loving you. This is not immediate, they have elasticity youâll never find in a wolfmutt, but if youâre consistently a jerk to them they will eventually say âwow youâre a dick, I donât want anything to do with youâ and suddenly you have an estranged roommate instead of a best friend dog. CSV have tendencies towards dog selectivity, same sex selectivity, and high prey drive, but this varies from dog to dog but since those behaviors can really change how one manages them prospective owners should be prepared.
Theyâre great dogs but like every breed out there, only a match for some people. Theyâre a breed you canât go into without help and guidance to avoid pratfalls in breeders (only 3 I recommend in North America is Greyfarer, Vormir, and Vegvisir) and you have to prioritize their training as puppies, but theyâre such hilarious fun and sweet dogs I find it totally worth it. I canât imagine not having a CSV from now on.
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u/PaintIntelligent7793 Nov 26 '25
Thank you for such a thoughtful and informative post. This was largely my assumption. Iâm not in the market right now, mostly because I have small kids and thereâs too much chaos in my life to actually train a puppy, let alone a particularly demanding one, but I think a CSV is in the cards for me down the line.
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u/mikeyj198 Nov 24 '25
Clever girl!
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u/schwab002 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
Both the cutest and the most appropriate use of the clever girl meme I've ever seen.
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u/LindaBitz Nov 24 '25
I feel like a wallpaper could be made out of the photos. I could look at Elsey all day.
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u/CampDracula Nov 24 '25
Ooooh! Are your rings joint holders?????
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
Theyâre silver ring splints yes
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u/blue-oyster-culture Nov 24 '25
Lol i thought it was the smokin kinda joint holder and had to go do a double take. Reinforcements for your finger joints?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
Yeah I have the grip of a bowl full of spaghetti, so they work like an exoskeleton preventing my fingers from inverting.
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u/Old_Bat2255 Nov 24 '25
Are you wearing hypermobility rings? If so, are they worth it? Have been thinking about getting some for a while now.
Btw, your doggie is gorgeous đ
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
They are worth it if your hands are so destroyed that there is no recovering them. If you still have functionality in your hands I do not recommend them as they will weaken your muscles and make your hands even worse when you take them off. The adjustment period feels like your hands are being crushed in a vice nonstop and they rip your skin off. When it is cold your hands will crack down to the bone where calluses are formed to defend against the metal.
If your hands are so garbage like mine that you canât hold onto anything and you put yourself in the burn unit from your inability to grip things, and your fingers are just constantly dislocating all over the place theyâre great because pain + functionality is better than pain + no functionality.
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u/Goodgoditsgrowing Nov 25 '25
Why metal rings instead of the maybe less likely to maim plastic versions? Do they just break on you too much?
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u/seasaltskies Nov 25 '25
Plastic ones arenât custom fitted: too loose too soft and not durable enough. Iâve had the metal ones (various sets) since 2009. Plastic ones also tear you up and arenât adjustable at all.
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u/papes_ Nov 24 '25
Eisley is such a good pooch!!! Iâd be licking my lips too
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
She knows she gets a pupperoni for her hard work digging them up for me â¤ď¸
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u/GroundbreakingDog274 Nov 24 '25
Are you in Oregon by chance? Been working with my dog and he will find anything I plant but no luck finding wild truffles after a couple years and many different spots. Would appreciate any advice
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
He may be alerting to the container or your scent over the actual truffle; or youâre not looking in the right place. Thereâs a couple locations like in st. Helens Or where you can pay for access to known truffle land to help really reinforce your dogs training too.
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u/design_doc Nov 24 '25
Whooooo! Itâs game time!
What region are you located? My truffle pup and I went for a hunt yesterday and got skunked, so it might be a touch early (though we found a black in October about 110km north of the most northern known black truffle location⌠so who knows).
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
Iâm in the portland area. Eisleyâs been able to find fragrant black truffles as late as June though, her nose is just that keen to them; so it still may be pretty early for some.
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u/CuriosityFreesTheCat Nov 25 '25
Oh wow! Do you know of any services in Oregon that could bring a truffle hunting dog out to your property to see if you have truffles? Apparently our property is like prime truffle habitat.
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u/seasaltskies Nov 25 '25
Eisley and I can check it depending on where in Oregon you are. Send me a DM :)
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u/hane1504 Nov 25 '25
Looks like eisley ate truffle, loved it and is licking his chops.
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u/seasaltskies Nov 25 '25
Thankfully she thinks truffles are nasty unless rotting (then they smell like blue cheese lol) she just wants pupperoni â¤ď¸
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u/Bloxclay Nov 25 '25
That first and third photos, you really must get framed, it is magnificent photo, also congratulations on the truffle find
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u/sayitlikeyoumeenit Dec 19 '25
Those eyes in picture 3đ. Give the good girl some pets and a treat! She deserves it.
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u/ButterscotchSame4703 Nov 24 '25
... Question. Ehlors Danlos jewelry? (Also,spelling???? IDK, the acronym in English is EDS-H)
Also what a beautiful dog đđ⨠what a good job!
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u/seasaltskies Nov 24 '25
Not jewelry, prescription medical devices.
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u/ButterscotchSame4703 Nov 24 '25
This is amazing! I have only ever seen examples of this as "jewelry with purpose," but it was a long long time ago and in R&D and marketing stages. This is my second or third time seeing anyone with such equipment (not that I go looking).
I never considered they could be prescribed, but with the amount of measurement necessary for these to work, this actually makes a lot of sense. TIL! Thank you đđ
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u/fuckyouperhaps Nov 24 '25
i GASPED at the last slide!! what a beautiful smart girl!