Emma McPherson

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Emma McPherson is one of the country’s leading experts in truffle dog training and the truffle industry. Through her business, Muddy Pawz Truffle Detection, she provides truffle orchard owners with high quality young dogs, personally training them into confident, reliable and efficient truffle hunters. She is also a highly seasoned truffle hunter herself, with extensive experience and skills to share with and teach truffle hunters and handlers.

With more than a decade of operational K9 handling experience in policing prior to specializing in truffles, Emma has developed a deep understanding of what makes a working dog precise, reliable and effective. Emma has provided highly trained detection dogs to both commercial truffle orchards and the military. This combination of professional expertise and specialized training has earned her a reputation for producing dogs that perform with consistency and excellence.

Her true passion, however, lies in the truffle industry – where the partnership between handler and dog elevates the harvest into a seamless blend of speed, accuracy and teamwork.

What sets Emma apart is the rare combination of her deep understanding of odor detection underground within a complex open environment, her ability to translate that knowledge into effective training, and her extensive experience finding truffles in orchards around the country. By combining science with hands-on experience, she produces dogs that work with accuracy and speed – saving growers time, preventing missed harvests, and ensuring valuable truffles aren’t left in the soil. For orchard owners, this means greater efficiency, higher yields, and a more rewarding experience working alongside their dog.

Beyond performance, Emma believes truffle hunting should be fun and fulfilling. Her methods keep dogs engaged, handlers motivated and the overall process enjoyable–from the excitement of a young dog’s very first truffle discovery to the polished precision of a seasoned dog working a row with confidence.

Outside of her professional work, Emma is a proud mom, fitness enthusiast, and outdoor adventurer who can often be found mountain biking, exploring with her dogs, or chasing new challenges with her young family. This balance of professional expertise and grounded personality makes her not only a trusted authority but also a relatable mentor for orchard owners stepping into the truffle world.

Today, Emma continues to lead the way in truffle dog training across Australia and internationally, proving that with the right training and support, every truffière can have a world-class truffle dog by its side and the ability to stop leaving money in the ground.