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I have heard a dog can be used to find them more effectively, but they cannot tell if a mushroom is toxic.

It's not something I've ever seen, but I certainly believe it given their incredible noses. And of course pigs are often used for truffle hunting. If you are gathering mushrooms to eat, it's not too hard to learn which are toxic anyway.

Once you know where patches are (at least for mycorrhizal fungi which are some of the best) it is easy to go back and get them each year. But, it still takes time to find all the locations and there is competition from other foragers, humans as well as other animals.

> And of course pigs are often used for truffle hunting.

Actually this is a bit of a myth. Pigs aren't very good truffle hunters. Dogs are used to find truffles. I suspect this is what the GP was thinking of.

During a hike I met a guy who said he was hunting for truffles underground with the help of his dog.

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