The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

alphanumerikk

2661

14

3

Origins

A number of retrieving breeds accompanied their masters from Great Britain to Canada during the early 1800s. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, or Toller for short, is the creation of skillful Canadian hunters that crossed a variety of retrievers, spaniels and pointers in order to yield a dog that had the endurance of a working breed but the playfulness and size of a medium-bodied spaniel.

Appearance

The experienced hunters that bred this dog knew that waterfowl were curiously drawn to the antics and colours of the fox, thus the specific colouring scheme of red with white markings were chosen for the breed. According to the breed standards, the Toller should be athletic, well-muscled, compact, medium boned, balanced and powerful with webbed feet weighing between 14-22 Kg.

Tolling (Luring) Ability

When the Toller is tasked to retrieve a stick or romp near the edge of the water, its enthusiastic manner and enticing coat lures the waterfowl to investigate and puts them within shotgun range. When the hunters stand, the birds enter flight and the hunters take their shots. Any downed birds are marked and collected by the Toller.

Retrieving Capability

Tollers have a soft mouth which are expected to produce quarry intact and in good condition; this is a notoriously difficult behaviour to teach to a dog without an inborn temperament to do so. They also have a deep chest and thick frame enabling them to carry particularly heavier loads, such as geese, for a medium-sized dog.

Temperament

Often people mistake Tollers for "little" Golden Retrievers; although they do look similar they differ in temperament. Tollers are very intelligent, alert, high-energy dogs that allow them to excel at many types of sporting competitions, such as agility, dock diving and obedience on top of hunting. Their keen sense of smell, intelligence, working drive, and small size, also make them perfect search and rescue dogs.

Its almost as if they have the look of a sun burnt Golden Retriever with the spunk and energy of a Border Collie. There's a reason they're called "Little Red Retrieving Machines".

Owning A Toller

As someone that has kept a couple Tollers over the years, here are some things you should consider before getting one:

THE GOOD:
They are very loving, excellent with children and, for a high energy dog, are very calm when indoors. You can keep one in an apartment as long as they get an hour or two a day to bounce around outside.

As a hunter, their endurance puts me at awe; a friend's Toller (Gunner RIP 2012) was able to retrieve 18 Canada Geese, each bird weighing an average of 5 Kg, over a course of 10 hours. When we started packing up, he refused to get in the car and just kept staring out in to the water. "der ar more out der hoomans... i can smellz dem."

Being a very intelligent canine, their resolutions to problems is unique. Most dogs learn via repetition, a Toller will try all the actions it knows one by one until you say which one is correct; process of elimination is the game. It takes patience but in the end they always get what you're looking for.

I'll let you decide whether this next trait is good or bad but Tollers are known to "scream" when they're excited. Most dogs just bark excitedly until you throw the ball, a Toller will let out a high-pitched scream that sounds like they're about to go in to a wood chipper or something. See for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0v2pjbgGK4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcCXoxt3eGk

THE BAD:
Shedding. The accumulated fluff will turn your house in to an old Western movie with tumbleweeds of fur rolling around while you're watching TV. "Ohp, there goes another one...".

Far from a guard dog. Tollers are protective in a sense that they're weary of strangers and will bark to let you know that there's someone or something on your territory but will not take action against it. That's your job.

Prey drive. They do fine living with others but will chase smaller animals that aren't canines. It's all in good fun and your cat will remain unharmed, but it will happen.

My Toller

Talo The Toller In A Toasty Towel (try saying that 5 times fast); he's the runt of his litter and lacks the drive and energy required to hunt or compete. Sad for someone that wanted a hunting buddy but the benefit of a low energy pup is a loyal companion that is well suited for a family. He's great with kids and very obedient.

I remember watching an episode of The Dog Whisperer where a guy in Las Vegas had a Toller that was fearful of water. He said "After I unsuccessfully tried to get her to swim, she came out and started shivering. So thinking she was cold, I covered her in blankets and turned on the heat in my house".

This made me laugh; the shivering was anxiety, not cold. TOLLERS DON'T KNOW WHAT COLD IS. Talo has retrieved sticks for me in the middle of February from icy waters with a smile on his face. Their double-coat of fur keeps them well protected which is why this breed is becoming increasingly popular in the Northern United States and Europe.

The first 4 photos are stock images from the internet, the rest are all of Talo. Enjoy!