WHAT IS A TOLLER ?
CLICK HERE 1ST FOR TOP 10 REASON WHY A TOLLER MIGHT NOT BE RIGHT DOG FOR YOU - then you can come back and read some more
A what??? - is normally the first response we get when we tell people who ask us about our dogs. Who can blame them, rare, a very long breed name and stunning good looks- you gotta be kidding me!!? is usually the next response. After all of that, most people do ask where, what & how - neither is this a simple task. I hope we explain it well below.
THE TOLLER
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a hunting dog, developed in Canada by Canadians. Smallest of the Retriever Breeds - unique in it's ability to Toll (lure/entice) wildfowl within range of hunters guns- then retrieve the dead or wounded birds back to the hunters.
Other than it's original purpose of hunting dog - today's Toller has branched out into many more areas. Conformation Show Ring, Obedience, Agility, Tracking and Flyball - in dog sports. Search & Rescue, Therapy Dogs and trialled as Guide Dogs for the Blind, Drug Detection in Airports etc see them in professional working Roles. We have Tv Stars as well. Of course they are still used as hunting dogs, but also compete in Retrieving Tests, Hunt Tests, Field Tests etc - in various forms of each around the world.
Intelligent and easy to train - loving with their families and friends, sweet temperaments - make them a truly delightful all round dog. But they are not the dog for everyone - they have certain phyiscal and mental needs that must be met to make a truly wonderful pet. For more information please go to our Puppy Page then follow the link to Puppy Buyer information. Now sit back and enjoy some history....
HISTORY
These rare dogs - were relatively unknown even their own country of origin for many years- mainly due to the fact that they were only found primarily in one location for over a century.
Developed in the Little River District of Yarmouth County, on the south western tip of Nova Scotia in the 19th Century. Tolling dogs of one sort or another had long been used in Europe to lure waterfowl into nets - the word Toll meaning to draw or entice. Toll itself comes from a Middle English word - Tollen. The NSDTR was developed to both Toll and Retrieve, he runs jumps, capers and plays along a shoreline - chasing a stick or ball being thrown by the hidden hunter in a blind. These rushing playful actions combined with the flashing Red & White colouration of the dog itself - makes the rafting waterfowl very curious - they come in closer and closer to check this strange sight out. Very soon the curious birds are in range of the hunters gun - the dog is called back behind the blind and the hunter puts the birds to wing - the Toller is then used to retrieve the fallen/wounded birds from land and water.
So many stories abound about how these dogs were bred to be - the popular one is that in 1860 one James Allen of Yarmouth obtained from a captain of a Schooner a female English Flat-Coat Retriever - liver in colour. This girl was then believed to have been mated to a Labrador type of dog. The resultant girls from this litter were then bred to a Brown Cocker Spaniel. From there it is guessed that quite a few other breeds were thrown in - Irish Setter for rich red coat, a farm collie of sort which would explain the luxuriant feathering, possibley a Brittany, a Golden Retriever, I doubt if anyone could guess exactly what was introduced after the original few dogs. I have spoken to a Toller Historian who believes the above origin not to be correct as there is no record of a James Allen ever existing in Yarmouth. More than likely the Toller has originated from blends of European dogs originally brought into the country.
Why were they even specifically looking to breed a small robust red & white dog who could lure and retrieve you might ask?? This is I think is fairly simply explained, as it is a known hunting method of the foxes. One Fox will caper around on the shoreline in full view of rafting birds whilst it's mate would hide in the rushes - awaiting the curious birds to reach pouncing range. Hence hunters were looking to duplicate the looks of a fox in colouring as this obviously was a factor in why the birds would toll, also small like a fox but a more robust dog such as a retriever - who could then push and swim their way through heavy cover if need be to make retrieves. For the early years some believed that the Toller was actually the result of a fox and a dog being bred together - this is now a known myth- as it is genetically impossible for this to occur.
Originally called the Little River Duck Dog, obtained recognition and it's even Grander name of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever in 1945 by the Canadian Kennel Club - initial registration of only 15 dogs. Even after this the breed nearly died out. Dedicated Breeders came to the rescue- our Tollers we have today is thanks to them.
There is one book which really is the BIBLE for the breed " The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever" by A Strang & G MacMillan. This book has a treasured place on my bookshelf - and still rarely a week goes by that I don't refer to it or go to check something out. It is now in it's 2nd reprint - and if you intend to own the breed it is a must for the book collection.
Below is a button which really goes in depth into the Standard itself - this is more about how the dog should appear in colour, structure, behaviour and temperament etc.
- Click this Button for the Breed Standard
