Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Little River Duck Dog.

The breed was developed, well, in Nova Scotia Canada, by community of Little River Harbour in Yarmouth County. The Tollers were developed in the beginning of the 19th century to lure and retriever waterflow. Originally, they were known as the Little River Duck Dogs.

2) Pedigree

We are not sure what are the exact ancestors of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, but it is believed that it is a mix of various retrievers, setters and spaniels. There is even possibility, that some Collies were used in the breeding process as well, but it was never confirmed.

3) Tolling

The name of this breed is very descriptive, they are retrievers from the Nova Scotia, but what does the word toller means? Tolling, in the hunting context, is a process of luring a game with the use of other animals, in this case, dog. They are able to lure or entice the waterflow within the gunshot range. Hidden hunters sends the dog to play with a ball or a stick to the shore. This arouses the curiosity of the ducks offshore and they swim over to investigate, until they are lured to the gun range.

4) Made for Swimming

Just like all the retrievers, even the tollers love to swim. This breed is just made for swimming, they are pretty athletic and they have amazing stamina. In addition to that, they have water resistant double coats and webbed feet, which is helping them with the swimming a lot.

5) Toller Scream

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is not the biggest barkers, but they are known for different sound, from which your neighbors can go crazy. It is called a Toller scream and it is a loud and high pitched sound. When they are doing this sound, it is definitely not sign of something bad like agression, on the contrary, it is a sign of excitement or happiness.

6) Workers

Tollers are extremely versatile and they just love to work. As i already said before, they were developed by hunters and they are great hunting companions. But they are also known for another job, thanks to their strong sense of smell, smaller size and high trainability, they were often time used as search and rescue dogs.

7) Dog Sports

Today, majority of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers are living the spoiled life of family companions. But if you want to have a happy and healthy Toller in your home, it is important to give them some, at least fake job. It can be longer training sessions, different toy puzzles etc. They just have to stimulate both, their body and their mind to be happy. They also excell at dog sports like agility, obedience or dock diving, which is one of the best way how to satisfy this breed.

8) Size

As i already said, this is the smallest retriever, although, with the longest name. Their average height is between 42-54 cms which is 16-22 inch and their weight is typically between 17-23 kgs, which is 37-51 lbs. Females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

9) Easy maintenance

Tollers are so called wash and go dogs. Their water resistant coat requires weekly brushing to prevent matting and tangling. Bathing is required only when its really needed. They can keep their coat clean pretty much bythemselves. They do shed, especially during the spring and fall, so when they are in their high shedding season, you should brush their coat more often to remove the dead hair and minimize the shedding.

10) Health

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever is a hardy and healthy dog breed with average lifespan between 11-14 years. Just like all dog breeds, they can suffer from some health problems, most commonly from hip and elbow dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy, thyroid and Addisons disease.