![]() ![]() They can be quite wary of new elements in their environment, giving a good bark or two just as an alert. Tollers are not especially useful as a guard dog and will do much better instead as an attentive watch dog. Households with children do best with a dog that is patient and on the alert for anything suspicious. This also makes them an ideal family dog as well. They are alert but steady, not to mention ever patient. The temperament of the Toller is one that makes for a good companion when out in the field. The first American club for the breed, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club, was founded in 1984. ![]() Hunters began to use the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever in the 1960s. However, they have been also known as the Yarmouth Tollers or Little River Duck Dogs. Because most were bred in Nova Scotia, the name of Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever was given to them. The breed would later be brought to the New World, used everywhere from the Chesapeake Bay to the Canadian Maritimes. As the birds came to shore, the hunters shot them and the dogs helped by retrieving the kill. These dogs would wag their tails, drawing the attention of the ducks. The ancestors to the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever were first used by European hunters to lure ducks to the shore. Originally bred in Yarmouth County, which is located at the southern tip of Nova Scotia, it was officially recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club in 1915. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever dog is assumed to be the product of a cross-breeding between the red European decoy dog and farm collies, setters, retriever dogs, or spaniels. There are a fair number of Tollers and breed specialty clubs in the USA. FCI gave it full international recognition in 1982. The breed used to be called the Little River Duck Dog or Yarmouth Toller, but when the Canadian Kennel Club began registering it in the late 1950s, the present name was established. Indians utilized this mesmerizing practice by stringing a fox skin across a length of shore and yanking it quickly back and forth, simulating the movement of the fox. The Toller then acts as an efficient retriever. When the overly inquisitive ducks are within shooting range, the hunter calls his dog back to the blind, stands up to put the birds to flight, and shoots. It may take a dozen or more throws before the ducks or geese become curious and approach the shore. From his concealed blind near the shore, the hunter tosses a stick parallel to the shore, and with great liveliness, but without barking, the Toller retrieves it. The Toller's rather unusual job is to lure ducks and geese within shotgun range, and to retrieve them from the water after they have been hit. The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever is the creation of skillful Canadian hunters. The clever manner in which foxes work together to obtain a duck dinner has been observed over the centuries. It was developed to toll (lure) ducks in the manner of the fox. They were crossed with retrievers and working spaniels. Tolling Red Decoy Dogs probably accompanied their masters from Great Britain to Nova Scotia. ![]() The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever originates from Canada. ![]() Declared the provincial dog of Nova Scotia in 1995, the breed is the only Canadian breed recognized in this way. The Toller was officially admitted to the Canadian Kennel Club in 1945. Farm collies also went into the mix as many became herding dogs as well as hunting dogs and family pets. Its exact origins are not known but it appears that possibly spaniel and setter Pointer-type dogs, retriever-type dogs, and rabbit hounds were used to develop the breed. The breed was originally known as the Little River Duck Dog or the Yarmouth Toller. The breed was developed in the community of Little River Harbour in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, around the beginning of the 19th century to toll waterfowl and as an all purpose hunting dog. ![]()
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