The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is the smallest
of the six retriever breeds.
The earliest writings about the small red dogsand
how they attract game was by Nicolas Denis. A colonizer of Nova Scotia who lived in the 17e century. If these dogs are Toller
ancestors is not known.
Presumably this breed came from crossings whit labradors,
Dutch Kooikerdogs, Eupagnol de Bretagne and the color must come from de Irish Setter.
Thanks to the efforts of people like Cyril Colwell
and later Eldon Pace and Avery Nickerson the Toller became what it is today.
The Toller hunting method is simple.
The Toller jumps and tols along the waterline,
thereby arousing the curiosity of the ducks or geese causing them to come closer to the shoreline. When they are near enough
the hunter shows himselve ans shoots the birds. The Toller retrieves the downed bird from the water.
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, the smallest
of all retrievers, is a purely Canadian breed. Known for its intelligence and endurance, as well as being an excellent pet,
this medium size dog tolls, or lures, the game, rather than retrieving it. It entices waterfowl to get within range of the
hunter in his blind.
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever has been bred
in Nova Scotia for more than a hundred years and was given its Canadian Kennel Club designation as an official breed in 1945.
For many years tollers were seldom seen outside the Maritimes, but this is no longer the case. For some, the breed came of
age when, in 1980, two Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers were awarded Best in Show at championship events that included
many breeds.
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever was declared
the Provincial Dog in 1995 by an Act of the House of Assembly.
