Toller History

The toller, or Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, originates from Nova Scotia, a peninsula on the East-coast of Canada. There are many theories on how the breed developed, but most likely the toller is the result of mixing the now extinct St. Johns Water Dog, kooikerhondjen, golden retriever, Chesapeak Bay retriever and Irish setter.

From the 18th century and up to 1940, the small, red dogs (then known as the Little River Duck Dog) were Nova Scotia's best kept secret. Their strength, the thick, almost waterproof coat, the amazing retrieving skills and their ability to toll ducks was simply extraordinary, and the breed's many fans worried that these features could disappear if the breed was to became popular over the night. Because of that it wasn't until 1945 that the breed was approved by the Canadian Kennel Club. In the 80s two tollers became BIS at two Canadian dogshows, and the breed started to gain fans outside the borders of Canada, too. Not long after that the toller became the national dog of Canada.

The first tollers to come to Europe came to Denmark in 1982. Two years later, in 1984, the breed came to Sweden from Denmark, and in 1986 Norway got its first toller. The breeds popularity has been increasing with moderate speed, but at the time being the breed is more common in Sewden and Denmark than in Norway. The breed's abilities on many different areas was soon discovered, Sweden got its first OTch (obedience trial champion) in 1988 and its first tracking champion in 1990. Norway got its first tracking champion in 1988 and its first OTch in 1990. Up to this day, Sweden has gained many tracking champions and OT-champions. In Norway we haven't gotten any more OTch since 1990, but I think several are to come in the years ahead. We've gotten some more tracking champions though, and I think there are som agility champions to come, too. The toller is more appreciated as a working dog in Sweden than in Norway, but hopefully the Norwegians will follow in the years to come.

Tollers in General

The toller is an energetic breed with lots of personality and many oddities. One never owns a toller, it owns you, and when you've been owned by a toller, no other breed could ever do. As soon as the first one makes it's entrance, you dream of having more......and more.....and more... The energy, the playfullness, the funny sounds, the extraordinary sleeping-positions - the toller is just unique!

The toller is blessed (or cursed) with an appearance appealing to most people - the thick, coppery red coat, the kind and wise expression, the constantly waving tail, +++. But one must not be fooled by the toller's looks, a toller is not a miniature golden retriever and will never make a good couch potatoe unless it gets to use it's brains. A toller demands much exercise, both physically and mentally. It can be as stubborn as a donkey, but at the same time it's a soft dog, and it will not respond well to punishment.

A hard hand can destroy a toller's psyche completely, but without clear boundaries and consequence it can boss you around. When the right training methods (a.k.a. positive training) are being used, the toller is very co-operative and attentive. The toller is a quick learner, but that also means that it learns bad habits as fast as more wanted behaviors. Again, consequence is the key-word. Tollers are eager to please, and they're very persevering.

Tollers are great for tracking, obedience, agility, flyball - you name it! The toller is extremely versatile, so if the training is positive, you can make it do almost anything. But one must not forget that the toller was, and is, a hunting dog. Not so many tollers are being field trained nowadays, and that makes it hard for the breeders to know whether the working abilities are present or not. Hopefully the toller will be more appreciated as a field dog in the future.

Toller Health

The Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever is a realtively healthy breed compared to other popular breeds, but even the toller is disposed to some hereditable diseases. Here is a short presentation of the most common ones:

Hip dysplasia

Like so may other breeds the toller is mildly disposed for HD (hip dysplasia). This disease causes a dismatch in the hip joints to, so that the joint isn't working properly. HD is a hereditable disease, but it can also be caused by other things like inproper diet, too hard exercise at young age, too little exercise during the first year, etc. All tollers must have their hip x-ray taken before breeding, and only dogs with clear hips should be used for breeding, but of course there can be different circumstances that can make it necessary to use a dog with a mild degree of hip dysplasia for breeding.

Progressiv retinal atrophy

The toller is also disposed for the eye disease PRA (progressiv retinal atrophy). PRA is described as a slow destruction of the retina, and will eventually cause complete blindness. The type of PRA that tollers can have is called prcd-PRA, and is not very common in tollers in the Nordic countries, but some tollers has been diagnosed with it. Therefor every toller used for breeding must have an eye examination done not more than 1 year in prior to breeding, but also tollers that are not used for breeding should have an eye examination done at about 5 years of age. PRA is seldom seen in tollers younger than 4-5 years, so unfortunately a dog can be eye examined clear several times and be used for breeding before the PRA is diagnosed. In order for the dog to get PRA, it must have gotten one infected gene from each parent. But a dog can be a prcd-PRA carrier without having the disease itself. Nowadays we even have a DNA-test to classify which DNA-type each dog has, and the three types are Normal/Clear (A), Carrier (B) and Affected (C). Dogs with the genotype Normal/Clear will not get PRA and they do not carry any genes for PRA. Dogs with DNA-status Carrier are carriers of the disease, but they will not be sick themselves. Affected (genotype C) dogs carry have two affected genes, which means that they will both carry PRA and develop the disease themselves. In breeding, dogs that have the result "Carrier" or "Affected" should only be used on "Normal/Clear" dogs, so that we prevent the birth of more "Affected" dogs.

Autoimmune diseases

The autoimmune diseases is a group of different diseases that have one thing in common - they are related to a malfunction of the immune system. There are different names and different symptomes for each disease, but they are often called "toller sickness". The toller sickness seems to occur on a rather randomly basis, but most of the diseases are inheritable, even though we do not know exactly how they are inherited. About 3% of all tollers in the world have some sort of toller sickness. Common for these diseases are that the dog is born with a deficient immune system that suddenly starts self-destructing. Dogs suffering from autoimmune diseases can die at young age, and some needs heavy medicating in order to stay alive. Others can be perfectly normal again after having been medicated for a period of time, but the disease can strike back, especially if the dog is exposed for severe stress. Autoimmune diseases is a tragedy for the owners of sick dogs, and also for the breeders. Therefor it is important to be aware of these diseases when planning combinations for breeding, and sick dogs should absolutely not be used for breeding.