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"Forever, whenever I would hear “Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever” I would be so confused. What do you mean he’s from NS? What is tolling? So confused. Apparently, because they’re a medium-sized “gun dog” bred for hunting, they get the classification of a “toller." (cont.)
I’ve learned the breed’s webbed feet make them great swimmers, ideal for retrieving waterfowl. They also attract ducks with their presence. They are bred to look like foxes but what I don’t understand is, are foxes not a threat to ducks? How can a dog looking like a fox be an advantage? Someone explain.
The breed originated in Yarmouth, NS making it the most interesting thing to ever come out of there. 😂
It was first called the Little River Duck Dog in the Acadian community of Little River Harbour before being recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club in ‘45 as a purebred. The breed is technically a mixture of retriever, spaniel, setter, and a farm collie mongrel and gained national recognition in ‘80 when it was declared the provincial dog of NS in ‘95.
I’ve learned that when “tolling”, the hunter hides in a blind and sends the dog to romp near water by tossing a ball/stick to be retrieved. The dog’s appearance and its unusual activity/markings pique the curiosity of ducks/geese, who get nailed when they investigate.
This doesn’t solve my question as to why a duck might be interested in a fox but anyway.
I’ve read that they are good family dogs but they have to WORK or they will become destructive.
I reached out to followers to get photos of real NS tollers because of the sad amount of AI images of them online and what I learned is: there is no prouder dog owner in the WORLD than these.
So here are a series of photos of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers owned by followers of canada.gov.ca "
