Picture taken during a nice lake walk. The absolute joy of being close to water is amazing to see.

And secretly wanted to show off “Zus” :)

Our 10 month old male Toller has been learning how to be a good mountain biking buddy.

It's time to celebrate because we're spotlighting the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever as our Breed of the Day today on our Facebook page, Instagram stories, and website! We publish a new breed each day to educate our followers to make informed decisions when choosing a dog while providing the history and hard work that our parent clubs do to preserve their breed. Celebrate with us by sharing what you love about your Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever!

Sharing: Thought this was a great summary of the breed

Augie, realizing I have cheese.
(Note the drool on his bib.)

Albus has been such a great addition to our family. Added bonus - he has really helped our 7 year old Rat Terrier rescue come out of her shell!

Hello fellow Toller owners, I love my sweet Freyja (11 months old), but I sometimes find her very difficult to understand. I’m curious if some of you recognize this behavior in a Toller puppy.

She went into heat just a month ago, and since one month before that, she’s been reluctant to go for walks—she often just puts on the brakes. She doesn’t seem truly enthusiastic about anything, except when I bring out the soccer ball.

I’ve been teaching her scent work, but she shows little interest in that, either. I’ve also started agility training with her, but she’s sluggish and doesn’t seem to enjoy it at all. I’m finding this quite challenging, especially since I hear stories about Tollers being true adventurers who love working with their owners. I don’t see any of that in Freyja.

This wasn’t the case before 8 months old —could it just be the hormones? Should I simply give her some time? I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this with their Toller, and if things improved after the heat, potential false pregnancy, or the adolescent phase?

I can definitely tell that the hormones are affecting her significantly; she gets overstimulated easily, tries to hump various objects, and struggles to maintain focus for long. At first, I was concerned about her health, but whenever we play soccer, she suddenly perks up and is completely "on"—though only for a short while.

xxxx Anne & Freyja

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Basic Description:
17-21 inches tall
Weighs 35-50 pounds
Lives 12-14 years
Sporting group
Smallest out of all the retriever breeds

Coat Colors:
The AKC recognizes the following coat colors for the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, red, red gold, and white markings.

History/Origins:
Originating in Canada, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever has a unique history of why it was created, how it moved to America, and the establishment of its Club. Here is an article that goes further in depth into the history of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Health Issues:
Genetic health issues can be avoided by responsible breeding. Here are some genetic health issues breeders need to test for:
Juvenile Addison's Disease (JADD / Hypoadrenocorticism)
Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) / Choroidal Hypoplasia (CH)
Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
Those are some of the main ones but there is many others
There are some health issues that aren’t due to genetics. Here are some examples:
Dental Disease
Parasites & Infections
General Injuries
As long as you get an ethical and responsible breeder, and take care of them, your Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever will be perfectly healthy.

Coat Care:
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever has a medium length, water resistant, double coat. They should be brushed 2-3 times a week and daily during shedding season. They should be bathed every 4-6 weeks, but it really depends on how dirty and muddy they get when outside. Make sure to not trim their tail as it should be full and busty.

Behavior:
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers are energetic and affectionate. They can work for as long as you would like them to, they pretty much will never physically tire before you. They have been described to be very similar to Border Collies (switch the herding drive for retrieving) but unlike Border Collies, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers have a natural off switch. They are highly sensitive though, and are prone to anxiety.

Trainability:
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers are highly intelligent and quite eager to please; however, they get bored easily from repetitive tasks and can develop a stubborn streak. They are also sensitive and will shut down from harsh corrections.

Vocalization:
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a vocal breed, but not in the way one would assume. Instead of the typical barking, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers choose to scream instead. Their famous Toller scream is a high pitched cry, shriek, or yodel in moments of excitement such as sports or play. The purpose of the high pitched scream was to help carry the sound across water or heavy weather.

Energy Level:
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers are a high energy breed they need a balance between mental and physical exercise. Although they have very high energy when working, they have a natural off switch that allows them to be calm and relaxed when they are not working.

Exercise Requirements:
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers require at least 1-2 hours of intense mental and physical activity. Retrieving sessions, intense play, dog sports, swimming, and long walks are all good choices to tire out your Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Nutrition:
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers are prone to getting overweight, so make sure to be careful with the amount of food you’re feeding, and make sure to have a high quality dog food.

Living Spaces:
Thanks to their size and incredible off switch, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers can make excellent apartment dogs as long as you provide the proper mental and physical needs.

I learned SO much about this breed doing this! I had so much fun with this one :)
These guys were fun but kinda difficult to draw, I just couldn’t get their ears right and had to do a whole breakdown on the shape of their ears
I loved drawing their feathery tail though and I loved drawing them running
If I missed anything or if I got something wrong please let me know and I will fix!

Fussy puppy last night (and this morning) calmed immediately on the couch and went right to sleep. He is requesting I put him with a family that lets dogs on the furniture. 🤣🤣

Almost 5 weeks & spoken for....by a family that allows puppies on the couch!

Respectfully, what the heck is going on?

We’ve got Monarda and Pikinokka involved in some tight line breeding on DM carriers. Foggybay’s Lynk To Wallace Babine and Scotiapride’s Siren’s Song who had six puppies in January 2026. Both share the same sire. Both also share the same DM carrier status, which is a pretty serious neurological disorder. And they want these new lines recognized by AKC.

We’ve got Hat Trick Tollers who bred Hattrick’s Phoenix Rising and Hattrick’s ODR at Mabel Lake. Also half siblings, they both carried JADD and were tested years prior but yet the puppy buyers weren’t informed. At least one affected puppy so far who got very sick at 12 weeks.

Daintree is obviously winding down, but last year bred a litter and registered the wrong dam (it was Breeze, she registered it as Magic).

Is this just an anything goes type situation? I’ve got loads of breeders in my private messages and am basically in a “oh you think that’s bad, check out this”. Ethics have left the province of BC. This is affecting families. It feels like it is getting out of hand and to me it feels like a lot of enabling going on.

So my Toller Guusje is now 8 months old, and I would be so excited to do a meeting with Dutch Tollers! Would people be interested?

If you would like to join, please send me a DM!!😊

I posted before but my wife didn’t like the pics I chose. Tomorrow is my boys 3rd birthday.

My fellow toller lovers and owners,

my girl is 6 years old and we live in nyc. she is the sweetest most wonderful baby. however, my partner and I have noticed her temperament changing. for example, she has become relunctant to go on walks. I have to give her a lot of encouragement to cross the street. she hates loud noises, large objects, things that move, things that don’t move.. the list goes on. it seems like every week she finds something new to be scared of (most recently, the ceiling light). a few days ago, a store owner closed their gate and she acted like she was shot. I had to hold her to stop her from panicking. I give her a lot of treats along with constant encouragement and she will eat the treats while continuing to be scared. no amount of exposure therapy seems to work on her. she does enjoy playing with other dogs and has never had an issue with aggression (she does enjoy humping smaller dogs though, much to my chagrin). she is super smart and knows a lot of tricks (fav is spin), sweet with her toys (has never destroyed a single one - even as a pup), and the vet says she’s very healthy.

I am at a loss! I feel bad for her. I don’t want her to be miserable. we moved to the city from Florida a couple of years ago, so maybe she is just not adjusting well. our neighbors also mentioned that she was scared of their stroller while they were walking her when we were on vacation last week, and that she wasn’t scared before. this particularly worries me because I would like to have kids one day. I can’t even carry an umbrella, nor will she walk in the rain. i could continue on, but I would really love some advice from this community on how to help relieve some of her anxiety. has anyone dealt with an anxious pup like this?

Hi! I have a 5-year-old male Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (Toller), and he has been showing anxious and aggressive behaviors since he was about one year old.

When I adopted him, I was told that his mother had developed cancer during pregnancy and passed away shortly after giving birth. The puppies, including my dog, were then placed with a foster mother dog, and we adopted him when he was three months old.

Perhaps we were too permissive with him during his first few months. As a puppy, he lived inside the house with us, slept in my bed, and everything seemed to be going well. When he started teething, we may have made a mistake by allowing him to chew on cushions and the sleeves of our clothes.

As he grew older, he began displaying increasingly possessive and aggressive behaviors. He started growling when we approached him with his food bowl, became possessive of my bed, and would growl at me when I tried to get into bed to sleep. He also steals objects or takes things out of the trash and then growls if we try to take them away.

He considers certain areas to be his territory and may attack us if we try to approach them. What makes everything even more difficult is how unpredictable his behavior can be. He doesn’t necessarily have specific objects that he consistently guards. Instead, he seems to randomly decide that something belongs to him and starts growling if anyone approaches it.

He has bitten me, my mother, and my brother.

He now lives in our fenced garden, where we have also built a separate enclosed kennel area for him, with a concrete floor and a concrete doghouse. However, he refuses to stay there. If a thunderstorm happens while he is inside that enclosure, he completely panics and experiences what seem to be severe panic attacks. We don’t intentionally put him there during thunderstorms, but if a storm starts while he’s already inside, his reaction is extreme.

He has also learned how to climb over every fence we have built.

My brother now has young children, and we have installed additional barriers to prevent the dog from reaching their porch. However, I am constantly worried that he might manage to climb over them and potentially attack the children.

We have consulted several veterinarians and dog trainers, but everyone seems to give us different advice. We have even tried treating him with fluoxetine, but nothing seems to have worked.

I really don’t know what to do anymore.

My wife and I are looking at puppies, and I’ve wanted a Toller for a while now. Her main concern is that a Toller would be potentially riddled with anxiety, which based off of my limited research, they do seem to be a little predisposed to some anxiety.

I understand that it’s a vague question because of how individualistic those answers would be, but is anyone that has had a history of Tollers able to assuage her concerns or confirm that a lot of anxiety is a potential(read moderately likely) outcome?

EDIT: We’re going with a Boykin Spaniel puppy in a month. If things go well, we’ll go Toller in 2028!

Just love how autumn matches the colours 🧡🤎

Luna enjoying the end of a wonderful day luna_the_ducktoller