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an Indepth Look ...at 'The Great Outdoors' with Outdoor Nova Scotia: Features
Retriever, Decoymans Piper VD Echtinger Grift (photo, Decoymans Kennels, Nacton Decoy, United Kingdom)
Like to know more about the "Little River Duck Dog"? Try these Sites. Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA) |
A Rare Breed...Indeed!
by Vaughn Mullen, Managing Editor
This surge in popularity is in no small part due to the nature of the breed itself. Intelligent, an excellent family pet and hunting dog, the "Toller" or "Little River Duck Dog", is best known for its ability to "toll" or lure waterfowl to within shooting range of their masters. This exercise of tail wagging, stick fetching, animated "play" for the flashy, feathery, red retriever becomes an irresistible curiosity for the unsuspecting duck. Some owners claim that the lure of the "Toller" can be experienced during a playful, family "Frisbee Session" as well, when it is quite common " for a duck to land between you and your dog." While there is some uncertainty as to the origins of the Nova Scotia retriever, many believe that James Allen of the Little River area of Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia first crossed a rusty coloured, retriever with a short-haired, Labrador-type, dog in 1860. In 1945, the breed was officially recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club and in 1995, Nova Scotia chose the "Little River Duck Dog" as its official dog, marking 50 years of recognition by the Club. Despite the recent popularity of the breed, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is relatively rare. There are only about 500 registered dogs in the United States and not a whole lot more registered in Canada. In Sweden, on the other hand, where the first dogs were imported in the 1980's, numbers are estimated to exceed 2000.
A Rare Breed ... Indeed, first published July, 1997. Page designed & maintained by Outdoor Nova Scotia, Liverpool, N.S. BOT 1KO Material protected by copyright. Last revised: December 29, 2001 |
The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
is among only a handful of pure-bred dogs native to Canada ( i.e. The Newfoundland Dog )
and the only breed native to Nova Scotia. Threatened to lapse into obscurity in the
1950's, Nova Scotia's "official Dog" has become so popular, potential owners can
wait up to five years on breeders' waiting lists.
