Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever: Breed Focus

Bred as an eye-catching sporting companion in the 19th Century, the Nova Scotia is the smallest of retrievers and an excellent sporting companion. A breed that was designed to lure waterfowl into gunshot range with its sleek fox-like appearance and curious behaviour. The idea of this breed was to imitate the curious activity of foxes whose colour and activities were intriguing to water fowl. The fox-like features drive the prey into gunshot range and once shot the dog would retrieve the prey.

Group: Gundog

Life Expectancy: 10 - 14 years

Professional Grooming: 8 - 12 weeks

Exercise: Up to 1 hour a day

Health: Steroid Responsive Meningitis Arteritis, Collie Eye Anomaly, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Addison’s Disease, Hyperthyroidism.

Brushing: 2 x weekly

Breed Standard Traits

Alert

Intelligent

Athletic

Kind

Confident

Loving

Energetic

Playful

The History of The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Originating in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, and a name that takes the middle English word ‘tollen’ meaning to lure or summon. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever was created by crossbreeding Golden Retrievers, Flat-Coated Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, with Spaniels, Setters and Collies. The breed was initially known as the Little River Duck Dog and was bred for generations as pure breeds. They were excellent sporting dogs so hunters would use Tollers for work, not breeding. This led to a decline in numbers and the breed was at the point of extinction. Breed enthusiasts worked together and prevented this, then in 1945 the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever became a recognised breed of the Canadian Kennel Club breed register.

All of todays registered Duck Tollers descend from one female named Buffy, a red and white pure bred that was born in the 1950s.

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever circa 1950

Appearance

A Nova Scotia is a compact, muscular retriever with a feathered tail. Their webbed feet and thick pads make them strong swimmers and they can run speeds of up to 25mph.

Colours include; Red, Orange, Copper and Gold with limited amounts of White.

The Nova Scotia has a straight, medium length water-repellent double coat with a slight wave on the back. Hair that grows to a pre-determined length before shedding. A soft dense undercoat keeps the dog insulated for swimming. Feathering occurs along the throat, behind the ears, back of the thighs and the forelegs.

Males: Height 45-54 cm, Weight 20-23 kg

Females: Height 42-51 cm, Weight 17-20 kg

Grooming Requirements

It is recommended you brush your Nova Scotia weekly with a slicker/pin brush to remove excess undercoat. Your dog will benefit from a full professional groom every 3 months which involves bathing, de-shedding / matt removal and tidying up the feathers.

Training Requirements

Nova Scotia’s are outgoing and fun with their owners; but reserved with strangers, which is why early socialisation is paramount to keep them stimulated. Lack of socialisation may lead to aggressive, destructive or timid behaviour as adults. These dogs excel at: Agility, Flyball, Tracking and Obedience due to their high prey drive and highly active mental and physical abilities.