Home About Our Dogs Puppies Photos News Links Contact
About Us
About Tollers
About Labradors

About Tollers

Today’s Toller is a medium-sized, powerful, compact, balanced, well-muscled dog, with a high degree of agility, alertness and determination. This breed is still of a size which makes for an ideal pet for the active family as well as an agile and eager hunting companion. The Toller is highly intelligent, easy to train, has great endurance, and is a strong and able swimmer. He is a natural and persistent retriever on land and in water.

According to the Canadian Kennel Club breed standard, the ideal height for males is 19 to 20 inches and 45-51 pounds, with females being 1-2 inches and 8-10 pounds smaller. Varying shades of bright coppery red are preferred, usually with white markings on the chest, feet and tail tip, and often with a white blaze or snip on the head. The medium length, double coat is dense, water repellent and thick enough to keep out the intense cold of the waters around the Tollers’ original Nova Scotia Home.

The Toller is truly a versatile dog. Tollers have received many varied titles including obedience, field trial and tracking. Tollers are calm when going to hospital for pet therapy and very animated in flyball and agility. Click here for the official CKC Toller standard.

What is "Tolling"?

The Toller runs, jumps and plays along the shoreline in full view of a flock of ducks, occasionally disappearing from sight and then quickly reappearing, aided by the hidden hunter, who throws small sticks or a ball for the dog. The dog’s playful actions arouse the curiosity of the ducks swimming offshore and they swim closer to within gunshot range. The action of playing on the shore to bring in the birds is called tolling. The Toller is subsequently sent out to retrieve the dead or wounded birds.