Well now I've gone and done it. Meet Audrey.



Audrey is my new pup. An 8 week old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.







Audrey is breaking in nicely. Here she is with her favorite toy.



I like to call this "Pheasant Dreams". Of course, it might be a duck...



Here's a toast to new life!

Neat! I have never heard of the breed, what do they look like as adults and how big do they get?

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Neat! I have never heard of the breed, what do they look like as adults and how big do they get?

They look somewhat like a smaller Golden Retriever. The Tollers are the smallest of the retrievers and run between 35-45 as females, and 40-50 as males.

Word on the street is that they are prolific retrievers, exceptionally hard working, and that if they get any taste of water you are gonna have a helluva time keeping them away from it!

Just a fantastic temperment to boot. Gentle, easy going, socializes well and lots of energy. If you can't give them enough excercise though things can get challenging!

That pink ribbon must go!

I think your Mrs is going to ruin her.

Better put a couple of curls in the tail of that toy.
Nice looking pup. i have only seen a few of them but they grow into nice looking dogs. Never heard bad about them.

If you do not mind me asking, where did you find a breeder?

Will you be doing the "tolling" thing with her in the field? It sounds crazy, but articles I've read say it works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotia_Duck_Tolling_Retriever

http://www.nsdtrc-usa.org/



The second link is to the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA) Like most breed clubs it has photos, lists of breeders , rescues etc.

quote:

Originally posted by rnovi:

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Neat! I have never heard of the breed, what do they look like as adults and how big do they get?

They look somewhat like a smaller Golden Retriever. The Tollers are the smallest of the retrievers and run between 35-45 as females, and 40-50 as males.

Word on the street is that they are prolific retrievers, exceptionally hard working, and that if they get any taste of water you are gonna have a helluva time keeping them away from it!

Just a fantastic temperment to boot. Gentle, easy going, socializes well and lots of energy. If you can't give them enough excercise though things can get challenging!

Hmm... What about Boykin Spaniels, many are smaller than that...

I believe it comes down to just how one defines the term retriever. are the Boykins not generally placed in the spaniels. If so then the cocker is even smaller. Cockers do hunt and retrieve. I used to have a cocker that was great on hungarian partridge and sharptails. Because she was a real runt bigger mallards gave her problems as there were more than a few times it was debatable who was going to drag who. For wounded geese on land she was content to circle around and bark until I came to even the odds.

Boykins are bred for retrieveing no different than a lab is... They are spaniels yes, and are versitle enough for flushing/upland as are labs. They are bred however for retrieveing. They are retrievers. Females 25-40 Males 35-50 lbs. Thats smaller than your tolling duck dog.

Cocker spaniels are not retrievers by birth, as hunting dogs, cockers and springers are upland flushing dogs, not retrievers (not saying they wont retrieve), just not like the Boykins.

As I said it all depends on the terminology .

Even the Boykin breed club says Boykin Spaniel ( proper noun) while it uses retriever ( common noun) when descriping the breed.

As for cockers not being retrevers I agree they are classified as a spaniel due to their ancestry but the working or field-bred strains of cockers and springers, are bred to retrieve.



http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RFTSPN.pdf

AKC rules for spaiel field trials clearly have the requirement that cockers , springers and other field bred spaniels retrieve.



http://www.essfta.org/Versatility/fieldtrial.htm

"The Blue Book, (The Conduct and Judging of Spaniel Field Trials) adds that the following qualities are to be emphasized: retrieving promptly to hand, hunting and game finding, working within gun range, control, steadiness to wing and shot (the dog should "hup," or sit and hold its position, until released by the handler), and responsiveness. "

You will note the first requirement listed is to retrieve.



http://www.essfta.org/Versatility/hunting.htm


"The English Springer Spaniel is a versatile hunting dog utilized in numerous hunting situations these days. From upland game to waterfowl hunting, the English Springer Spaniel is a proven hunting companion adding enjoyment and efficiency to each hunting trip."



http://www.ecsca.org/events.html#field


Their purpose is to hunt, find game, flush and retrieve birds in a pleasing and efficient manner. - from Guidelines for Spaniel Hunting Tests



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boykin_Spaniel


The Boykin Spaniel is a medium sized breed of dog and a member of the Spaniel family. It is the state dog of South Carolina and its original purpose was to flush and retrieve game.
...

"The Boykin Spaniel is most often worked as a non-slip retriever, though it originated as a duck- and turkey-flushing dog. Many would classify it as a flushing spaniel rather than as a retriever."



.............................................

I have also hunted with a number of English setters who are retrievers, using the common noun form of the word. They have been bred to it by selecting those who show the natural talent. Hell today there are many using airedales , etc for retrieving.

I really couldnt care less about your rules and such... Im talking about real-life situations.

How many people do you see at a FT or HT or even hunting with Cocker or Springer spaniels as a primary retrieving dog?? Not very many.

How many of those people have labs? Lots.

How many have Boykins as a primary retriever? Not as many as Labs, but way more than Cockers or Springers... thats a cut and dry fact, you cant get that from a website bud, you have to get out and go to some real Field Trails/hunt test to get the real time info.

Looking up dog breed description online proves nothing... Just look at how the general populous uses their Cockers and Springers, not very many are strictly and primarily retrievers.

As to how many I see using spaniels,esp. springers as retrievers......dozens of them are used as retrievers when hunting ducks. The same dogs do duty as flushers when in the field.

In fact most of the hunters I know have switched from labs to springers. Only a few use cockers as they are small for the job of retrieving ducks and/or geese.


I repeat Spaniel is a family of related dog breeds. Even the Boykin fits into this group. He is not called the Bokin Retriever.

As for which of the spaniel breeds is the better retriever it largely depends on the individual dog. Perhaps the Boykins have a higher average performance in retrieving. But you are wrong when you state that only the Boykin is bred to retrieve or have it by birth.

rnovi, great choice in a dog! Hence, my screen name. My Toller is 6 1/2 yrs old and I don't think I could ever go with another breed.

Wait until she gets older and you first hear the Toller Screach! Mine is a little taller then most and a little heavier. She is currently on a diet, now if I could just keep the pawn customers from feeding her!

Here are a couple of photos of mine as a pup and more recently.