Tollers

So I want a bigger dog eventually. I keep doing these breed selector things to try to help me research.

My method is to describe Beau only but a slightly larger package lol. (Don't tell him, okay?) Beau is just the best dog personality wise for me.

Every breed selector comes up with the same top choice- Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

I've read a bit about them and it seems like they'd be a good breed to look into. And they're a GREAT size. I'm not really a fan of super tiny (lol) or super big breeds. It's just not really a breed I'd thought about since I generally like herding breeds better than sporting breeds. (I've had both)

It'll be a while before I can seriously start looking and deciding, but if anyone has any information, I'd love to hear it! I've only met a couple of this amazing breed in my life.

Other breeds that come up a lot are Aussie, Border Collie and Tervuren....

I still say you should get an Aussie. But then again, I only know Tollers from the people on here and they do seem like pretty neat dogs!

I LOVE tollers. I have hung out with many. One of my friends that I trial with a lot has one. I would get one over an aussie any day. They tend to be high drive, but don't have the herding dog 'issues' (if you can call them issues) of being as motion sensitive and herdy. They are a great size, and temperament wise really are not much like the other retrievers (well they do love to retrieve) They are not goofy dogs, and they don't LOVE everyone. They are polite dogs, but are generally very into their owners and close friends.
Also because they are not as popular, they are not as overbred and there are not so many BYB messing with the breed.
They only drawback I have found, is the toller scream when they are excited. Not all of them do, and some rarely do it. But as the agility scene around here is full of them (some trials they can = the numbers of BC and tollers are VERY competitive agility dogs) you do hear a lot of the screaming.
Tollers are on my list of breeds to have one day (well 'a' toller is anyway )

Well crap now you've got me looking at them...just out of curiosity. I love everything about Aussies...and boy howdy can they shriek when they feel like it!

Where did you take those dog quiz breed selector things? I like doing them when I'm bored.

Ooh, thanks for the info Dekka!

I want a dog that I can do things with- either agility or obedience preferably. I'm glad they're not too retriever-like. I had a lab and he wasn't really my type of dog. Beau is also into everyone, but the rest of my dogs are not so much. I would like something a little more friendly towards strangers than shelties are or at least not any more wary. A dog like Nikki would be fine, and I could definitely handle another trey- who hides at the sight of strangers- but I'd prefer the dog to be a little less reserved.

Vocal dogs don't bother me (it can't anymore, I live with two shelties) but I've never heard a dog scream before. It sounds... interesting to say the least. :lol-sign:

Don't worry, Zoom, Aussies are still on 'the list'.

It's been a while since I took the selectors but I can try to look up a couple that I liked okay. The one on breedinfocenter or whatever is downright hilarious though, if you want a laugh. I think my result was a 'faux french bulldogge' or something like that. There was probably a poo or doodle in there somewhere too.

This one seemed decent: http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselectorindex.do

They come in on the list when I check out that site ... but Goldens always come up as #1 for me !!! I really was interested in Tollers until I met one that I know I couldn't have handled !!!

www.k9country.com/perl/dogBreed.pl is one of my favorites.

One of the top agility dog in canada the past few years has been a toller named Kash. They are just as driven and fast as the BC's generally. My friends toller is just finish up her Otch in obed. He really is a spectacular dog (and she is a good trainer lol) If you go on youtube there are some examples of some tollers in various sports.

And I have aussie's howl, and scream at trials..but tollers have a peircing quality totally unique to the breed. Most tollers I have met are very confident with people and get along well in crowds. Some are a bit 'iffy' with strange dogs, but that could be socialization as much as breed. They are less reserved that most shelties I have met (though I know far more tollers than I do shelties)

As Dekka said, Tollers are very different from the other retrievers. Not to offend anyone who has them, but I honestly can't stand to be around most Labs or Goldens for more than a day. They just get to be too much and aren't at all my kind of dog. I also, like you, tend to like herding breeds the best... but I love (ok.. more like obsessed with) Tollers.

Like Aussies, they are a very driven, active, high energy breed. Dance is a really easy to live with dog and isn't anywhere near as energetic as they come, but that's ok, being my first Toller and all. She's getting way more energetic and more Toller like as she gets older anyway. Tollers are also very easy to train dogs, with the right motivation. They do like to know what's in it for them, but they also like to please... if that makes sense.

I don't find them to be an overly vocal breed at all. And as far as the scream goes, they only ever do that when they're very excited or anxious about something that they're being held back from. I barely know any Tollers who scream, and the ones who do, don't do it often enough that it should bother anyone.

They do tend to be weary of strangers, but warm up pretty quickly if given the chance. They just prefer not to be mauled by strangers without really getting a chance to know them first. It's taken me forever to get to the point that Dance will accept people touching her right away rather than getting to know her first, but she seems good now 98% of the time. Most of the other Tollers I know are the same way.

Dekka mentioned that they can be "iffy" with other dogs. I only find that to be the case when the dog wasn't socialized as much as it should have been around other dogs, or didn't have enough good experiences with new dogs. I only know one Toller who isn't very good with other dogs. Breeding can have a lot to do with it as well, but as I said, it really shouldn't be an issue. That brings me to my next point, Tollers need to be socialized a alot. If they aren't, you're going to end up with a very fearful, skittish dog.

Tollers excel in all different dog sports. Many are right up there with Aussies, BCs, etc. Once Dance is old enough I'll be starting her in Agility, and already she's showing different signs that she's going to be great at it. Obedience is something else I'd like to do with her as well, but probably Rally instead of the regular. There's probably a lot more I could tell you, but I just can't think of anything right now. If you have any specific questions though, I'll try my best to answer them. They're a really great breed (lol, in my very bias opinion anyway). My best advice would be to, if you're really interested in them, find a breeder and ask if you can spend a day with them and their dogs. Or even ask if they have any owners of their pups who would be interested in meeting with you. I'm sure they'd be happy to do that. I find that meeting a Toller (or more) is the best way to get to know whether you'd actually be happy living with one or not... especially being a herding breed sort of person.

I once considered getting a Toller, and did quite a lot of looking, before finally making the decision to get my dream dog (working line Aussie). It seems all the breeds you are considering share the critical need for early and ongoing socialization. Even then, there are individuals of all these breeds that will not be "everyone's friend". In my opinion, all are very versatile breeds which you could use for any of the sports. I really do like the "chrome" on my red merle, though... and I especially like the herding dog brilliance. But, I'm sure I could have lived with a Toller quite nicely, too. I've had a few in my classes, and I did notice that the ones that were not socialized to death were somewhat snarky with other dogs. But, you will get that from the herders, too. "Don't invade my personal space!!!!!"

I've only met two tollers and they would influence my decision to chose a different breed.
They were both beautiful and friendly---but they had more energy than I think I'd enjoy.If they were more laid back, I'd love one


I met one sheltie at a dog show who greeted me like a long lost relative. I was surprised at his friendliness. My first sheltie tolerated strangers. My new one doesn't like them at all. But then, she was socialized as much as my first one.

I still adore shelties, but maybe I'll get a collie next time.