Caliber Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers

The Littlest Retriever by Theo Kjellstrom

June 21, 2003


AUTHOR’S NOTE: SINCE THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN WRITTEN THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS AKC CHAMPIONS CROWNED, AT LEAST ONE BEST IN THE SPORTING GROUP AND AS OF JANUARY, 2004 A BEST IN SHOW!. GOOD LUCK TO A WONDERFUL NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY OF AKC RECOGNIZED BREEDS. THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN DOG NEWS MAGAZINE IN THE USA.

About 18,000 years ago, give or take a few thousand, a glacier raced down into Wisconsin at break-neck speed. Gathering momentum as many millennia passed, it reached an astonishing speed of, say, at least an inch or so every couple of centuries. Finally, it came to a screeching halt in the area of what is now Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Should you be interested, the city’s name was derived from the popular dinner parties the early Indians gave and served “fondue” in their teepees by the lake. Some researchers vow that the name indicates that the city is situated at the “end of the lake”. Whatever! Suit yourselves.

Nevertheless, this terminal glacier deposited much stone, boulders and scree at the front of the glacier and when the ice melted this left depressions (kettles) in the moraine. The countryside was then riddled with these, creating an interesting region of dense forests and sparkling lakes. Horicon Marsh, in the area, serves as home for an amazing array of birdlife. This includes, unfortunately, gazillions of migrating Canada Geese which then stop in my back yard, winter over on my lawn, the while eating my grass seed and depositing disgusting green kaka everywhere. Sorry, my problem, not yours.

One famous Fondue Indian, surveying the area, said with a Tonto accent, “Yo, Mama. Me think this wonderful place for dog show”. I’m not sure but this was probably how the Wisconsin Kettle-Moraine Kennel Club got its name. Nevermind, just let it go. But it is true that the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever people held their Regional Specialty smack dab in the middle of this region and Mrs. Mareth Kipp, a retriever expert, and I were to judge it. Mareth, the morning show and I in the afternoon.

It is now official. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is the newest member of the American Kennel Club’s family of purebred dogs. Having been introduced to this wonderful sporting dog, the smallest of the Retrievers, many years ago, I have watched the “Toller” as it progressed through the various stages of rare breed, miscellaneous and now AKC full acceptance Certainly full recognition was deserved and the Parent Club carefully guided the Toller to this end by zealously guarding its inherent retrieving sense, its avid working propensity and a joyful temperament above reproach. Tolling, or enticing waterfowl to come within range of the hunters’ guns, is the main purpose of this breed. This, coupled with a love of water and an instinct to retrieve, has given the Toller a unique niche in the sporting group of dogs.

Practically everything about this breed’s conformation is “moderate”. This enables the dog to be agile, supple and quick on its feet. While running back and forth along the shoreline, the Toller’s heavily feathered tail is in constant motion bidding the curious ducks to swim closer to inspect this strange creature’s antics. Having had a collection of various species of exotic ducks as a youngster, I cannot give these members of the family Anatidae very high marks for intelligence. It is simply silly stupid inquisitiveness that makes “tolling” work. This is of course to the liking of the waterfowlers who want to bring home dinners.

One of the early standards did indicate that the hocks (meaning metatarsi) should be quite long. Later this was modified and the current AKC standard states only that “The hocks are well let down”. However, the Parent Club of the NSDTR, in their instructions for judging this breed does mention that “The hocks (meaning the metatarsi) may be a bit longer than some of the retrievers”. To “little old me” who’s first spoken word almost eighty years ago was WHY, it was quite logical that a long metatarsal would give more power in swimming. Since the dog swims with a trotting motion, this added length acts exactly as the flippers on a scuba diver.

Conversely, this breed does spend more of its time dashing back and forth on the shore than in the water. A shorter metatarsal does have an advantage on land. The reason for disqualifying an entry with rear dewclaws is probably to prevent tearing of these appendages. But then who pays any mind to me but my dog? Certainly not the women in my life, the man at the dry cleaners who insists they did NOT scorch my favorite jacket or for that matter the AKC.

A cell phone call to the hotel advised me that the morning show was concluded and I drove the fifteen minutes to the show site. Well, the Fondue Indians were right on the money. What a wonderful venue. Grassy large ring, shade, expert steward, wonderful ringsiders and then some very, very nice Tollers to pass on. With an entry of 40 dogs, it was enough to tax my knowledge of the standard and decide how l would rate the virtues and faults I would find.

Handling was exemplary. Someone must have been taking lessons. The only exception was when I asked the handlers to show me that their dog had complete dentition. Many handlers seemed to be surprised that I checked the entire mouth. Perhaps this is due to the wording in the standard which states that “Full dentition is required”. The old nemesis of the word REQUIRED, MUST or SHOULD rears its ugly head. If full dentition is not evident, what do I do? Fault it? If so, to what degree? Is one missing tooth less faulty than two, or three? You tell me!

Having judged Tollers for many years at rare breed shows and in Europe and recently sat in the ring at the Dortmund World Show and watched 70 of this breed being judged by the Canadian James Reynolds, I have learned much. But still it takes awhile to really determine what I know about TYPE. Size is another conundrum. When you judge this breed you will find very small bitches and huge males, but without wicketing (forbidden) they all seem to fall within the guidelines of the standard. What to do?

I found lovely heads, eyes, ears and expression. Most of the toplines were correct. No problem with tail carriage, bites or full dentition. A few entries moved too close behind and I was told that much improvement has been made in this department. Front movement in almost all could be improved. The breeders know this and are working on it. Quite a few tails did not reach the hock joint. If you judge Shelties then you know about short tails – have a ball! In the equine world we say, “the tail is a long ways from the heart”. It is true that dogs do not herd or guard with their tails but the Toller does “toll” with its tail. How heavily to fault it? Don’t know.

Here are the results of the judging. I was very proud of my placements, even more so when I found out what Mrs. Kipp had done. In all the classes we had the same first and seconds and the same dogs for third and fourth with a few reversed in order. Winners male, Winners bitch and Best of Winners were the same. Our only difference involved BOB and BOS.

NOVA SCOTIA DUCK TOLLING RETRIEVER CLUB (USA)
REGION 2 SPECIALTY AND FIELD TESTS
CLASS WINNERS

PUPPY DOGS 6 TO 9 MONTHS
SAGEWOOD’S MARITIME KARAGO Breeder Atherton & Beran Owner J. Doher

PUPPY DOGS 9 TO 12 MONTHS
SIENNA-RED NAVIGATOR Breeder Rosenholm Owner Geyer

DOGS 12 TO 18 MONTHS
HUNTS POINT ABBY’S PIPER Breeder Wills Owner Mackay

BRED BY EXHIBITOR DOGS
ZEPHYR’S CEE ME SHINE Breeder/Owner Green

OPEN DOGS
REDWYN’S STUART LITTLE Breeder Miller/Keith Owner Keydel

WINNERS DOG
REDWYN’S STUART LITTLE

RESERVE WINNER’S DOG
WOODY OF SPRINGVALE Breeder Dorscheid Owner Ostendorf

PUPPY BITCHES 6 TO 9 MONTHS
SAGEWOOD’S MAJESTY Breeder Atherton/Beran Owner Ozzy/Baxter

BITCHES 12 TO 18 MONTHS
PIKKINOKKA’S BROADWAY MAE Breeder Niquedet Owner DeBruyne

NOVICE BITCHES
KD’S VERMILION SCARLET KAT Breeder Nichols Owner Lindemer/Como

AMERICAN BRED BITCHES
SAGEWOOD’S JINGER SNAP Breeder/Owner Beran

OPEN BITCHES
ZEPHYR’S MACFIELD COVERGIRL Breeder Green Owner Friedman/Green

WINNERS BITCH
ZEPHYR’S MACFIELD COVERGIRL

RESERVE WINNERS BITCH
LANDEW’S DIAMOND ICE Breeder/Owner Wertenberger

BEST OF BREED CH. LANDEW’S ARGO NAVIS CDX WC Breeder Wertenberger Owner Palkowski (Dog)
BEST OF WINNERS ZEPHYR’S MACFIELD COVERGIRL
BEST OF OPPOSITE SEX CH. VESPER’S VELA DI CIELO WC Breeder Semper Owner Palkowski

MRS. KIPP’S PICKS FOR ALL CLASS WINNERS AND WD, WB & BOW WERE IDENTICAL TO MINE.

HER CHOICES FOR BOB AND BOS WERE:

BEST OF BREED CH. CHESAGROVE’S RED RICOCHET WC Breeder DeVore Owner Ball
BEST OF OPPOSITE SEX CH. FOXGROVE SPRINGVALE WINDSWEPT WC Breeder Sue Kish Owner Dorscheid

Following the conformation show, all the spectators, exhibitors and dogs retired to the lake for some fun and relaxation. For a buck a throw one could enter the “boat bumper retrieve” which earned money for the fastest retrieve. Everyone cooled off in the water and then called it a day of fun and competition.

Many would return on Sunday for the field tests which would be judged by Canadian Sue Kish and Tony Hunt from Maryland. These field tests are held under the Rules & Procedures of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA). Ducks were used in all stakes. Entries would have been pre-entered and the following tests were conducted:

BASIC RETRIEVING AND TOLLING TEST
WORKING CERTIFICATE TEST
WORKING CERTIFICATE INTERMEDIATE TEST
WORKING CERTIFICATE EXCELLENT TEST

So now we have a little red superdog from the country entering the big, wide world of the American Kennel Club with a naivety and inexperience of a teen-ager. What will happen to this little retriever that can toll, retrieve, do obedience, compete in agility, win field titles, and be an all around house pet and baby sitter? Who will set the stage for what this breed will look like in a few years? Since the allround AKC judges and those who judge the entire sporting group will receive cart-blanche permission to judge the Toller, do we know if they have ever seen one? Have they seen the video or CD? Have they talked with breeders to find out what they want? I don’t have the answer. What I do know is that there are Tollers right now in professional handlers kennels being groomed for the all out rush to the big time. What a plum to have the first champion or the first group winner. And of course the crowning award to go down in history as having the first Toller to go Best In Show.

What I can tell you, and stop me if I’m wrong, that whatever dog begins to win big time, is heavily campaigned, and advertised to the hilt, will be what the Toller is going to be forever in AKC. I can only hope that both handlers and judges abide by the standard that requires a MODERATE dog with NO trimming especially on the throat and with body proportions that denote agility and will move in the manner to accomplish TOLLING. Please remember that it is NOT the AKC that changes a breed. A breed gets changed by inexperienced judges, unscrupulous breeders and clever handlers. Keep your fingers crossed.

There is another outcome if I may postulate. Should the Toller people continue with their emphatic emphasis on working ability, and continue to put great stress on function of this breed, something good can happen. The Brittany and the Vizsla have more dual champions than any other breed and they have KEPT the CONFORMATION according to the standard. Wouldn’t it be great if The Little Red Retriever would end up in the same category with these two breeds?

Dr. Théo Kjellström

Copyright © 2003 Dr. Théo Kjellström & World Dog Press.