Wet Weekend for the Toller Specialty

It poured all weekend! Everything got wet and considering the event was held the last weekend in July, it was freezing! Even the Tollers looked forlorn and tired of the wet by the end of the four days.
Okay, first off, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (NSDTR) is one of Canada's four national dog breeds and as you can imagine, were developed as a rather unique little bird dog. These medium sized retrievers are an unusual red colour with white toes, blaze, chest and tail tip. Tolling is a way of luring ducks closer to the hunter. In the wild, a fox scampers along the shoreline of a river or marsh attracting the curiosity of the ducks and as they come in for a closer look, he pounces and has a wonderful dinner. Tollers do the same thing for the hunter by mimicking the colouring and antics of the fox. Once the hunter blams the bird, the Toller then retrieves the prize.
For non-hunters, Tollers excel at pretty much anything their handler wants them to do. You will see them in the confirmation ring, agility, obedience, flyball, Rally-O, tracking, freestyle and the list goes on. They are a high energy, high drive and extremely intelligent breed that will become bored and destructive if they are not challenged both physically and mentally each day. These are not dogs for the first time owner nor are they a smaller version of a Golden Retriever! Unlike Goldens, their bloodlines have not been watered down (pardon the pun) - these are still pure hunting dogs that require a 'job' to preform.

With that said, onto the Toller Specialty! On Wednesday night, Alison 'Mrs. Toller' Strang held a seminar on judging the NSDTR. As the breed is relatively new to the international scene, many judges will not have seen more then a handful in their rings at one time. Judging seminars are the best way for them to learn what the breed is all about and what constitutes a good example of the breed versus a not so good one.
Thursday we hit TNT Kennels for the field trials. A great day for the dogs although it did seem as though the ducks were a bit 'off' as most of the dogs did not pick them up and complete the retrieve so there were many failures amongst the group.

On Friday we all met at the Hazelmere RV Park for a day of agility and obedience. Great day all in all but the weather could have co-operated a bit better.
The confirmation portion of the Specialty was held on Saturday and what an event! One hundered and forty six Tollers were entered - the largest grouping of these little red dogs in the history of the breed and when Roy Strang piped in the Parade of Tollers, there was hardly a dry eye amongst the handlers. An incredible experience and one that for once I was glad to be a part of versus hanging out on the sidelines taking pics.
Saturday night finished up the official part of the Specialty with the banquet, speeches, and awards.

However, for those not yet Tollered out, there was more confirmation, agility and obedience trials on the Sunday and a picnic on the Monday.
Six great days of Toller fun and it was ready for a break for the dogs and their handlers!