Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever: Size, Coat and History

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, or Toller, is a medium-sized, red-coated retriever developed in Nova Scotia to lure ducks within range by playing along the shore, then retrieve them from cold water. It's the smallest of the retriever breeds, the provincial dog of Nova Scotia, and one of the few breeds the Canadian Kennel Club recognizes as uniquely Canadian.

At a glance

What "tolling" means

People in what's now Nova Scotia noticed that foxes can lure ducks by running and playing along the shoreline, and they developed a dog to do the same, as The Canadian Encyclopedia describes. The Toller frolics at the water's edge, often chasing a thrown stick or ball, until curious ducks swim closer, and then retrieves the birds the hunter brings down. A French colonist, Nicolas Denys, described dogs tolling in the region in the 17th century.

The breed as it's known today was developed in the early 19th century around Little River Harbour in Yarmouth County, where it was first called the Little River duck dog or the Yarmouth toller. Its exact origins aren't known; it's thought to mix retriever, setter, spaniel and possibly farm collie.

A Canadian breed

The Canadian Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1945, the same year it took its current name. Tollers stayed largely unknown outside the Maritimes until 1980, when two of them won Best in Show at all-breed competitions. Canada Post put a Toller on a stamp in 1988, the Royal Canadian Mint featured one on a silver 50-cent coin in 1997, and Nova Scotia declared it the provincial dog in 1995.

It's one of five breeds the Canadian Kennel Club recognizes as uniquely Canadian, alongside the Canadian Inuit dog, the Newfoundland, the Labrador Retriever and the extinct Tahltan bear dog.

Coat and colour

The Toller's coat was built for icy water: a water-repellent, medium-length outer coat over a soft, dense undercoat, with webbed feet for swimming. That double coat is the original state in dogs, as a 2019 study of single and double coats noted, and it's a big part of why Tollers make our list of the best dogs for Canadian winters.

Its red-to-copper colour comes from phaeomelanin, the red-to-yellow pigment, and the white markings on the face, chest, feet and tail tip come from white-spotting genes. Our coat colour hub explains how those genes work together, and our guide to the genetics of shedding covers what a double coat means for shedding.

Temperament and energy

Tollers were bred to work: to play tirelessly at the water's edge and then retrieve. The breed is known for intelligence, a love of the outdoors and devotion to its people, and Tollers do well in agility, obedience and search and rescue. Many also have a famous "Toller scream", a loud, high-pitched sound they make when excited.

Those are breed tendencies, not promises for one dog. A 2022 study of more than 18,000 dogs found breed explains only about 9% of behavioural differences between individual dogs. Our guide to what a dog's breed means for daily care covers how to use breed context sensibly.

Genetic diversity

The Toller was developed in one small corner of Nova Scotia. Breeds that started from a limited number of dogs in one place tend to carry more inbreeding than dogs from mixed backgrounds, and a 2021 study of 227 breeds found average genotype-based inbreeding of about 25% across breeds. Our guide to the genetic diversity percentile explains how a DNA report compares one dog's inbreeding with others.

Toller mixes and DNA tests

A breed-ancestry test estimates how much of a dog's DNA traces back to each breed by comparing it with reference dogs. How a Toller or a Toller mix shows up depends on whether the breed is represented in the provider's reference panel, so if that matters to you, ask before you buy. Our guide to how to read a dog DNA report explains what the results mean.