An afternoon at the park

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I just wanted to post some pictures I took yesterday at the park. I decided to take advantage of the nice weather by walking Dance and Spring there, since I know I won't go as much in the winter when it's cold as it's too far of a walk for me when it's 20 below. Needless to say, they had a good day! The only problem with taking them to the park is that they don't do much other than chase the ball or stare at my pocket (where the ball is kept) if I'm done throwing it. They don't see any fun in running around and playing with other dogs or sniffing stuff. Oh well though! Guess that's what I get for having retrievers. I always enjoy a visit to the park with them regardless. Anyhow, onto the pictures!





















More (of course!)

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

A few more..

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

That's all!

[DJFyrewolf36]

Thank you for posting pix of your beautiful pups! Seeing your dogs makes me want to learn more about Tollers. They are gorgeous and they sure do look high energy! Being retrievers, how are they with cats?

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Your golden retrievers are absolutely stunning!! This is my favorite dog breed !!!

[chocolatepuppy]

Dance and Spring are just beautiful! Nice pics.

[dreamparkingspace]

Very beautiful pooches in those photos. My favorite photo is the one where the dog is in a stalking-type stance. I love the looks of a Nova Scotia Duck Toller. They almost look like a golden retriever X border collie, sorta. What are their personalities like? They look like very alert dogs. They remind me of my dog Shawnee a little bit.

[Zippy]

There both beautiful and you take great pictures.

[Taz_Zoee]

Dance and Spring are so beautiful!! It's great to see them.

Zoee is the exact opposite of them when we go to the park. She could care less about toys or me. She is all about running and chasing other dogs. As soon as another dog runs (usually playing ball with their human) she is in hot pursuit.

[wolf_Q]

Wow great pics! I love how they match the background. They are such beautiful dogs!!

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Thanks everyone!

Maya & Inka's mom, mine are actually Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, but thank you.

Being retrievers, how are they with cats?

As a breed, some are very prey driven toward cats, and some couldn't care less. How they behave toward cats is mostly determined by how they were brought up with them. Dance is absolutely terrified of them (too many bad experiences with grouchy farm cats as a pup), and I don't know what Spring's like with them. That said, I know of many Tollers who live with cats and they're all great. As with any dog though, I'd probably not leave a toller unsupervised with a cat.

They almost look like a golden retriever X border collie, sorta. What are their personalities like? They look like very alert dogs.

Sort of in looks I guess, but they aren't really like either a Golden or a Border Collie. They're not people pleasers... they're very much a "what's in it for me?" breed. Dance, when she was a puppy, lived to please me. Not so much anymore, though. As she's matured she's become very headstrong and a rather difficult dog to live with at times (but I like it that way - most people probably wouldn't). She's been pushing her boundaries a lot lately, to the point of growling at me the other night when I made her do something she didn't want to do. That was my fault though, for slacking on NILIF too much these last couple weeks. They're a breed you definitely need to be one step ahead of, and can't slack on the rules with. Aside from that, yes, they're very alert, and very energetic dogs who require at least an hour of exercise a day. They're an intelligent breed and relatively easy to train once you've figured out what their motivator is, too. Not personality/temperament related, but most don't realize how little a Toller is. They're the smallest of all retrievers, and males weigh about 50lbs at most, with females being quite a bit smaller (the standard for females is 37-43lbs, but I haven't met many who were over 35lbs). Females are 17-19" tall, and males are 19-21".

[Ginger's Mom]

I haven't been on PT much, but I sure am glad I was able to get on for a few minutes today. What beautiful dogs!!! Oh Devan, you know that I love your girls, and it's funny, because not having seen them for a while makes them seem even more beautiful than ever. I was going to say that Dance seems like such a happy girl, look at that beautiful smile she has, and that Spring seems to be all business (but she is gorgeous while being all business). Then I read your response above. Sorry to hear that Dance has become a bit headstrong. I must admit that you make owning Tollers seem easy. IF I ever get one, I think it will have to be an older one that already understands that the two-leggers are in charge. In the meantime, I will just drool over your dogs.