WHAT’S TOLLING?
required, although the purpose of the test remained the same. Most of the entrants would be young dogs with very little training. While the BRT satisfies the field test requirement for obtaining a club championship title, the BRT is, in itself, not a breed title. After the BRT program was placed in operation, the NSDTRC (USA) elected to cre- ate a further program, which included a title. This was the initial Working Certificate pro- gram. This program has now evolved into a three-step program with the titles of Work- ing Certificate (WC), Working Certificate Intermediate (WCI), and Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) awarded to the dogs that successfully complete the requirements at the respective levels. What makes all of these tests unique is that each level—from the basic BRT thru the WCX—includes “Tolling.” In the Basic Retrieving and Tolling (BRT) test, the tolling test is a separate series, which is run before the water series. Dogs in the BRT test do six tolling retrieves of 10 to 20 feet in length, parallel to the shore. For the BRT, handlers are required to be in a blind, but must remain in an area designated by the judges. For the Working Cer- tification (WC) there is a tolling test of four tolling retrieves of 20 to 30 feet, parallel to the shore, before each of the two single water marks with the handler working from a blind. In the Working Certificate Intermediate (WCI) the tolling test is run immediately before the water double and must be run from a blind with the handler seated in the blind. The dog must come into the blind to return the tolling object. There are at least six tolling retrieves of 20 to 30 feet in length, parallel to the shore. In the Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) the tolling test is run immediately after the walk-up and, as in the WCI, must be run from the blind with the handler seated in the blind and, again, the dog must come into the blind to return the tolling object. Also, as in the WCI, there are at least six tolling retrieves of 20 to 30 to feet in length, parallel to the shore. The tolling retrieve is not necessarily a direct retrieve, and the dog may momentarily stop and play with the tolling object, since it is the Toller’s playful and rushing actions that attract the waterfowl. Occasionally, the dog may lose the object, which is acceptable, and the handler may throw a different object, but the handler may not leave the blind. It is also equally acceptable for the dog to make a more conventional direct retrieve. There should be no excessive delays between throws, and the lack of interest or desire after a few throws is a cause for failure. During the tolling test, no whistles or loud voice commands may be used to send or encourage the dog to come in, as in a real tolling situation this would startle the ducks being tolled. The dog may leave with the throw, and hand delivery of the tolling object is not required. The tolling objects may be a bumper, ball or stick. The handler may bring three tolling objects to the line and they can be any combination of those three items. It is up to the handler to know what their dog will be most excited to playfully retrieve during the tolling test. Watching a Toller that is eagerly tolling, and seeing it lure waterfowl to shore, is just magi- cal. It’s very rewarding to see a breed still be able to execute the tasks for which it was bred.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jennifer Hollis is the Public Education Coordinator for the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club. She is currently owned by two Tollers: “Dodger,” who started it all almost 14 years ago, and his son “DJ.” Jennifer and Dodger and DJ participate in conformation as well as a wide variety of dog sports, including obedience, rally, agility, field, CAT, FAST CAT, dock diving, and barn hunt.
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2021 | 267
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