There are lots of possibilities in the UK for doing something with your toller – these include the following disciplines, which will also help you train your toller to become a good companion and pet.
Brief details about the various activities are listed below, in no particular order.
Gundog Work
This is what the breed was developed to do! In the UK tollers work as retrievers, which means that their primary function is to find and retrieve shot and wounded game to hand.
In the UK there is no current scope
(either competitively or practically) for their dual function, which is to also
toll ducks in a wild environment. The breed originated on the eastern coast of
Canada where there are millions of acres of wide open spaces and a suitable
environment of coastal estuaries without the large human population of the UK to
disturb the birds.
There are to date two tollers working with the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust at decoy sites or as decoys to lure ducks down decoy pipes for ringing purposes. This is a modern, practical up to date application of the breed – but luring ducks within a decoy is not how the “tolling” part of the breeds’ heritage came about.
There are tollers working on shoots throughout the UK as picking up dogs, and some used for beating and dogging in of pheasants too. There are also tollers working successfully with wildfowlers around the coastal marshes.
In competitive terms in the gundog world there are now several tollers competing successfully in gundog tests in the UK. The breed has been accepted by the UK Kennel Club as retrievers, which means that they are now eligible to compete in all the KC gundog events including field trials.
The club runs occasional toller gundog training days to encourage members to get involved in gundog training, and encourages members to go along to train with their local gundog club on a regular basis.
Agility click on Agility
Agility training and competitions are regular activities for many tollers and their owners up and down the country. This is the canine equivalent of show jumping with horses, where the dogs jump over obstacles, run over things, weave in and out of poles, and dive through tunnels.
Agility should provide a lot of off lead fun for dog and owner. Dogs should be over 12 months old and fit and healthy before starting to jump. There are hundreds of agility clubs – both private and Kennel Club registered up and down the country, but if you are interested it is a good idea to go along to your local club as soon as possible to have a look and introduce yourself – as most clubs have a waiting list!
Competitive obedience is a minority sport in the UK, but fiercely competitive within the show world. Ultra precise control over several exercises such as heelwork, retrieve, stays, sendaways, and scent are required in the competition to demonstrate the dog being obedient to command in different scenarios.
Basic training for obedience will stand most dogs in good stead, as they and their handlers will learn exercises which have good practical everyday application – like walking to heel on a loose lead.
There are many obedience training classes being run throughout the country, some through Kennel Club training clubs, some in private situations, and some on a one to one basis. To find a class in which you feel comfortable with ask at your local vet surgery and also contact the Kennel Club for information.
It is a good idea to go along and watch a class before taking your toller to make sure you are comfortable with the methods used and that you like the trainer. This is an opportunity for you to decide if you think that you and your toller would fit in to the style of class (and this applies to all the different training disciplines!).
There are tollers competing successfully in the obedience world in the lower and middle levels of competition, but to date there have not been any tollers made up into Obedience Champions.
Working Trials
Working Trials is another minority sport within the UK, where the emphasis is on the dogs ability to use its nose, combined with other activities. This discipline has developed through the work done by police dogs, and the dogs have to undertake exercises such as tracking (following a human scent trail), searching (for dropped articles), jumps, heelwork, retrieves, sendaways, and stays. The big challenge with working trials is to get everything right on the day!
Competitions are held throughout the year in Great Britain, and there are training groups who meet up to help each other, but most of the training is usually undertaken on a fairly individual basis. Working trials are more time consuming in training than most of the other disciplines, due to the need to get the dog to follow longer and older scent patterns. In practice this might mean going out to walk ( termed as “setting”) a track in the morning without the dog and then returning to use the same track with the dog some hours later – and this track would be half a mile long!
There are tollers competing successfully in working trials, but it has tended to be the males that have achieved more than the bitches. This is in large part due to the size of the jumps that all dogs over 15 inches at the shoulder have to negotiate. They have to clear a 3-foot high jump, a 9-foot long jump and climb up and over a 6-foot scale – the last of these is like a 6-foot fence panel! Within the toller breed standard the males are significantly larger than the females, and the extra inch in height and on the legs can make a big difference to whether the dog can physically achieve these jumps.
Jump training for Working Trials should not start for Tollers until they are fully mature due to the demanding nature of the activity. But there is plenty of other training for working trials that can be started early on in puppy hood.
In Working Trials there is the
possibility through achieving a very high percentage of the marks available in
competitions, to get titles to put after your dogs name.
Flyball is basically a team sport consisting of two teams each of four dogs race against each other. Each dog runs over four jumps collects a tennis ball from the flyball box at the end of the lane and races back over the same four jumps. Once the dog is back the next dog races off, in a relay. The first team back with four dogs who have correctly negotiated the jumps and collected their tennis balls wins!
In the UK there are two types of flyball - the only real difference is in the type of box they use to release the tennis balls. Kennel Club flyball consists of a box which throws the balls up into the air and the dogs jump to catch them, and the BFA (British Flyball Association) flyball is where the box releases the tennis ball virtually into the dogs mouth – so there is no jumping up to catch a ball.
There are competitions and training classes for both sorts throughout the country. Apart from dogs being mad about tennis balls the main thing about flyball is that it is a team sport – you cannot just go along and take part with your own dog (unlike all the other disciplines where it is just you and your dog) – you have to become part of a team. As a result it tends to be an activity that you eihter love or hate! Most tollers seem to love it as it involves running over jumps and getting a tennis ball.
Tollers are training and competing in both types of flyball teams with dogs of various breeds – there has yet to be a flyball team of just tollers! Dogs again need to be over 12 months old to start training, due to the repeated jumping that they undertake.
For most handlers the attraction of the Kennel Club type flyball is the possibility of qualifying to go to Crufts, and one of the attractions of the BFA type flyball is the possibility of earning titles to put after the dogs name.
Ringcraft and Show
training
Most people don’t realise that dogs need to be trained for the show ring. It is quite possible to have the most fabulous dog ever, but if that dog doesn’t know how to stand still while a stranger intimately examines him all over, and doesn’t know how to trot in a straight line, then that dog will not do very well in the show ring! Most people who are involved in showing their dogs in the breed shows also take them to ringcraft training – long before they go to their first show.
At ringcraft training the dogs and handlers learn what is expected of them at a breed show, and the handlers learn the finer points of what is expected of them and how to get the best out of their chosen breed.
There are Kennel Club registered and non KC registered ringcraft clubs the length and breadth of the country, since more people take part in breed showing than any other of the working disciplines – although this is not true within the toller breed! At a ringcraft club you would be unlikely to come across another toller, there are currently only about 40 tollers being shown in this country.
More details from the Kennel Club websites / Our Dogs / Dog World.
Heelwork to Music
© Photo: Sue Domun
Heelwork to Music, Dancing with Dogs, Freestyle. These are all names for what is basically the same thing. This is a new branch of dog training that has sprung up in recent years where dog and handler perform a series of movements together – normally to music. As a discipline it is evolving from clicker training where behavioural principles of operant conditioning are used to teach the dog all sorts of “tricks” from twisting, rolling over, standing on hind legs, to running in circles, to waving a paw. There are multiple organisations who all seem to be organising slightly differing versions of the same idea – some place more emphasis on the music & theatrical element and some more emphasis on the dog training side.
There is a fine line between teaching your own dog to do all sorts of tricks for your mutual enjoyment to the full blown performing animal (dog) routines in front of a paying audience, a level at which some individuals are taking this activity to. Only the individual can decide how far they want to take such activities, but at a basic level training classes for these activities are a lot of fun for both dog and handler.
© Photo: Dave Harding
There are already tollers competing in these competitions, and more learning all sorts of manoeuvres with their owners. Dogs can start training at any age, but should be fit and healthy – and should be fully mature before learning to stand up on their hind legs for any length of time.
There are tollers out there with amazing repertoires of tricks, and even some competing in the competitions – although none from the UK so far has gone on to the top flight of performing in public.
More details from The Kennel Club,
the Paws’n’Music Association, & Canine Freestyle UK.
Clicker Challenges
Another possibility for training and working with your dog, is the clicker challengers. This is a new group that has started – to provide a competitive outlet for people who are clicker training. This appears to have started as an alternative to heelwork to music – as a fun activity without the music and formality!
It is geared around the methodology of clicker training where the dog is trained to undertake all sorts of things using positive reinforcement, and a hands off approach. In a nutshell the clicker sound provides the information to the dog about what he or she is doing and then food provides the motivation to do it again. The emphasis is on allowing the dog to work out what the handler wants him or her to do – and given a good paycheck for doing it.
Needless to say most tollers thoroughly enjoy working for food, and with their intelligence quickly figure out what their person is trying to get them to do.
More information from Clicker Challengers UK.
Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme
This is the largest training programme for pet dogs, where basic life skills are trained and examined with the opportunity to progress through 4 levels. Over 100,000 dogs have gained qualifications under this scheme. Basic exercises start with manners going through doorways, not pulling on the lead, coming when called, ignoring other dogs, greeting people politely, and for the owners knowledge of responsible dog ownership.
The scheme is not competitive, i.e. against other dog owners – but is against the standard set by the Kennel Club.
A lot of dog owners have used this scheme as a good starting point in training, since the exercises are designed to train the dog to have good manners which can then be used as a solid foundation before progressing on to more advanced training in other disciplines.
More details from the Kennel Club – who have thousands of clubs offering classes and testing sessions up and down the country.
The Toller club hosts a testing session each year at the annual funday, and the tollers can boast a high number of passes at all the levels – puppy, bronze, silver, and gold.
PAT Dogs (Pets as Therapy)
PAT dogs are assessed for temperament and training before joining the scheme where dog and handler visit people who are unable to have dogs of their own – this might be in hospitals, care homes, or schools. They have all sorts of pets as part of their scheme but dogs are the most numerous, and there are several tollers already undertaking visits to less fortunate people.
More details from the PAT Dogs
charity who run the scheme.
This is one of the hardest training disciplines to get into – as all the people are initially part of a mountain rescue team, and then as volunteers who will train their dogs to search for lost or injured people.
Training takes at least a year, and then the dogs and handlers become part of the volunteer team who can get called out in all weathers to look for lost people on the mountains. Dogs are re-assessed annually to ensure they are working effectively.
The dogs are taught to use air scent to find people, which means that once proficient they can cover much larger areas on the mountain than that covered using purely people as part of the team.
So far there are two Tollers
qualified as a search and rescue dog in the UK. More details from SARDA.
Tollers are working as Hearing Dogs. This is not something that a pet owner can train their own dog to do – this is where the HDDP charity train dogs to act as hearing assistants to deaf people and then pair the trained dog with a suitable recipient - based on the persons needs and the personality of the dog.
The charity is always on the lookout for new recruits, and some tollers have been donated to the charity in the past, some have qualified as hearing dogs and others have been used in the charity’s breeding programme to create more hearing dogs.
More details from HDDP
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