KENAI
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

The breeds · gun dog · retrieving

AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 312

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Tolling retriever: lures ducks within gunshot range by playing along the shoreline, then retrieves the dead or wounded birds; the smallest of the retrievers.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.2YRMedian lifespanmeasured on real dogs.
19 / 18INHeightdogs 19, bitches 18. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
37–51LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 48 lb (45 to 51); breed bitches 40 lb (37 to 43).
1HRSExercise, every dayUp to 1 hour per day. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 19 in (18 to 21) · bitches 18 in (17 to 20)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2001

Weight

dogs 48 lb (45 to 51) · bitches 40 lb (37 to 43)

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1987

Same basis as the male row. The AKC breed page gives 35 to 50 lb for both sexes.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Water-repellent double coat of medium length with a soft dense undercoat

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2001

Derived from the standard's coat description (medium double coat = 3).

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.2 years

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK dogs. The table prints the upper CI bound as NA for this breed (few deaths in the sample), so only the lower bound is recorded. Small n; read with the CI.

What it costs

Embrace prints no average claim; it lists hip dysplasia (medium risk) at $1,500 to $6,000 and Addison's disease (high risk) at $1,000 to $5,000 to diagnose and treat, and says the breed costs more to insure than mixed breeds because of hereditary-condition claims

EditorialEmbrace Pet Insurance

Insurer marketing page, not a claims report; insured dogs skew. No dollar centre recorded because no average or lifetime figure is printed. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC exercise band 'Up to 1 hour per day' = 60 min by the ruled mapping. Lower than the other retrievers on the RKC page; the AKC standard and the club field rules describe a high-endurance working dog.

Energy

5 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC grooming band 'More than once a week' = 3. The standard: seasonal shedding is to be expected; the Toller should appear natural, never barbered.

Why they get given up

The UK breed club lists: sold into an incompatible situation; little or no training and now 'out of control'; the owner has become ill

Breed clubNova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club of UK

A club rescue page's list, not ranked intake statistics. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Tolling retriever: lures ducks within gunshot range by playing along the shoreline, then retrieves the dead or wounded birds; the smallest of the retrievers

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2001

Standard's General Appearance; the club field rules describe the same tolling work.

Primary game

Waterfowl (ducks)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2001

Developed in the early 19th century 'to toll, lure, and retrieve waterfowl'.

Also used on

Upland birds: the club's Working Certificate asks for control enough 'to participate in a simple upland or waterfowl hunt'

Breed clubNova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA), 2011

The club's test rules, not a survey of what owners hunt. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Field trial standard

NSDTRC (USA) three-step program WC, WCI, WCX plus the Basic Retrieving and Tolling Test: land and water marks, a tolling series of repeated short retrieves parallel to the shore with no whistle or loud commands, and no gunshyness

Breed clubNova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA), 2011

Club titles; the AKC standard also says the club encourages all Tollers to pass an approved club field test.

Water work

Bred to retrieve from icy waters; strongly webbed feet; love of water is called essential to the tolling role

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2001

Cold water

5 of 5 · Built for cold water: 'bred to retrieve from icy waters' with a water-repellent double coat and dense undercoat

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2001

Derived from the standard's coat and purpose wording.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

5.9% · 4,167 OFA hip evaluations, all data as served Oct 5 2026; 5.9% dysplastic (mild 4.0, moderate 1.8, severe 0.0; borderline not counted), 93.8% normal (22.0% excellent)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own current breed statistics (disease statistics data service). Cross-checks: Oberbauer et al. 2017 Table 2 prints 5.8% (2,084 evaluations 1978 to 2014 per its S3 Table, borderline through severe; re-summed by the second key, reproduces); the OFA table for Jan 1974 to Dec 2013 as reproduced by K9 Carts gives 1,987 evaluations, 6.4%. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock.

Elbow dysplasia

2.3% · 2,614 OFA elbow evaluations, all data as served Oct 5 2026; 2.3% abnormal (grade I 2.0, grade II 0.2, grade III 0.0)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own current breed statistics (disease statistics data service). Cross-check: Oberbauer et al. 2017, summed from its S3 Table (code DTR), gives 796 evaluations 1994 to 2014 and 2.5% (re-summed by the second key, reproduces).

Most common disorders

Swedish owner survey, 935 live dogs: neoplasia of any kind 14% (mammary and mast cell tumours most often named), steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis 3.5%, immune-mediated rheumatic disease 3.0%; neoplasia was the stated cause of death for 38% of 177 deceased dogs. The US parent club adds autoimmune thyroiditis (18.5% of 173 MSU tests positive) and ranks hypothyroidism, epilepsy and hip dysplasia as breeders' top concerns

StudiedIn sickness and health: a questionnaire based study regarding immune mediated diseases and neoplasia in Swedish Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, 2024

Peer-reviewed but owner-reported and Swedish; the authors say prevalence may be slightly over-estimated because owners of sick dogs answer more. The thyroid figures are the NSDTRC (USA) Health and Genetics Committee's own laboratory table (MSU TgAA tests), not a population survey. No VetCompass paper for the breed.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 2; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 5; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 11 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Toller, NSDTR, Duck Toller

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

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