Creature Feature: They Lure, And Retrieve, Ducks

Ducks are fascinated by foxes. And that's the reason Mardie Smith's two dogs, Maggie and Duke, look the way they do.

Maggie and Duke are Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers, a now rare breed of hunting dog developed to resemble a fox in appearance and behavior and thus to exploit the foolish, frequently fatal, attraction that foxes hold for ducks.

Foxes are the natural enemies of ducks, yet many species of duck will flock to a fox when they see it onshore. Throughout the ages and throughout the world humans took advantage of this avian behavioral quirk in order to obtain duck for the dinner table.

Decoy Dogs

Though today only two breeds of dog, the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever and the Dutch kooikerhondje, are commonly used for "decoy" purposes, Europeans, Asians, and Native Americans are all known to have used small foxlike dogs to lure ducks within shooting range.

The clever Canadians of Nova Scotia went them all one better when they developed the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. For the dog not only lured the ducks in (the word toll is derived from the Middle English word tollen, meaning entice), but would also retrieve them once the birds were successfully shot.

The technique utilized when hunting with a toller is unique. When securely ensconced in the hunting blind the hunter throws out a stick for his dog to retrieve. The quick playful movements of the dog draw in the curious ducks.

When the ducks are close enough the hunter stands up, sending the birds into flight, and fires. The dog, all business now, retrieves the ducks with alacrity.

Ms. Smith got her first toller, Duke, 14 years ago when she was still living in New York City. She wanted a dog and her husband, Dana, a sportsman, wouldn't have anything but a hunting dog.

Labs and golden retrievers seemed too big for apartment life and other breeds perhaps too high-strung for life with the Smiths' rambunctious young children, so the medium-sized, utterly affable tollers seemed the perfect choice.

Worried Callers

The toller world is small and close-knit - there are now fewer than 600 tollers in the United States - and word quickly spread out among the kennels that a toller was to be placed in New York City.

Ms. Smith began to receive calls from concerned toller friends all over the country. "They called wanting to make sure I understood how active tollers were and how much exercise they needed. They really look out for these dogs. If only children had advocates like that," Ms. Smith said.

Fortunately the entire Smith family is very active, so Haden Duke of Hamilton adjusted beautifully to city life. Active is the operative word when it comes to tollers. "They are a dog for an outdoor person. They love to hike and swim."

Newest Addition

Tollers are as active mentally as they are physically. Like many highly intelligent creatures they are quite independent thinkers. That willfulness combined with extreme sensitivity can make training challenging. "The toller owner needs to have a lot of energy . . . and patience!" Ms. Smith said.

Two years ago, the Smiths, who have been living in East Hampton for the past 11 years, added a second toller to their Northwest Woods household. The newest addition, Maggie, the last-born of Duke's many offspring, is a red-haired hoyden of a dog who exemplifies the high-energy, irrepressibly playful toller attitude.

Ms. Smith had high hopes for the young dog. She was preparing Maggie to compete for the Triple Crown of the toller world, the Rusty Jones Trophy, awarded to a dog that had won championships in three competitive arenas: breed (confirmation), classes, obedience trials, and field trials.

Tooth Knocked Out

Alas, Maggie, tomgirl that she is, put an end to those ambitions by somehow managing to knock out one of her front teeth. Since a full set of teeth is required in breed classes, no gap-toothed smiles tolerated there, Maggie had effectively ended her career as a beauty contestant.

Never mind, Maggie has a great deal else to occupy herself with. She and Ms. Smith, under the tutelage of Jeanete Friscia of Westhampton, are continuing with her competitive obedience career.

Once Ms. Smith realized how to tip the scales in their favor, Maggie has become quite successful. The trick was to avoid outdoor odedience trials, which held too many distractions for the highly distractable young Maggie. In the more sedate atmosphere of the indoor trials Maggie manages to retain her composure and earn good scores.

Honing Her Skills

Maggie has shown great promise as a field dog. She spent the last summer honing her tolling and retrieving skills at a kennel in upstate New York. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to attend the field trials in Kansas. She would have been too much of a distraction, at least to the male dogs at the event, for she'd come into season.

But Ms. Smith feels that Maggie's real forte will be as an agility dog. Agility dogs are required to climb, jump, and tunnel through a series of obstacles. The quickness and courage that agility competition requires of its canine contestants is well suited to a dog of Maggie's temperament and physique.

And, most important, "She loves it!" enthused Ms. Smith.

If these were not enough careers for a girl, Maggie is going to add another job to her resume this spring. She's going on the mommy track. Ms. Smith is planning to raise tollers, and jaunty, lively Maggie is going to become the foundation bitch of her kennel.

Maggie is not even pregnant yet but there already is a waiting list for her puppies, which seems to prove that tollers toll humans with the same ease as they toll ducks!