Litter Expected December 2, 2010: Pedigree Information

Pedigree: 

We are expecting puppies due December 2nd from 

Gracie - Pikkinokka's Water Works

~and~

Picasso - Can Ch Jocar's Mystic Self Portrait.

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A little about Picasso:

Picasso's pedigree: http://toller-l.org/tollerdata/pedigree.asp?ID=27566

Picasso is a gorgeous Toller from Jocar Kennels of Kelowna BC. He has been health cleared for hip dysplasia, PRA and CEA. He has been described as having a very wonderful temperament (I can't emphasize this enough) and has successfully sired a few quality litters so far. Picasso's sire is the lovely Sender - CH Ximinez Return To Sender (originating from Australia) and Picasso's dam is Mysti - Can Ch Tollwest Mystical Wave who is the daughter of the renowned Schooner - Am/Can Ch Ruaview's Cape Breton Schooner (multi Best in Show winning Toller).

A little more about Gracie:

Gracie's pedigree: http://toller-l.org/tollerdata/pedigree.asp?ID=18705

Gracie is an ideal medium to heavy boned Toller with an outstanding courageous temperament. Gracie has been health cleared for hip and elbow dysplasia, PRA, and heart. She is halfway to her Canadian championship and has proven herself in the ring on a few occasions. Gracie's sire is the well known Adam - Can Ch Pikkinokka's Just Add Water, who is the son of my all time favorite Toller, Tempest - Can Ch Pikkinokka's Seaside Tempest. Gracie's dam is Rookie - Can CH Tollegend Canada Cup.


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Both Picasso and Gracie are great specimens of the Nova Soctia Duck Tolling Retriever and have some outstanding attributes I hope to see produced in their puppies.

Picasso

Gracie

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We are now accepting puppy inquiries for show and companion homes: rls6118@gmail.com

Xray Results: Puppy Count

November 26, 2010: We decided to have Gracie xrayed today to see how many puppies are in her little belly. My predictions were two puppies because she seems awfully small in the abdomen area and I could only feel movement in two distinct spots. However, our vet (who, along with the rest of the staff, is super!!!) says that I was likely just feeling the horns of the uterus moving on either side because.........we are expecting FIVE puppies within the next few days!!! I sat in the waiting room eavesdropping and I could hear the two vets counting, "...two, definitely three, there's the fourth." And when they invited me in to view the xray they showed me a fifth puppy hidden up in her rib cage.

I've noticed a considerable change in Gracie. She has slowed down, she is being more cautious, and believe it or not, she is not overly interested in retrieving at the moment. Gracie has always been a very sweet cuddly dog but she is now requesting cuddles, belly rubs and massages. She actually seems quite content and happy!

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Puppy Inquiries: We are now accepting puppy inquiries. Please feel free to email me: rls6118@gmail.com

November 21, 2010

November 21, 2010: After a few days of wondering if Gracie was experiencing a false pregnancy (read more about false preggo's here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_pregnancy), over the weekend I was able to spend some quality time with Gracie.

The little puppies in her belly are active! When I lay my hand against her side I can feel them squirming like little snakes and bopping their little heads like popcorn. She isn't overly big for being ~9 days from delivering her puppies but I am sure I can feel two puppies - one on either side of her belly. (*edit: we've learned that we were probably feeling the horns of her uterus and not individual puppies, but still very very neat!*)

She is filling up with milk! It is very obvious more so today.

She got a full grooming yesterday and we've been giving her lots and lots of gentle back massages which she is soaking up like nobody's business.

Preggo-pie-Gracie:

Nesting already!!! It fascinates me that dogs have this natural instinct:

Ch. Royaltouch's Northern Tuli - Tikko

Tikko and I were quite active together and some of our accomplishments are as follows:

• Handful of junior handling wins (I actually don't remember how many ribbons we earned!)
• Selected to represent Yukon in the Junior Handling Regionals
• Canadian championship
• Several group wins
• Placed within the top 10 Finnish Spitz in the Dogs in Canada magazine for two years in a row
• Friendship award in 4H (I had to include this one as it was our very first ribbon!!!)

And here are some very old pictures (poor poor quality) of Tikko when he was a pup:

 

Finnish Spitz sled dog

 Family husky Kavik with Tikko

 10 week old Tikko

 Tikko and Stoney - the only two Finnish Spitz in the whole Yukon!!!

Puppy Post

It is so nice having a blog to write about our experiences with our dogs and we'll be updating this blog a lot over the next few months. As most of you already know, we're expecting a litter of puppies due December 1st, 2010. Gracie is doing very well, enjoying her daily feast of liver, eggs, and other proteins, and still running and playing like a true Toller! Two weeks until delivery!!!!

 

Her belly is smaller than I thought it would be two weeks before delivery...looking great!

 

Typical TollToll

I felt a puppy move. It was only for a split second but it was definitely a pup! :)

Welcome to our Blog

A wee introduction:

November 1999 - My first dog; Tikko. He was a pretty amazing 1st dog - a purebred Finnish Spitz full of energy and brains. He challenged me to no end but I successfully showed him to his Canadian championship which included several group wins and a placement in the top ten Finnish Spitz in the Dogs in Canada magazine. Tikko passed away in February 2005. He taught me so much about dogs and training and thus the name TIKKO TOLLERS was born.




November 2005 - Steve and I picked up our 1st Toller in the Vancouver airport (thanks to Shirley and her husband for waiting for us!). Gracie - Pikkinokka's Water Works, has joined us on many adventures including trips all across Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington and Oregon. We have trained in non-competitive obedience and agility, showed in conformation, and we have done some very basic training with bird hunting.

September 2010 - After much thought and collaboration, we decided to breed Gracie. We truly believe that she is a great specimen of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling breed.  After tons of help from fellow Toller friends, we found a beauitful PRA-clear Toller named Picasso in Kelowna BC and we are eagerly anticipating our very first litter at the beginning of December!!!!!!! This goal has been 11 years in the making and I am beyond excited at not only achieving my goal but producing a QUALITY, family orientated litter of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers.

Our 'kennel' consists of two dogs: our Duck Toller - Gracie and our German Shepherd Dog (aka pound puppy) - Leah. This site will contain updates surrounding our adventures and experiences with our dogs.

For more information regarding the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, please visit the Canadian national breed website: www.toller.ca