Friends & Puppies

October 16th, 2013: Tollers are fantastic companions!!! We only wish we could have another litter sometime soon but here is the scoop. Our youngest Toller is in the process of being shown and building up his resume. We're trying out agility, flyball and a few conformation shows coming up soon. Although we don't have any litters planned, our very close friends and breed mentor does have litter plans. So, if you're looking for a well bred, health cleared, quality Toller pup, check our Jocar Tollers. And guess what! They now have a Facebook site:

Jocar Tollers - Facebook Site

I've heard some first hand knowledge that Jocar just had NINE puppies!!! Check with Carolyn to see if there are any still available from the litter. We all know those Toller waiting lists can be long...

9 feasting Toller puppies

In other news, Tikko Tollers is very happy to announce that Pepper, Tikko's Lady of the Lake, competed in her first conformation show in June and she won a GROUP FOUR placement!!! Congratulations to Pepper and her wonderful and energetic owners for the job well done. Exciting news is coming up in regards to Pepper. We'll keep you posted. Here is Pepper on the Toller Data website:

Pepper's Pedigree

Puppy Tips n Tricks

August 8th, 2013: Eau-din is almost 4 months old and we've had the joy of riding the puppy roller coaster. I do not claim to know it all and it is a fact of life that what works for one might be disastrous for another. Here are a few tips and tricks that work for me:

• Keep a very large toy bin stuffed to the max with every kind of toy a puppy could dream of - this is endless fun for the pup and constantly mixing in new toys will make the toy bin a go-to place for the pup - this will help eliminate people items as toys

Eau-din (Odes) with one of his many toys

• Leave the patio door open when working in the kitchen - potty training a dog in the winter is a wee bit harder as this means you too get to brave the cold during the million potty breaks a day - leaving the patio door open for the puppy to 'choose' to go outside instead of inside is very controversial but can certainly help the puppy link the great outdoors with being the toilet versus the interior of your home

Patio time & he is wearing his vest as an intro to something new today!

• Blame the trainer, not the puppy - when junior gets into the garbage and tears it to pieces or even ingests something he shouldn't, guess who's fault it is? THE TRAINERS FAULT! I feel very strongly about this. Set your puppy up for success, not failure.

Double Trouble - blame yourself when pup messes up!

• Kennel train, kennel train, kennel train - there are countless reasons to kennel train a dog. This is not only handy when the pup is still a wee tyke but will extend into adulthood. KENNEL TRAIN! Limit the puppies boundaries. Don't let your pup have the run of the house. This is just disastrous and lends to the point above...

Kennel Train! - Never leave your puppy unattended!

• Socialize, socialize, socialize - get your pup use to everything there is to see in this big wide world. From the bridge over a river during your walk to different sizes of people, introduce your pup to everything imaginable.

Socialize! - Introduce the young'un to new dogs as well!

• Training - it never stops. Even my 9 year old Toller is still learning. Expect ups and downs. Puppies need training in every stage of their life. One month puppy might be precious and well-behaved and the next month - LOOK OUT! TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN!

TRAIN! - Never stop training...

• Limit vaccines - don't over vaccinate just because a vet says that yearly vaccines are the standard. Educate yourself! Learn about titer testing. A dog with vaccine related health problems will only cause you grief and heartache. I know first hand! I recommend: one parvo/distemper vaccine combo at 12 weeks of age, 1 rabies vaccine once in a lifetime after 6 months of age and no further vaccines in a lifetime. This follows the scientific/medical research of Dr. Dodds and Dr. Schultz. Please email me if you would like to discuss further.

Eau-din at the vet clinic

Water Dog

July 10th, 2013: We've been learning more and more about field training. There are so many things you can train your dog to do and if they have the drive, they really can do it all. From flyball to agility to field trials, they can do it! I've been re-reading the book "Water Dog" by Richard Wolters and I thoroughly recommend the whole series to anyone getting a dog, whether their dog be a hunting dog or just a house pet. Wolters offers a lot of techniques and "opinions" that I would never have thought of on my own.

I'm no PRO but I am learning and that is what counts. My last Toller was skilled on retrieves, the shotgun sound, stays, drop-it, leave-it, among many other things but I did not introduce her to feathers early enough. Wolters stresses that the most important time to train your dog and build a bond is between 7 and 16 weeks. The *real* training starts after 16 weeks but there are lots of important little things to train your dog to do, before 16 weeks approaches. Saying that, my almost-9-year-old Toller has suddenly grown fond of feathers since she now has 'competition'. I'm amazed by this 9 year old.

Here is a picture of one of our first training sessions with feathers with our newest Toller, Eau-din (pronounced Odin). He will need to be trained with brushes as he does not have the softest mouth for a retriever but for a young pup, he is keen, and that is a good start!

Eau-din

June 26th, 2013: Meet the newest addition to our wee family: Eau-din (pronounced Odin). The name Eau-din is a tribute to his dam who we bred: Eau-dee. They say your dog becomes what you name it, well...let me tell you.

EAU is French for water and DIN is apparently English for a loud unpleasant prolonged noise. He is a vocal one and needy as all get out! But, I also look at other definitions for the word DIN. In Arabic DIN means "a way of life". And for another translation, DIN is the Romanian preposition "of". I am part Romanian so that fits.

But, the best fit to translating his name is: Water-a way of life ----- Eau-din

We love him. I smile when I wake up and smile when I go to bed. Even the big dogs love him.

Puppies/dogs/animals are, in my opinion, the recipe for good health.

Here's our boy:

Eau-din

Grandma Gracie & Eau-din

Eau-din

This Week's Adventures...

June 3rd, 2013: ...this week's adventures include a road trip this coming weekend to pick up our very first male Duck Tolling Retriever. His name will be announced as soon as we pick him up. We are excited as this Toller is a grandson to our foundation dog, Gracie. For now I leave you all with this photo of our new pup:

Gracie's Grandpups

May 8th, 2013: Eaudee gave birth to six puppies on April 11th, 2013. Three of the pups sadly did not survive solely due to birthing complications. Eaudee and Captain Jack have three beautiful surviving pups who are unique in their own way: 2 boys and 1 girl; Grace O'Malley is her name. We hope to be adding a new pup to our household at the beginning of June!

Here are the little guys:

Boy, Grace O'Malley, Red Boy

NEWSFLASH!!!

April 11th, 2013: Canadian & American Champion Tikko's Eau de Pikkinokka is due to have a litter of puppies. Due date is between April 11th and April 13th. We're so excited! This is a very special litter as it is a one-time litter for Eau-Dee before she moves to Australia!!!

NOTE: I am not the 'breeder' of this litter (although I did breed Eau-Dee). If you want to contact the breeder, visit the fabulous Pikkinokka Kennel's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pikkinokka

Here is a picture of Eau-Dee and her 'belly':

A Wee Visit(or)

April 11th, 2013: We had a wee visit with a wee visitor back in March. Stevie (pink collared pup from the Gracie X Picasso litter) stayed with us for 10 days. She's smart, she's full of energy and she's a cuddle monster. We thoroughly enjoyed our wee visit. Here is one of our outings in the woods:

Adventurous Stevie

Stevie

Gracie & Stevie

Gracie

Achieving Goals

December 17th, 2012: I had written a happy birthday post for the Gracie x Picasso pups but for some reason it vanished! Perhaps the send button was not pressed? Regardless, the pups are now two years old. Ever since I can remember (probably since I first learned the word 'dog'), it has always been a goal of mine to have lots of animals, help animals in need and commit myself to the breeding of high quality pups. As I grew up, my goal changed to not only breeding high quality pups but ensuring those pups had the best opportunities with loving forever families. Sounds mushy, I know!

 I have achieved my goal:

• 'White' puppy has the most loving family and has a new baby with another one on the way - Tollers and kids are the perfect mix - her owners have done a marvellous job training her and trusting her to be around their toddler, it is impressive and they are so cute together!
• 'Light Blue' puppy also has a very loving family and she recently got to move to the beautiful west coast of Canada - she gets to visit the ocean a lot! - lucky pup, I know I am envious
• 'Green' puppy has been loved and cared for by one of the pioneers of the Toller breed and soon gets to travel to Australia to continue her career
• 'Dark Blue' puppy also has a super loving family and will be moving from the prairies all the way to the east coast of Canada - I also hear there is soon to be a new addition to the family!
• 'Pink' puppy moved from the great white north down to southern Alberta and has spent much of her time in the Alberta Rockies accompanying her owners on ski trips, hikes and camping trips - lucky pup!

I also think about my days as a Humane Society volunteer (fostering, kennel attendant, board member) and all the families who would abandon their dogs to move. I count my blessings for the families of the five Tollers listed above!

Can/Am Ch. Tikko's Eau de Pikkinokka

1986 Magazine Article

October 18th, 2012: Recently on one of the Toller forums, someone shared a very interesting magazine article on the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, printed in 1986. The three paged article is attached below and is a nice read for any Toller enthusiast. Enjoy! [Please click on the pictures to open in full view to read]

Page 1 - 1986

Page 2 - 1986

Page 3 - 1986

A Taste of Jasper

September 27th, 2012: Today my wee family ventured forth to the wonderful national park of Jasper. Summer is NOT over. The 'lake' in the following pictures is actually a pond formed by a river flowing in the far distance. Every year this area floods with water of a one to two foot depth. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever AND the German Shepherd Dog absolutely loved this outing. Enjoy!

If cuteness could be bottled...

September 24th, 2012: If cuteness could be bottled, Toller breeders would be wealthy! It has almost been two years since the planning of my first litter and I actually miss all of the preparation, planning and time spent on the process. Carolyn of Jocar Kennels just shared these photos of her pups who are now two weeks old. I'm not 100% sure but I believe there are still pups available from this litter which is rare these days. I've received a lot of inquiries from potential homes and I realize there are many people on waiting lists. For more information about these pups, email Carolyn for more details:  jocartollers@telus.net

What a sweetie!

Little black nosed Toller

2 weeks and active!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

September 19, 2012: Goodbye summer!!! What a beautiful and warm summer we have had in Hinton Alberta. After spending 10 days in wine region of Washington and British Columbia, we have returned home to the wonderful shades of fall. The dogs stayed with Jocar Kennels in Kelowna. We had the privilege of meeting Jocar's newest litter of 7 beautiful Duck Toller pups (puppy photos taken by Jocar). Last I heard there were still pups available out of this litter which is rare these days!!! There are no litters planned from Tikko Tollers in the near future - if you are interested in these pups, you can email Carolyn at jocartollers@telus.net (email address updated).

Only a few days old!

Brand new puppies!

One last dip in the lovely Okanagan Lakes

Happy Toller

Two peas in a pod...

August 13th, 2012: Tollers plus children are a great mix. My sister was visiting for a few days and her little guy became attached to my Toller, Gracie...or should I saw Gracie became attached to the two-year-old? What I want to know is...what were these two doing to my garden? ;) Here is a picture of two peas in a pod, photographed by my sister.

Toller + Two-year-old

Mountain Dogs

June 29, 2012: We've uprooted our wee family and moved to the fabulous Rocky Mountains of Alberta...or at least closer to them. The weekend started out with a quick trip to Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park. Needless to say, the dogs are loving their new stomping grounds.

Gracie in her element

The GSD tried to venture off alone, thus the leash

Wildlife galore

Eau-Dee in the United States

April 8, 2012: Ch. Tikko's Eau de Pikkinokka can now be called an American AND Canadian Champion. Eau-Dee managed to secure an American championship in two weekends, all majors, winning over some very stunning specials. Congrats to everyone involved. We're as proud as can be! What an amazing accomplishment for a 1 year old Toller!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the FIVE TIKKO TOLLERS

Pikkinokka's Water Works - Expression

December 5, 2011 - I'm a day late but really want to wish five very special Tikko Tollers a very happy 1st birthday!!! Officially a year old. Lots of hugs from our family!

Pikkinokka's Water Works - Play Time

Gracie - 6 years ago!

Lucky Pups

October 28, 2011: Time has quickly slipped by this past year. The 5 girls of the Gracie/Picasso litter are so completely lucky to have such wonderful homes! Thank you to each and every one of their owners for taking such great care of these little gems. Almost 11 months old and going strong, here are some pictures from this past summer:

Stevie (Pink Pup) - Exploring & Living the Dream

Stevie - Well Rounded Pup!

Stevie - Mountain Pup

Pepa (Light Blue) - In her beautiful yard

Pepa - She's a litte wet!

Pepa - Beautiful - She has such a great family

Pepper (White Pup) - Absolutely Stunning

Pepper - Enjoying the great outdoors - Brave pup!

Pepper - She's learning a lot from her great owners!

That's all for now. If anyone doesn't want me to post a certain picture, just let me know! Gorgeous pups - they need to be shared with the world. :)