Dog Sports & Activities

Tollers are an incredibly versatile breed. They are athletic, quick to learn, and love to work! Due to this, they make great sporting and hunting companions and love to get involved in all sorts of activities. They need to be a pet with a job or a dog with a purpose, and there are many ways to keep both their brains and bodies occupied. Some examples are:

Hunting and Field Trials

Tollers are high drive energetic dogs who make great companions in both waterfowl and upland hunting. They love to work! They are an ideal cold water retriever, with a thick water repellent double coat and webbed feet. They have a natural instinct to find a retrieve birds.

They are also decoy dogs, the ‘Tolling’ in their name refers to their ability to lure ducks - the hunter sends their dog to the water's edge where the dog will frolic and play, their playful antics, swishy tail and flashy white markings entice curious ducks into the hunters range, and once shot the dog is sent to retrieve them. 

They are a great choice for field trialing - a dog sport that imitates hunting and makes the most of their retrieving skills. Retriever trials test the obedience and steadiness of the dog, and have them retrieving game over land an water and returning it back to their handler.

Find out more about gundog trials at www.nzgta.co.nz

Agility

In Agility the handler uses their voice and body language to direct a dog through an obstacle course, racing for both time and accuracy. Common agility obstacles include jumps, weave poles, the A-frame, tunnels, the dog walk, and the teeter. Tollers love the chase, complexity and teamwork in agility. They are quick to learn and known for their power and speed on the course.

Find out more at www.dogagility.org.nz

Nosework

Nosework (also called Scentwork) is a fairly new sport where dogs are trained to find ‘target’ odors and then communicate to their handler that they have found them (much like how airport scent detection dogs work!). Tollers have a great nose and enjoy the problem solving that Nosework provides, they make great scent detection dogs!

Find out more at scentsports.org.nz and www.dogsnz.org.nz/scent-work/scent-work

Obedience

From walking on-and off-leash to retrieving and jumping, or demonstrating your dog’s ability to stay, Obedience trials feature dogs that are well-behaved at home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs. It is a great way to get your Tollers’ mind working!

Find out more at dogobedience.dogsnz.org.nz

Rally-O

In Rally-O the dog and handler must navigate a course and perform obedience and skill exercises. Exercises and courses vary and range in difficulty. They can include things like turns, heeling around cones, sit/stays, jumps and changes of position. Tollers can be very successful at sports like Rally-O due to their eagerness to work and intelligence.

Find out more at www.rallyonz.com And nzaro.webs.com

Conformation (Dog Showing)

In Dog Shows, dogs are assessed against the ‘standard’ for their breed. This involves a judge physically examining a dog and the way it moves in order to determine if it is a good example of what the breed should be like. There are many different elements to a show; dogs are first compared against others in their own breed and then against winners in their sex and group. Tollers compete in the Gundog Group.

Find out more at www.dogsnz.org.nz/shows/breed-shows

Trick Dog

Cool stuff about trick dogs goes here.

Canine Good Citizen (CGC)

Canine Good Citizen is a program that prepares dogs to be good member of society, focusing on skills that are important for being out and about in public and interacting with others. CGC has been around for about twenty years at various NZ dog clubs and in that time over 2,000 dogs have completed certification starting at Foundation, which is the most comprehensive stage, and many continuing on through Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. It’s an attractive alternative to obedience training which for many has the connotation of tight, precise training of the dog to go on to competition.

CGC is ‘Life Skills Training’ where the dog and owner learn to become a confident partnership of a socially balanced and happy dog and a relaxed owner who trusts the dog to react positively to commands in all situations at home and in public.

For more information see: www.dogsnz.org.nz/cgc/cgc-home

Other activities

Tollers are great all round dogs and excel in other sports and activities too! A few example are:

• Therapy Work

• Flygility

• Lure Coursing

• Disc Dog