But if you want to know what owning a toller is like, I can tell you all about that. Here you will read about a couple tollers I know and what makes them so lovable!
Piper is our little toller. He has a more "pet" oriented life than Penny but he keeps his dance card full. I wanted a dog to compete with, so we attend handling class and rally obedience once a week. He makes me look good in classes even though I may not have as much time to spend with him as a few of my classmates. I show him what I want and after 3-4 repetitions, he gets it (but don't try too many repetitions or else he gets bored). When one Todd or myself has time, he joins us for mountain bike rides, cross-country skiing, swimming in the Columbia River (only in the summer), trail running, kayaking, and any other adventure we can find. Again, his size comes in handy because he can easily join us but is not so small that he can't keep up. When we're not adventuring or training, he's lounging on the couch.
The 3 words I would use to describe tollers based on my experience: active, SMART, and talkative. Now, these are the 3 things I love most about Piper but those same qualities do have drawbacks.
Active: Piper can keep up with me wherever I go. He is a constant companion on our adventures. But...if you're thinking about just taking a week off, think again! Piper is fine taking a day or two off if he's had a busy week but anything past that and he finds ways to get that energy out. When I was sick, he took to leaping over the couch, rounding the chairs behind it, continued through the kitchen, and back around to the couch. If you can't help him get all of his energy, he will help himself. If you don't want your house used as an obstacle course, plan on exercising your toller every day.
Smart: Piper is a genius and just like his activity level, if you don't direct his brainpower, he'll find a way to use it himself...and he may not use it for good. If you have a toller, it's safe to say that you should commit to training him in something (anything, really) and it should be exciting, not repetitive (5 repetitions and your toller understands it, anything more and your toller is bored). This doesn't have to be something rigorous. When researching Cyon Tollers as a breeder, one of their fans said she taught her dog to play hide and seek. She didn't learn it in a class and it's not something she competes in, just something that she and her dog really enjoy. It has had practical uses too. She can ask her toller to find a certain object and sure enough, Ula will bring it to her. Without engaging your toller's brain, he's going to create and solve puzzles that you might not like (how to get into the pantry, pursuing small game, blogging all of your secrets, I put no limits on what Piper will learn).
Talkative: To me, Piper's verbal expression is 98% wonderful and 2% terrible. When I am trail running, I know that no one will sneak up on me...ever! No matter where, new comers will always receive an introduction. He also lets me know when he enjoys something and when he feels someone or something has done some injustice to him. Sometimes he's quiet, sometimes he's loud, but most of the time it looks like he's trying to talk to me and the cuteness of it all kills me. But sometimes he's loud when I really wish he would be quiet (I can think of better flight companions). I know people who live in densely populated areas have tollers but it is definitely something to consider if you have sound-sensitive neighbors.
There is so much more to tollers than could reasonably covered in a silly little blog tab. There are resources out there to learn much more though. A good breeder will be a wealth of knowledge and I call my breeder (Cyon Duck Tollers) regularly about everything from training to genetics to diet. But if that seems a little daunting, there are plenty of amateur toller owners like myself who would be happy to answer any questions!
