AKA: Little River Duck Dog, Yarmouth Toller

Description: The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever is like a small Golden Retriever in form. It is well muscled and strongly boned with strong sturdy legs. Its head is clean-cut and triangular in shaped, with ears that are set high. Its coat is dense and straight, with a slight wave on its back.

Dynamics: The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever is an obedient and sensible dog. It is very devoted to its family and makes a good companion. It also gets along well with the children. It can be reserved around strangers, but with proper socialization as it grows up the Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever can become a very playful dog. Its energy can largely be seen as it works and hunts. This breed is hardworking and has a natural tolling ability. It also naturally likes retrieving games, and is very eager for play and training sessions.

Breed Group: Gun Dog

Weight: 37-51 pounds (17-23 kg)

Height: 17-21 inches (43-53 cm)

Color: The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever can come in various shades of red and orange. It can have small white markings on its feet, chest, tail tip and on the face.

Country of Origin: The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever comes from Canada, where it was developed to lure in ducks in the manner of a fox. This breed was crossed with retrievers and working spaniels, a combination which made them great in hunting and retrieving.

Activities: The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever has a lot of energy that it needs a lot of physical exercise. Daily walks and play or hunting sessions is great for this dog.

Grooming: The coat of the Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever should be brushed and combed regularly with a firm bristle brush. Dry shampoo regularly but bathe only when necessary.

Other Info: The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever has a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years. It is a healthy working breed, although its limited gene pool is expressing an increase in health dangers. The Nova Scotia Duck-Tolling Retriever will do well living in an apartment as long as it is sufficiently exercised.

Photo: Malgorzata Korbel

AKA: Newf, Newfie, The Gentle Giant, Blackbear

Description: The Newfoundland is a strong and massive dog, with a broad head and a short wide muzzle. Its ears are pendant and its eyes are a dark brown, wherein the conjunctiva should not show as it does with a St. Bernard. Its nose is black but is brown for bronze-colored Newfoundlands.

The Newfoundland is hardy and big, but it is agile and has an elegant gait. It has a water-resistant long outer coat, with a thick oily undercoat. Its feet are webbed and this makes the Newfoundland a good swimmer. There are dewclaws on its hind legs that should be removed. Its tail hangs down.

Dynamics: The Newfoundland is an intelligent dog with a good temperament. It is patient and obedient, and is known to be friendly with people. It is calm and gentle, and loyal and devoted. It will act on its own if needed, and can be protective. It will place itself between an intruder and its family in order to protect its owners.

The Newfoundland gets along well with people and other dogs, given the proper socialization and upbringing. It is generally good with other pets and animals. It also gets along well with children, as it is a patient and playful breed. It loves companionship and is very sociable. The Newfoundland likes the outdoors very much. It loves to swim and play in the water. It drinks a lot and gets messy with it because it likes to get wet.

In training the Newfoundland, the owner has t o be calm and patient. Training has to be confident and consistent. This breed is very sensitive to your tone of voice and should not receive harsh treatment when it makes mistakes. Also take into account that the Newfoundland moves slow because of its huge body.

Breed Group: Mastiff, Working

Weight: males 30-150 pounds (59-68 kg), females 100-120 pounds (45-54kg)

Height: males 27-29 inches (69-74cm), females 25-27 inches (63-69cm)

Color: The color of the Newfoundland’s coat is most often black, sometimes with little white markings on the feet, end of the tail, and the chest. The coat can also be black with blue highlights, bronze, brown, gray, or even white with black markings.

Country of Origin: The Newfoundland’s origin is believed to be in Canada. There are stories that the Newfoundland came from crosses between Tibetan Mastiffs that were brought to Canada by the Europeans in the 1700s.

Activities: The Newfoundland can entertain itself around the house by just lazing around but, like all dogs, it needs to be taken outside for a walk everyday. Play sessions and exercise are good for the breed, too. It also likes to swim and frolic.

In the past, the Newfoundland helped fishermen by hauling in nets, carrying boat lines, and retrieving anything that fell overboard to the water. This breed can also help with rescuing shipwrecked and drowning people. The Newfoundland is basically an outstanding water rescue dog. On land, the Newfoundland is just as useful as it is used to haul lumber, pull mail sheds, and carry or deliver things.

Grooming: As the Newfoundland has a long coat, daily brushing with a hard brush is important. Bathe only when absolutely necessary. Dry shampoo if needed.

Other Info: The Newfoundland has a life expectancy of 9 to 15 years. Like most dogs, this dog is prone to hip dysplasia and a hereditary heart disease called sub-aortic stenosis (SAS). This breed should have its heart checked when it is 8 to 12 weeks old to find out if it has SAS or not. The Newfoundland is okay living in an apartment as long as it is sufficiently exercised. This breed is sensitive to heat and prefer cool climates.

Photo: DanDee Shots

AKA: Grosser Munsterlander Vorstehhund, Large Munsterlander

Description: The Large Munsterlander has a very well-balanced body, making the breed one of the most versatile hunting dogs. It has easy and steady movement and gait, with its body squarely proportional. Its coat is long and thick, feathery on the ears, legs, and tail. There should be no feathering on the backside of the upper feet. The feet are strong and firm with hair between the toes. The tail is carried horizontally.

A male Large Munsterlander has a bigger head than that of a female. The male also has longer hair on the chest and has more feathering. The head is brod and slightly rounded, with long, broad, and round-tipped ears that are hanging. The eyes are dark and heavy-lidded and the mouth forms a scissors bite.

Dynamics: The Large Munsterlander is a cheerful and obedient dog, making it a wonderful house companion. It is also an intelligent breed and is easy to train. It is extremely sociable and people dependent. It does not like to be alone and can get destructive when left in the house or in a car with no one else around. It likes to retrieve and carry things things in its mouth, perfect for being hunting dogs. It also likes to play, and is good with other animals and children.

The Large Munsterlander is also a great working dog. It is happy when it has something to do, and is a very flexible breed. It has the ability to withstand pressures involved in hunting and exercises, adapting to any terrain and resistant to fatigue and bad weather. It is especially good at retrieving the hunt, more so when it is retrieving out of the water. It also likes to hunt down small animals. Training is needed to get it along with your small farm animals and to leave sheep and cattle alone. It likes to chase smaller preys like rodents and birds. This breed is a very valuable dog for hunters as it is good in both land and water. Socialization and patience in training is needed to manage the hunting instinct in the Large Munsterlander.

Breed Group: Gun dog

Weight: 50-70 pounds (23-32 kg)

Height: 23-25.5 inches (58-65 cm)

Color: The Large Munsterlander’s coat ranges from predominantly black to predominantly white. Usually, the head is solid black with white snips and the body is white with black patches and flecks. All black coats is not desirable, and brown coats is not unheard of but are not common either.

Country of Origin: The Large Munsterlander originated in Germany in the late 18th century. With the reputation as an all-purpose hunter, its popularity grew to countries outside of its country of origin.

Activities: With its playfulness, hunter instincts, and boundless energy, the Large Munsterlander needs to be on its feet most of the time. Daily walks and sufficient exercise is necessary for this breed. It loves to run and chase outdoors, so it has to be taken outside everyday to make it happy.

Grooming: Since the male Large Munsterlander has a longer coat then the female, the male’s coat needs to be brushed more often than the female’s. Brushing the coat every other day will do. Bathe only when necessary.

Other Info: The Larger Munsterlander has a life expectancy of 12 to 13 years. It is usually very healthy although some are still prone to hip dysplasia. This breed is also not compatible with living in an apartment as it does best outdoors and needs at least a large yard.

Photo: Pia C. Groening

AKA: Springador, Springerdor

Description: The Labradinger is a cross between a Labrador and a Springer Spaniel. It is called a Labradinger when the father is the Labrador. But if the mother is the Labrador and the father the Springer Spaniel, then it is rightfully called a Springerdor or a Springador.

The Labradinger is a medium-sized dog with a sleek coat. It has long ears that are hanging, which is s distinct feature in the breed. It has dark brown or amber almond-shaped eyes and a snout that is equipped with an excellent nose.

Dynamics: The female Labradinger has a more assertive temperament than that of the male Labradinger. The female tends to be territorial and prefers to live in a pack (or her family). The male, however, can choose whether or not to be with its mate’s pack or to go on solo. The Labradinger has a great sense of smell, inherited from the Spaniel side. It also has a fondness for hunting because of the retriever’s blood.

The Labradinger makes a good household pet, especially the show stock Labradinger. The working stock Labradinger has a lot of energy that has to be quenched either by work or lots of exercises. Training and handling the working stock Labradinger has to be firm and consistent, with lots of patience in order to keep up with the dog. If ignored, the Labradinger might get restless and become destructive.

Weight: 55-90 lbs.

Height: 18-22 inches

Color: The color of the Labradinger’s coat can be black, chocolate, yellow, or liver. Some labradingers have bicolor coats.

Country of Origin: the labradinger was bred in the United States.

Grooming: The labradinger needs to be brushed regularly. Bathe only when necessary.

Other Activities: The labradinger has to be regularly walked and exercised. The life expectancy for this breed is around 10-14 years.

Photo credits to Denise Hunnell

AKA: N/A
Description: Golden Retrievers are considered a very attractive breed. From their coat that is shiny and soft to touch, feathery and regular in length. The outer portion of its coat is water proofed and compact. They are a very strong breed. They are deep chested,has broad head. Their gait is strong and powerful. Their eyes are brown in color thjat has a very friendly expression and the nose comes in black. Teeth are in scissors bite. Their ears are like pendant clinging below their jaw regular in size. And has long straight tail.

Temperament: Golden retrievers are a very fun-loving,smart, obedient dog. They have a great appeal that almost everybody loves. They are easy to train that would not be very difficult for their owner to train them. When it comes to socialization, They are very friendly dog they love to play with children and they are safe with them because of their being so gentle and sweet kind of dog. They are very known for their obedience attitude. They may too be a good guard dog as they would bark loud to alarm when they detect some strangers around their territory. They like to be with great leadership people because they are a very active dog. They also posses some great skills in retrieving, hunting and they could easily detect drugs when trained.

Activity: They are very much required to have daily walk and a long brisk walking and jog. Also, they like to play with retrieving balls. They also love to swim and do some tricks when they are being trained.

Health: They could suffer from health issues like: cancer, hip dysplasia and congenital eye defects. Also skin allergies are very known to this breed. Their life span is about 10- 12 years.

Grooming: They are just an average shedder. They have soft and shiny hair so it is always easy to groom. Comb and brush them with firm bristle brush and dry shampoo and bathe only when it is needed.

Breed Group: Gun Dog, Sporting
Color: light golden colors to dark golden colors
Height: Dogs 22-24 inches (56-61cm.) Bitches 20-22 inches (51-56cm.)
Weight: Dogs 60-80 pounds (27-36kg.) Bitches 55-70 pounds (25-32kg.)
Country Of Origin: Scottish Highlands

Dynamics: Golden retrievers are breed originally for hunting but later was considered a pet dog since they possess such an appealing character that everybody is very much eager to have. This breed are a very loving dog and fun to be with. And not giving their owner hard time taking care of them.

Image source: DogsLife.com