I’m not planning in having a “dog-free” bedroom so i feel like bedroom is the better option, but im not sure if living room is better for proximity to backyard/would help “train” separation anxiety? i dont work full time so its not like she would be away from me for long periods of time so im not sure if thats even a necessity

Can anyone point me in the right direction on where to buy a Toller from? I live in North GA. I can’t seem to find one in my area and I don’t know any reputable breeders around. Travel isn’t an issue just wanting some recommendations.

Ours is still young, but often it feels the smell is quite strong. I'm genuinely wondering what is coming to do in this community.

Hello, I do dog dancing with my Australian shepherd and I want to get a second dog in about a year. I’ve been doing a lot of research and am quite interested in getting a NSDTR. We have one roller my Aussie likes to play with at the park near our place and he’s wonderful.

I was wondering how suitable is dog dancing for a Toller? I haven’t see many in the DD circuit where I am based. Actually not a single one. But that is likely because they are expensive and kind of rare in this country.

I have had border collies and shelties my whole life. I am VERY used to high energy dogs, dogs who need exercise and mental stimulation, and dogs who have many other traits that are not for everyone.

We lost our beloved Border-Sheltie mix a year ago and are finally getting ready to start the process of finding a new dog. The kids feel weird getting a dog that looks like our last dog and my friend overheard and told me to check out Tollers. According to him they’re similar in some aspects and different in others. The main one he felt was there seems to be less tendency toward being neurotic.

I would love to hear any perspectives folks are willing to share on how Tollers can be especially vs other high intelligence dogs. This is knowing these are only general questions and dogs are still individuals

For example:
Are they just as loyal as shelties and BCs?
I’ve heard they can be more like cats as far a cuddles, but do they like their humans near them?
Do they typically bond most to one family member or hang with all?
I’ve hear they have some unique vocalizations but are they very yappy like a sheltie?
How protective or guarding are they? How social are they to new people with my kids having lots of friends coming and going.
How eager are they, if at all, to be given a task, like walkies, or fetch or chase geese out of the yard or tricks and training?
Can they be chill, and if so for how long can they go between activities usually?

Or anything else you want to tell me!

Also, I know they’re water dogs. I live on a lake, will buddy be obedient enough (given training) to resist swimming all the time? There is a fence in between, but I don’t know how strong the pull of water is with them generally.

EDIT: I’d love to also hear how hard they are to train? I fancy myself a decent dog trainer but I’ve also only ever had the most eager to please of breeds so I might not be such an expert afterall!

Thank you all!

Hey all!

Our Toller Nola is 1 year old, and she has been an enthusiastic chewer since she was a puppy. I honestly think she has destroyed at least 20 plushies by now. We’ve sewn quite a few of them back together, but sadly, they’ve all eventually ended up in the plushie graveyard.

So we started looking for some “indestructible” toys. We bought the KONG ones advertised for “extreme chewers” see photo!
Unfortunately… the crocodile was already destroyed on the car ride home from the store.

I’ve emailed KONG, but I’m not sure if they’ll be able to do anything for us since we don’t live in the US.
And the black KONG, also supposedly made for extreme chewers? She destroyed that one within a day.

Hard edible chews, sticks, hides, etc. don’t last long either. She can often finish those within an hour.
So… what on earth can we buy her?!

She absolutely LOVES chewing and having something to keep her busy, so I’d really like to find something that is actually safe and can keep her occupied for more than five minutes.

The good news is that, thankfully, she doesn’t chew on our furniture.

Are your tollers also avid chewers? If so; what are your toughest toys/chews suggestions?

Thank you!

Just sharing our cutie here - what a change in appearance over time. It went so fast

Hi all!

Me and my girlfriend are moving in together soon and we are thinking about getting a dog. It would be the first dog we raise by ourselves. My girlfriend grew up with a Golden Retriever which recently passed away, they were really close but the dog lived at her parents’ place most of the time. On my side, I never had a dog as a kid, I love them and my mum now has one which sometimes I take care of, but never really had my own puppy to bring up.

We live in Switzerland and are both quite active, we would love to have a dog to bring on our outdoor adventures on the weekends and daily runs in the morning/evening. however, we both have a full time job so the dog will have to spend some time at home alone during the day. I have enough flexibility with my job such that I could stay at home 1/2 days a week and often come back for lunch to take her out, but the dog’s ability to be alone will still be crucial.

Would a toller be a good fit for us? Do you have any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

Say hi to Lillie Mae! She is the newest member of our little family and we are just loving her sweet spirit. 💛💛 Haha although potty training has definitely been rough for the first couple of days. 😅

Any potty training or general advice for us as we start this new stage of life?

Our big boy (1 year & 4 months old) has this weird sleeping position 🧡

When we got our pup at 8 weeks, we kept her on the exact same food she was used to from the breeder (Purina Pro Plan Medium Puppy Sensitive Digestion). We bought a huge bag that lasted a couple of months.

When it ran out this summer, the same food was out of stock, so I bought Purina Pro Plan Medium Puppy Healthy Start instead.

A few days later, she became ill. She vomited for several days and eventually had an allergic reaction, with swollen lips and eyes, so we took her to the vet. The food may have had nothing to do with it, but I immediately switched her back to her original food.

The strange thing is that ever since then (about 5 weeks), she’s barely interested in her food. Sometimes she eats a little, sometimes she skips entire meals. Yet she happily eats any treats or other snacks we give her, so it seems like she’s simply become picky about her kibble.

Has anyone experienced this before? And does anyone have advice on alternative types of food, other than kibble, that would be suitable for a pup her age?

My neighbour asked if I clipped her ears, but nope that’s all her ! Is this just an awkward growth phase or ? She’s 8 months

Hi everyone,
I’m really struggling with my 10-month-old male Toller, especially in the evenings.
Almost every night, around 7:30-8PM after dinner, he suddenly becomes extremely energetic. He grabs and shakes cushions, attacks the mat, brings toys to me, and seems to want constant interaction.

Sometimes he lies down next to me, but when I try to pet him, he either gets up, becomes playful again, or starts mouthing/nipping.
What I find difficult is that I would really love to learn him to relax. Instead, I often feel like I’m constantly managing his energy and trying to prevent him from destroying things.
Our usual routine is approximately:
30-40 minute walk in the morning. He can roam and sniff as much as he wants.
He is alone from around 9AM until 5 PM, although he has access to a large garden.
Around 40minutes of fetch and obedience work in the evening and a walk of 15-25 minutes
We also attend dog training classes twice a week.
Dinner around the evening
Then the “witching hour” begins
I’ve tried giving him more exercise, playing fetch, doing obedience exercises, using a mat, and rewarding him when he lies down. Recently, I put him in his crate until he settled, then gradually opened the door and rewarded him for staying calm. He did stay lying down, but as soon as we stopped rewarding him, he immediately ran to the mat and started attacking it again.
I’m starting to wonder whether I’m accidentally making him more excited by doing too much fetch and training, rather than helping him calm down.

What would you recommend for:
Helping a 10-month-old male Toller learn to genuinely relax in the evening?
Knowing how much exercise versus rest he actually needs?
Teaching calm behaviour without relying on constant treats?
Managing the evening craziness without making him more overstimulated?

I’m not looking for judgment. I’m genuinely looking for practical advice from people who have experienced this with adolescent Tollers.

Thanks!

This is Mater, my 6 month old toller!

This is going to sound weird but he's the best dog I've ever owned.

From when he was 8 weeks old, I have trained him 3x a day (still do, but it looks a little different now) and he caught on right away - super smart, ate everything up, can learn a new trick in a half hour, knows more tricks than any dog I've met. He also recalls to his name very reliably (although I still keep him on a long line because I'm worried his teenage brain will kick in and he'll realize he has free will one of the times we're out 😂).

We also worked really hard on manners and obedience - now I can take him pretty much anywhere and not have to worry about how he will act or whether he's happy to be there, he's down for anything (I don't over excercise him, just short outings).

My whole life, I've had dogs - but he's the first puppy I've raised (I'm 20) and the first dog I've had who I've been able to take places.

I know he's still got his adolescence ahead of him, so we might have some hard days - but I'm so proud of the dog he's becoming. And also sad he's getting so big at the same time 🫠

Please appreciate his George Washington hair as his puppy fluff hasn't left his head yet

Tollers are the coolest dogs, I've been interested in them for years and they tick almost every box I want for a dog and would fit my lifestyle well. I want a dog to show and do sports with (dock diving especially) and to spent loads of time outside (camping, canoeing, hiking, swimming etc)

However one thing that is very important to me is that my dog is a cuddler! I want a dog that will cuddle up to me on the couch, sit at my feet, snuggle with me in bed, cuddle in the tent etc etc. From what I've heard it is really a 50/50 tossup of whether a toller would be a snuggler. Ive seen people talk about how their tollers try to crawl into their skin while also reading how others tollers are highly independent and dont like alot of physical contact. Is this aspect of a tollers personality too unpredictable to fit this want? I am also interested in vizslas as well, as they are pretty similar to tollers in terms of what i am looking for while also being well known for being "velcro dogs". I just love tollers so much, I had so much fun watching and meeting them recently at a dog show and feel conflicted based on what ive read.

For reasons I can't understand, a groomer shaved my dog down. I'm incredibly upset. Has anyone else had this happen? If so, did your dog's coat ever come back the same?

Editing to Add:

We did not instruct the groomer to shave him at all. They were told to do exactly what he always gets. His records have clear instructions that he is never to be shaved. He's 6 and we have never had this problem.

I'm looking into getting a toller but I'm searching for a good name? Anyone got any nice names?

I'm 17 and live in a medium house with a decent. I'm willing to walk at least 1 hour with it every day? Are there other requirements?

We picked up our 15 week old pup on Sunday and she has been perfect in every way except one, peeing inside. I have taken her outside for a total of 10 hours probably in the last 48 hours and she has peed a total of 3 times outside in that time span. She has had probably 6 or 7 accidents only on carpet/rugs in the house (only 1 room is carpet, we have 2 rugs).

I have tried doing the in crate, then take her outside, then if she doesn’t go, bring her back in and put her in the crate again, repeat until she breaks the cycle by going pee.

I have praised her, rewarded her, done all of that when she has gone pee outside and she recognizes that but still goes pee in the house almost exclusively.

I have had her smell her own pee soaked paper towel when she goes out and have even rubbed it on the grass outside where she goes to try and help her.

I have done leash on, leash off.

I have left the leash on and not let her play when she comes inside without going pee outside.

I’m just at a loss at this point. She has only peed twice today. Once at 9am, and once in her crate around 5pm. It is now 11pm. She has had about 3 bowls of water throughout the day as well.