EAST WEST Duck Tollers

06/15/2026

So proud that Decoy is representing the province of Nova Scotia at the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club of Canada’s National Specialty on June 20 in Dorchester, Ontario as the only Toller from Nova Scotia there! Decoy is also the poster child for Toller Beer - Nova Scotia’s own beer. You can see him and Toller beer on billboards in Halifax metro this month. Head over to Burnside Brewing, their website or NSLC to put a little Toller in your life❤️🐾! Scotiapride’s Eastwest Decoy is currently #2 NS Duck Tolling Retriever in Canada and is part of the Wallace Babine project to preserve historically significant previously unregistered Yarmouth hunting lines. His sire Oakley of Babine was admitted to the CKC under Canada’s Dog Registry in 2022. Thank you Barbara Blauvelt for trusting me with this boy!

06/08/2026

We had a lovely time at the South Shore Dog Show in Lunenburg. Baby Hazel won some pretty ribbbons for Jase and Ben and enjoyed hanging out with Uncle Decoy and Meira who finished her championship! Decoy won breed both days and hogged the bed at night!

06/04/2026

I LOVE Decoy’s ad in Canadian Dog Fancier this week. Thank you Jeannette Desruisseaux and team for creating such a gorgeous ad!

05/29/2026

I haven’t been keeping track of Decoy’s points but figured I’d check on the CKC website as last time I looked he had his Grand Champion Bronze. Turns out he already got his Grand Champion Silver and is now working on his gold! So proud of our boy Barbara Blauvelt! He is now BIS GCHS Scotiapride’s Eastwest Decoy, RN DN NS - and he won’t even be three years old until August. Have I said how much I love this sweet, special, goofy boy?
Photo credit to Donovani Photography - Medina Banks

05/10/2026

While Decoy and I were showing at the Dartmouth Kennel Club Dog Show this weekend, I was missing my Toller peeps who were showing at the Tyee Dog Show on beautiful Vancouver Island. Decoy was one of two Tollers showing this weekend and got a group four under Judge Joann Pavey. Meanwhile, my Toller friends had 15 Tollers competing in Duncan! Here in Nova Scotia, where Tollers originated, I have discovered since moving here last year, that Decoy is often the only Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever at a show😞A few of my BC Toller friends sent me this little video from the Tyee show so I didn’t feel so alone! Thank you ❤️Miller girls and Melinda Dawn Longair.

05/08/2026

Dogs need time to explore, sniff and play in a safe environment. We take Decoy and Zunga to the d***s or a beach four or five times a week for an hour or more so they can burn off that extra energy and build muscle. I’m not going to lie, one of the best things about being “owned” by a dog is that it makes you get outside and get some exercise too!

05/04/2026

Group two for Decoy this weekend under Judge Anik Primeau at the Fredericton Kennel Club show! Thank you so much for finding him in a very strong sorting group line u. Thank you Fredericton KC for a fabulous, friendly show. It’s worth driving five hours because everyone is so lovely and helpful and I’m grateful for the complimentary coffee in the morning 🙏Thank you Nancy Jean for letting Decoy and I crash at your home and for feeding us all weekend and finally congratulations to Wolf and Olivia for winning breed today! 👏Long drive home in snowy and snotty road conditions but my trip was fuelled by warm memories of a great weekend.❤️

05/02/2026

This is what Esteemed Judge Paul Stanton of Sweden posted on his page about Decoy along with his ads in this weeks Show Scene and CDF.
“Two lovely adverts for my BIS & group winner and Torbjörns group winner!
This dog is so well built with a great movement and in perfect condition!
If you think he is too long or too low take away his big beautiful coat and you will find he is much shorter and higher on legs which i found out when i went over him!”

05/02/2026

05/01/2026

I am reposting this post which was made by Barbara Blauvelt of Scotiapride Tollers who is Decoy’s breeder and co owner. It was posted on the Worldwide Toller page as an attempt to educate people about the process involved in registering a Toller under Canada’s Indigenous breed registry.

“This is the second time this week I’ve been made aware of negative comments regarding the Wallace Babine project and the perceived “simplicity” of the Canadian Kennel Club Indigenous Breed registration process. One comment even suggested, “So backyard breeders of Labs can get CKC registration papers for their dogs?”

Frankly, comments like that are both dismissive and uninformed. They reduce years of research, documentation, genetic testing, and historical verification of what this process actually involves.

The Wallace Babine project was never about identifying and registering dogs that simply resemble Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers gathered up from dog pounds. It was rooted in historically documented bloodlines from the exact region where the breed originated, Yarmouth Co. Nova Scotia and supported by breeder history, regional evidence, and the goal of preserving authentic genetic heritage.

I originally began this project to honour two well-documented breeders of “Little River Duck Dogs” who never registered their dogs with the CKC
Eddie Babine and Andy Wallace.
*see A Breed Apart - Nova Scotia’s Duck Tolling Retriever by Gail MacMillan

As the project evolved, it became clear that it represented something much larger than recognizing two bloodlines. I also realized I was not the right person to carry it forward into its next stage. That is why I entrusted five puppies to breeders I believed had the experience and commitment to move the work into what I now refer to as Phase 2.

The Indigenous Breed process through the Canadian Kennel Club is neither casual nor automatic. It requires extensive proof of lineage, geographic origin, historical significance, and conformity to breed type. Even after years of work and considerable expense, approval is never guaranteed.

Comparing this process to registering rescue dogs simply because they “look like Tollers,” or suggesting backyard breeders could easily obtain CKC registrations is both inaccurate and insulting. It ignores the depth of research, evidence, and scrutiny required through the Indigenous Breed registration process of the Canadian Kennel Club.”