Tollerpups

While the puppy descriptions are to

be taken with a sense of humor,

adding a puppy to the family is a

very serious decision.

Do NOT get a puppy if:

1. You are busy running the kids to

practice and events and

appointments, or have many social

engagements, or are seldom home

for whatever reason.

2. You do not have a sense of

humor!

3. You have a very set expectation

about what a puppy should act like,

or what he should be like when

grown.

4. You are intolerant of messes or

destruction to a certain degree.

5. Anyone in the family does not

want a puppy/dog.

6. You are not able to be the

leader and teach the puppy to

follow the rules of the household.

7. You value orderliness in your

household and having muddy paws

or shedding hair or teeth marks will

bother you a great deal.

8. You are not willing to work

through the problems, and spend

time training and just loving your

dog.

9. Your pup is not going to live in

your house. Tollers are a very

intelligent, sensitive breed and

would not do well outside all by

themselves.

10. You think Tollers are small

Golden Retrievers! They are much

more active than what most people

think a Golden is, and also are not

as gullible or willing to please you.

They are more a "what's in it for

me" kind of dog.

Toller puppies have sharp teeth and sharp claws! They are
typical retriever pups-they walk around with their mouth open
and bite everything! Don't wear clothes that snag easily!

Have you heard about the Toller Scream? Toller
pups will make lots of noise at night, until they get
over missing their littermates and get used to their
crates. This noise will subside once in a while, just
until you almost fall asleep again. Get used to being
sleep-deprived!

Toller pups have to tinkle (urinate) about every ten minutes (or so it
seems)! Invest in lots of paper towels. They will poop in the house
about the time you sit down to eat, or right before you were going to
let them out. If you are lucky, no one steps in it before it gets
noticed!

Toller pups like to dig. If given
enough time, they will fit into the
hole! If prevented from digging,
they will find something to chew
on. Trees and bushes can be
pruned. Sticks will soon be a pile
of splinters. Hopefully none will
be swallowed or it will result in a
vet bill. Easier to let them dig!

Toller pups chew on things in the
house, too. They start with
tissues or shoelaces, how cute! It
can progress to shoes, books,
furniture...

Tollers have a keen nose and even if you think they won't reach, they
can master the art of counter-surfing. One success at finding food
within reach will result in a daily habit of checking to see if perhaps you
have left food within reach again. They do not feel guilty about this-it is
a sport! And a rewarding one at that. Another habit is checking the
garbage for edibles. And any food within reach is fair game, of course,
even if it means taking candy from a baby!

Tollers love water! They always shake as
soon as they get close to you. Your shoes
will never be dry if you take your Toller to a
lake. They also like to rub dry on your
clothes! This is all preferable to their other
lakeside habit of rolling in dead fish!

Tollers shed every day. It is especially noticeable if you wear contrasting
colors, so invest in tan and beige clothes and a few hair rollers!

Tollers live about 12 to 14 years,
which means you will outlive your
dog. When you do, it will break
your heart and you will miss all of
this.

This page last modified on Friday, June 06, 2003