Pikkinokka Kennels

22/05/2024

Six beautiful Toller babies from Checkers and Tank arrived on May 14: 4 girls and 2 boys. Daddy is "Tank", Am/Can CH Avatar's Flying Tank Commander.

24/03/2024

14/03/2024

Good morning! ♥️

14/03/2024

That's about right! 🤣🤣🤣

14/02/2024

10/02/2024

Buy from breeders who OFA.

Did you know? Dogs must be 24 months or older for OFA Hip and Elbow certification, and 12 months or older for Cardiac, Patellas, and Thyroid certification. There is no age minimum for eye certification, nor for DNA, since DNA does not change as the dog ages.

The OFA also does Preliminary evaluations on hips and elbows before 24 months of age. However, they will need to be re-evaluated again for a final certification once the dog reaches 24 months.

For more information, visit https://ofa.org/

20/01/2024

Are you a Rottweiler fan or do you know someone who loves Rottweilers? Trista Nelson of Enigma Rottweilers is excited to be raising her first litter of Rottweilers from health-tested parents. Well-socialized with ENS, enrichment and raised with cats, other dogs and children. Puppies are just starting to leave for new homes and feedback for doing it right has been amazing. It can be hard for new breeders to find great placements. Please share if you know anyone looking for a well-bred, well-raised Rottweiler puppy from a dedicated breeder. Puppies are located in eastern British Columbia and can be delivered within reasonable distances or shipped out of Spokane, WA or Calgary, AB. https://www.enigmakennels.ca/

04/01/2024

This dog was bred to hunt in a very special way. Their color and movement catches the curiosity of ducks, which move in for a closer look. The birds are enticed into gunshot range, where the duck’s goose is cooked. This breed then retrieves the downed game.

Artwork:
Tollers
Chet Jezierski
Drawing
20th C

27/12/2023

2024 will see our 49th year of showing dogs...I still love it and not quitting any time soon.

26/12/2023

"Sugar" and her family shared this lovely Holiday photo today. Pikkinokka families! Please share with us your fun festive photos of your festivities with your pet.

17/12/2023

News from the AKC National Championship in Orlando, Florida: our “Hudson” GCH Pikkinokka’s Private signal to Avatar was awarded an Award 🥈 of Excellence out of an entry of 45 tollers!
Thank you judge Dr. Jose Luis Payro. Congratulations to co-owner/co-breeder Stacy Eicnk-Paul and amazing co-owners Braedy Cooper and his mom Becky Cooper.

Special congratulations to Braedy on his 4th out of 23 participants showing "Indy" in Junior Handling!

Congrats to all the other winners at this spectacular event.

14/12/2023

Greetings from "Bosse" -- Passbos Cozy Bosse, 15-1/2 years old! Bosse is our imported male from Sweden (with the help of my friend, Lina Longberg). He is behind Finnish Spitz in Canada, USA, Holland, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, many top winners. We are delighted to see him reaching this wonderful old age and send best wishes to the many families who have enjoyed life with his children, grand-children, great-grandchildren and more!

11/12/2023

Since switching to raw food, over 25 years ago, it is very rare that I see ear infections in my dogs.

There are so many reasons as to why minimally processed pet foods🫐 are better for your pet’s overall health span & lifespan versus ultra-processed pet foods🥫.

Otitis👂🏼 or ear infections in dogs, is a top 10 veterinary health problem according to research. They are often chronic, while treatment primarily consists of flushing, antibiotics, and/or antifungals.

In a new peer-reviewed veterinary study, scientists show that the prevalence of otitis was significantly reduced within the groups of dogs that were consuming from 26 to 100% of their diet as non-processed foods.

"On the other hand, eating 76–100% of the diet during puppyhood as kibble significantly increased the prevalence of otitis later in their life."

Furthermore, in another previous Finnish Veterinary study, scientists showed healthy human food leftovers offered to puppies significantly reduced allergy symptoms and skin problems later in life. This long-term, protective effect increased the more often real foods were added, so the more exposure puppies had to a variety of healthy leftovers, the more protection there was from developing skin issues down the road.

“…even if the dog eats 80% of its food as dry, adding a minimum of 20% of the food as raw significantly decreased the risk of AASS [allergic skin disease] later in life.” – Dr. Anna Hielm-Björkman

Looking to upgrade your pet’s bowl but not sure how?

In the new sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Forever Dog, comes the The Forever Dog Life: this highly anticipated book contains more than 120 nutritionally packed recipes for delicious food bowls, fresh food toppers, broths and DIY treats, along with non-toxic cleaners and all-natural recipes for body and home. The ultimate handbook to help your dogs and cats live their best life. The Forever Dog Life book is now available for pre-order worldwide! https://foreverdoglife.com

07/12/2023

This is a perfect representation of the Toller in every way! https://www.ispot.tv/ad/5HUe/purina-pro-plan-sport-normal-day Congratulations to Brook O'Brien and "Logan" on the filming of this promo. It shows us the historic Toller: farm and family dog that is playful, eager, happy to hang out and of course, retrieve!

As Liz picks up her dog's food at Tractor Supply Co., the employee asks Liz how their day was. Thinking back on their busy day of tending to the horse, fixing the fence and playing fetch, Liz responds "Just a normal day for us." The pet food company highlights how Purina Pro Plan Performan...

07/12/2023

www.thebreederscupboard.ca
__________
The Breeder's Cupboard
All Your Breeding Supplies & Products In One Place!
"From one Canadian Breeder to Another"
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05/12/2023

This is why there does not need to be a BREED SPLIT in Tollers: "They developed their breed as a “hunter’s dog,” a breed that did most of what the owner wanted done with very little formal training beyond basic obedience, and they looked no further than nature to develop a unique hunting style."

The Yarmouth Toller?

Tollers as we know them today were developed in the rugged community of Little River Harbour in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, around the beginning of the 19th century. For obvious reasons, the breed in its early days was known as the Little River Duck Dog, or Yarmouth Toller.

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers were developed by early Scottish immigrants, a hardy people scratching out a difficult living in a strange new land. They developed their breed as a “hunter’s dog,” a breed that did most of what the owner wanted done with very little formal training beyond basic obedience, and they looked no further than nature to develop a unique hunting style.

In nature, a fox will cavort and play along a shoreline to entice waterfowl to come closer to investigate. Curious birds oblige and become easy prey for the fox. Drawing from this behavior, hunters trained their dogs to mimic the fox, a behavior that Tollers haven’t lost over time. The dog runs and jumps along the shoreline in full view of ducks, occasionally disappearing and reappearing. The hunter encourages this by throwing sticks and rocks very close along the shore so that the dog will skirt the waterline (a wayward throw may land in the water, but it isn’t the intent for the dog to swim to retrieve them). The dog’s playful actions arouse the curiosity of the ducks who are lured within gunshot range. The Toller is subsequently sent out to retrieve the dead or wounded birds. As far as we can tell, the only thing the dog doesn’t do in this entire process pull the trigger and cook the bird.

Photo of Emmet taken by Beth Adams in 2014 at the NSDTRC-USA National Specialty. As of this writing, Emmet will turn 13 on Christmas Eve!

Beth Adams
http://www.candidcaninephoto.com/

29/11/2023

We also ventured into the Pom ring in Calgary. The pups need more time to grow coat and lots more practice. Bee got better every day and even won Select Bitch one day earning her first points towards her Grand Championship. I was really happy with her progress as she became more confident -- and was so frustrated when I dropped my brush in the ring and the clatter really scared her. I felt so stupid and really felt like I let her down. 😔 Since my ADHD diagnosis, I try to work on forgiving myself when I screw up. Thanks Malinda Scott for giving me space to be upset and to process so I can see how I can do better next time. Also thanks for all the great photos! ❤️

28/11/2023

CKC MEMBERS: please vote now to support another rare breed. In 2024, it will be 50 years since CKC recognized the Finnish Spitz. Let's all vote YES to help the Dogue de Bordeax become a CKC breed.

27/11/2023

Introducing our boy "Sox", Pikkinokka's Avatar Checkered Windsock, 9 months old. His parents are Skiff X Checkers -- he is linebred on our wonderful "Jack" multi-CH Pikkinokka's Hoist the Colors. "Sox" did great in Calgary on the weekend winning Best of Winners and Best Puppy each day and Best of Opposite S*x over Specials two days for a total of 8 points! "Sox" is co-owned and co-bred by Stacy Einck-Paul of Avatar Kennels. *Winning Best of Breed each day was his cousin "Rosie", NEW Grand Champion Monarda 's Written in the Stars* also a Jack great-grand-daughter!

13/11/2023

Breeding for longevity -- Pictured here is our beautiful girl "Jolie", who will be 11 years old in March. Her father is "Jack" multi-CH Pikkinokka's Hoist the Colors who will be 15 years old on January 1st. Jack was sired by BIS CH "Schooner" when he was 11 years old (Schooner's last natural breeding). Jack's mom, our beautiful girl "Paint" lived to be 16. Most of our Tollers share genes from, or are descended from, our Jack, Paint, Schooner or Jolie. https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=838527

12/11/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=889753335892680&id=100045740640487&mibextid=Nif5oz

Are you worried about your dog's liver? Learn about the best liver cleanse for dogs, diet and supplements to treat liver disease in dogs.

09/11/2023

This is one reason why we recommend fresh food to all our puppy buyers. From Dogs Naturally: Helsinki researchers report that if pet owners fed just 20% fresh food to their puppies, it would SIGNIFICANTLY reduce skin issues later in life.

And pet owners can avoid skin issues altogether by feeding a whole food diet starting in puppyhood.

In contrast, researchers also looked at other foods fed including fruits, mixed oil supplements, dried animal parts, and drinking from puddles. They found these were significant risk factors for skin disease.

“Puppies not getting any raw foods, eating most of their food as dry food like kibble, being fed fruits, and heat-dried animal parts, had significantly more allergy and atopy related skin symptoms in adulthood," says DogRisk research group team leader, Docent Anna Hielm-Björkman.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) in dogs is an inflammatory allergic skin disease that often occurs in the first 3 years of a dog’s life. In 2017, the worldwide prevalence of AD was 18.3%, as reported by owners in a survey … an increase from 10-15% in 2001.

Read more here!
👉 https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/how-puppy-diets-prevent-allergies/
👉 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211118203742.htm?fbclid=IwAR0Hf-t7qlQGpZNv1ByuGUsPHS0zPKB9KuV6GZ02yB2wAwMLmTUkNq-9SE0

Allergies and skin problems In dogs are all too common. Find out how your puppy's diet can help prevent allergies when he grows up ...

19/10/2023

This is exciting research by UC Davis. It has been the focus of Pikkinokka Kennels to use healthy, older males to sire our Toller puppies with the goal of breeding for longer, healthier lives for our Duck Tollers. https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/can-golden-retrievers-live-longer?fbclid=IwAR3J8eFdfREuz68bN1Yg4a66oEVfFdcFz9r_2To7mozGbTa5i1P6giOZ2kE

Learn how UC Davis researchers have found a gene associated with longevity in golden retrievers, a dog breed with a 65% chance of dying of cancer.