If you are looking for a small version of a Golden or a Labrador, you will find a major difference in the personalities of the breeds. Tollers have intensity, imagination, and "spunk", and must be trained in a somewhat different way.They will do for love of you what they would never do for harsh, mechanistic training. When young, they are easily bored, and do not do well with sheer repetitive methods. Short sessions work much better. Tollers are very intelligent, and learn quickly what is required of them. Our puppies come from very strong hunting lines, and have a drive and birdiness above average; they also have many generations of conformation Champions behind them, and many relatives who are titled in conformation, agility, rally, tracking, flyball, and therapy dogs. Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers are versatile dogs - they can be great fun!

Here at Elvenwood, we feel that breeding and rearing a litter of puppies is a responsibility that requires careful consideration from long before birth to the end of each Toller's life. We take temperament, health, structure, and hunting ability into consideration when choosing the parents, with the goal of producing puppies who are even better than their parents. Our puppies are home-reared and well-socialized, with much individual attention, by exposure to everything from classical music to simple clicker training. Of course, they are also exposed to birds, other pets, water, assorted toys and playthings, and are reared in the midst of a busy home environment.

From the age of three (3) days old, we do a stimulation program that aids in stress reduction and trainability, Dr. Carmen Battaglia's Early Neurological Stimulation Techniques (ENS). Along with continuous close observation, we also do Temperament Testing (Joachim and Wendy Volhard's Puppy Aptitude Test) as part of our evaluation process before determining which puppy is suitable for a particular home.

The puppies are examined by a Veterinarian right after birth. During the puppies' next Veterinarian exam at three days, if they have rear dewclaws, they are removed. Depending upon their age when they leave here (never before 8 weeks, usually later) they will have received another thorough examination and their initial vaccinations by our Veterinarian.  They also will have been started on Interceptor © (heartworm and other worm preventative) since we are in an area that has heartworm carried by mosquitoes.  You will be provided with your pup's record to give to the Veterinarian of your choice for continued care and vaccinations as required. The puppies' stools are routinely checked for internal parasites prior to the start of Interceptor; if necessary, the puppies are dewormed.

Our puppies are microchipped and may also be tattooed. In the case your puppy (or dog) is lost or stolen, the microchip and/or tattoo will identify him/her and we will be notified of his whereabouts. You will be notified immediately.

Our Puppy Questionaire is very extensive in order to help us determine which puppy is right for you and your family. As we believe that it is more important that you have the RIGHT puppy than just getting "the next one available", we work from a waiting list. We want you to be happy with your puppy, and your puppy to be suitable for what tasks and lifestyle you will ask of him/her. We try very hard to make successful "matches" - since your Toller may well be with you for 15 years, having the right dog for the right family is very important.

Please note, we do not ship our puppies. We train them to ride ina crate in a car, or they may fly in a carrier under the seat in the airplane cabin with you. We want to establish a close, helpful relationship to our puppy owners for the lifetime of our Tollers, and by coming to pick your puppy up, you get to know us, and to be comfortable that we are always available to be of help to you. We always look forward to seeing how our "babies" are doing in their happy new homes!

Our contract requires that, should something occur in your life that requires you to give up your Toller, you must notify us before doing so or bring him or her back to us, and we will help you to place him/her in another good home, with a refund to you.Our contract also covers our health/genetic disease guarantee.  All Elvenwood puppies are sold under a non-breeding contract with spay/neuter requirements, unless a co-ownership contract is negotiated for a show/breeding prospect.