One of the dogs in our family is Svante – a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever born in 2017, from the kennel Skymningsskallets. I, Alva, brought him home the same year I graduated high school – my first dog of my own.
Getting a dog was never a question, and I’d fallen for tollers already as a kid, so the choice of breed was easy. Back then, I worked with competition horses as a groom, and Svante joined me everywhere – to stables, shows and long days on the road – from just eight weeks old. Since then, he’s been my steady companion through my twenties, countless moves, a career change, and everything else life has thrown my way.
We’ve had the chance to try quite a few things together – agility, nosework, tracking, retrieving, bird hunting and rally obedience. Beyond that, much of our focus has been on everyday training, tricks and just staying active. In other words, Svante is a very versatile dog who’s happy as long as he gets to join in.
That said, he’s also a dog with a lot of his own opinions. Like most tollers, he has a strong will and only does things on his terms – which, of course, has given me more than a few grey hairs. There’s no point in trying to drill repetitions or polish details, like practising a turn in agility. After two tries he’ll just look at me as if to say, “You can do it yourself if you think we need to do that again.”
Fun Facts
He’s too smart for his (my) own good and has a huge personality. The one sound he truly hates is when a Bluetooth speaker connects, and what he loves most in the world is bird hunting and retrieving. He prefers sleeping on the couch and isn’t much for cuddling or being petted. He gets sick from raw meat and wants nothing to do with vegetables.
Our only goal now is to have fun and enjoy ourselves – we’ve let go of everything that has to do with performance. He’s getting older and was recently treated for skin cancer, which makes me grateful for every healthy day we still get together.
There’s so much I could say about my best friend – my soul dog – but we’ll take it little by little. Welcome to our small corner of the internet.
