Red Decoy Dog
Also known as: Decoy Dog
Breed at a glance
- Origin
- England
- Colour
- Red or yellow
- Other names
- Decoy Dog
intro
The Red Decoy Dog , also known as the Decoy Dog , was a now extinct breed of gundog from England . Used to lure waterfowl into large netted traps. The Red Decoy Dog is believed to be the progenitor of the Canadian Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever .
Overview
Prior to the proliferation of firearms, a common method of capturing ducks in England was by enticing them from a body of water into a large tunnel made from hoops covered in netting. [ 1 ] Two methods existed to lure the ducks into the tunnels, one was to train live ducks, called decoys , to entice wild ducks onto their pond then to follow them into the tunnel. [ 1 ] The second was to use a decoy dog to entice wild ducks to follow them into the tunnel. [ 1 ] These dogs were bred to look like foxes , as it had been observed that inquisitive ducks would often follow a fox behaving erratically. [ 2 ] Through consistent breeding, at some point these dogs developed into a distinct breed , the Red Decoy Dog. [ 2 ] In Holland, the very similar Kooikerhondje was bred for the same purpose. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The Red Decoy Dog was described as being small, fox-red or tawny coloured, and collie -like appearance with a distinct long, brushy tail. [ 5 ] [ 2 ] In his 1886 work The book of duck decoys , Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey describes a good decoy dog as “a bright little fellow, about a third smaller than a Fox, with a curly bushy tail if possible, and of red or yellow colour.” [ 6 ] The breed seems to have been found principally in The Fens . [ 1 ] It is unknown when the Red Decoy Dog became extinct, it is considered likely their popularity declined with the proliferation of shooting , when wildfowlers replaced their nets with shotguns to hunt waterfowl. [ 2 ] Although it does appear they were used as gundogs by early shooters. [ 5 ] The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is believed to have descended from Red Decoy Dogs taken to Nova Scotia by early settlers. [ 4 ] [ 3 ] [ 7 ] Some cynologists also believe Red Decoy Dogs were one of the ancestors of the Golden Retriever . [ 3 ]