Red Decoy Dog

Red Decoy Dog

He is not recognized by the F.C.I.

Origin

Translation

En français, cette race se dit

Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar

En español, esta raza se dice

In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd

This breed is also known as

Decoy dog

The "Red Decoy Dog" was a breed of hunting dog originating in England that is now extinct. It was used to lure waterfowl into large net-based traps. This dog is believed to be the ancestor of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Before the widespread use of firearms, a common method of catching ducks in England involved luring them from a body of water into a long tunnel formed by hoops covered with netting. Two methods were used to draw the ducks into these tunnels: the first involved training live ducks—known as "decoys" or "call ducks"—to lure wild ducks onto the pond and then lead them into the tunnel; the second involved using a decoy dog to entice the wild ducks to follow it into the tunnel.

These dogs were selected for their resemblance to foxes, as it had been observed that ducks, out of curiosity, would often follow a fox moving erratically. Through rigorous selective breeding, these dogs eventually formed a distinct breed: the Red Decoy Dog. In the Netherlands, a very similar breed, the Kooikerhondje, was developed for the same purpose.

The Red Decoy Dog was described as a small, reddish-fawn (fox-like) or yellow dog, resembling a Collie in appearance and possessing a long, very bushy tail. In his 1886 book *The Book of Duck Decoys*, Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey describes the ideal decoy dog as "a small, lively animal, about a third smaller than a fox, with—if possible—a bushy, plumed tail, and red or yellow in color." The breed appears to have been found primarily in the Fens region.

The date the Red Decoy Dog disappeared is unknown; however, it is assumed that its popularity waned with the widespread adoption of shotgun hunting, as waterfowl hunters replaced their nets with guns—although it appears these dogs were also used as retrievers by early shotgun hunters. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is believed to be descended from Red Decoy Dogs brought to Nova Scotia by early settlers. Some canine experts also consider the Red Decoy Dog to be among the ancestors of the Golden Retriever.