We have been looking forward to presenting our upcoming litter—after a break of several years.
Drömhultets Chiquitita (Tsula) will be paired with Praetorium Latobicorum’s Rusty (Rusty) during October 2024.

Why Rusty and Tsula:
I have been following Iris and Rusty for a while. They had a great trial season in Sweden in 2023, finishing with 2x excellent in the open class, which earned them promotion to the elite class.

I watched the trial where they earned their final excellent in the open class in Sweden last year, and it was truly a remarkable performance. I also had a conversation with Iris about him, then went home and thought it over.

This year, we had another good discussion about a possible pairing between Tsula and Rusty when we met again at Specialen. Leif and I got the chance to get to know both Rusty and Iris and Michael better. Rusty has participated twice in the elite class this year. In both trials, he performed exceptionally well, although it wasn’t enough for placement. The leap from the open class to the elite class is significant—probably even more so in Sweden. We have no doubt that they will achieve some fine placements in the future. What I saw, I really liked. I also inquired about him with the judges who have assessed him, and they had very positive things to say.

Rusty has the same calmness and composure as Tsula. They are both fantastic working dogs without stress or excessive noise, so my hope is that their puppies will inherit this solid foundation. How that is nurtured will be up to their new owners. 😊

Rusty is not a large male dog, but he has the body and substance that Tsula lacks, which I hope will be passed on to the puppies.

This will be Tsula’s first litter, while Rusty already has two litters—one in Switzerland and one in Finland. They are still young, so there are no X-ray results available yet.

Both dogs have been tested for all the health conditions that a Toller can be tested for, and there is nothing to fault. This does not mean we can guarantee that a puppy will remain healthy for its entire life; no breeder can.

This litter is for those who want a dog to work with—one that can also relax when it is not working. We will be keeping a female from this litter ourselves.

About Rusty:
Rusty’s owner writes about him:

The addition to the family wasn't planned, but it turned out that a puppy from Rasmi's litter in Slovenia would come to us. When we travelled to Slovenia in October 2018, we didn't yet know which puppy would accompany us home. There were still two small males there. But Rusty decided that he wanted to go with us. He immediately approached us and Rasmi openly and accompanied us on that first day as a matter of course. He was the one who wanted to go on the adventure with us. And he has always remained curious like that first day. Not a daredevil, but always open to new things. The world is fundamentally positive for him and wants to be discovered.

What I love about Rusty is his huge “will to please”. Working is the greatest thing for him. He doesn't really care what I want him to do, the main thing is that he has a new challenge and can use his head. He is extremely easy to lead and learns incredibly quickly, even what he is not supposed to.

Even as a puppy, he was allowed to accompany Rasmi and me to dummy training in a sling. So, it was only logical that he was quickly allowed to retrieve his first dummies. As he was always number 2 after Rasmi, it wasn't difficult for him to wait right from the start. Daddy was always allowed to retrieve first.
Like his father, he loves water work as well as dummy work. He is a fantastic swimmer and is an extremely athletic dog.

After the corona period, we started with our first tolling experiences. This virus then infected us very quickly and so we started tolling tests together in many different countries. In 2023, we managed to rise to the elite class in Sweden.

As far as shows were concerned, I had no ambitions at all with Rusty, but of course I took him with me when we showed Rasmi. I was even more surprised when he started to overtake his dad quite quickly. At exactly 18 months, he won his first adult champion title. So, he went straight from intermediate class to champion class. And it wasn't long before he even won the CIE international champion title. As a result, he was also able to take part in Crufts in Birmingham together with his father, where he took 3rd place in the Working Gundogs. He also belongs to the low-maintenance Toller breed. Brush him once in a while and he's good to go. In contrast to his father, who was a fur monster.

At home, Rusty, like his father, has the “off switch”. Of course, he lies under the desk in my office or in his basket or in his box. Snoozing and sleeping for 18 hours is not an issue. If nothing is going on, nothing is going on. But as soon as someone grabs the lead, he's there.

We also go to a family dog group together once a week. Since his father is no longer with us, it's important to me that he gets on well with other dogs and he does this wonderfully.

About Tsula:
Tsula is a fantastic little working dog. She has been incredibly easy to train, possessing a natural calmness that doesn’t compromise her passion for work. She is also an incredibly kind and friendly dog. She can become a little uncertain if she is pushed too hard during training (so that’s something to avoid 😊). Maybe she’ll grow a bit tougher over time, but I believe this is just her nature. She is very eager to do whatever is asked of her—both in training and in other situations.
At home, she is calm and balanced. She loves contact but is also good at settling in her basket and minding her own business. She is happy with all guests who come to visit and gets along well with the dogs we interact with. She has no issues with unfamiliar dogs either. She is very easy to bring along on trips and travels. She relaxes well in the car and quickly feels at home in new places.
In terms of trials, she recently debuted in the open class at a toller hunting trial, where she earned a 1st prize. We are now taking a break from training and competitions but will be ready to continue once the puppies have left home.

We haven’t been very active in dog shows. In 2022, she was shown in the junior class and received an "Excellent." Most recently, she was shown in the working dog class, where we unfortunately had to leave with a "Good."

Tsula doesn’t have show potential (she’s more of a “sports model”), but I hope that over time she will gain a bit more body and substance.