Artus
Bursztynowy Zakątek

A love of nature and animals has been with me since childhood. I got my first dog when I was ten. She was a wonderful companion; I spent every free moment with her in the woods and took my first steps in agility. For several years my heart then belonged to horses and their care, but the dream of one particular breed kept growing stronger in me.

From an early age I knew that my dog of a lifetime would be the Canadian retriever — the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. I was fascinated by their intelligence, temperament and wonderful character. I gathered information about the breed for years, until five years ago I threw myself into an intensive search for the right puppy. The journey eventually took me to Poland, to the breeder Mrs Żubrowska in Kielce, from where I brought home our little red miracle — Izi.

That was the beginning of a big and beautiful ride. When Izi joined us I had a four-year-old daughter and a four-month-old baby at home. Combining the care of small children, family, work and a temperamental toller went surprisingly smoothly, and we all got used to one another beautifully.

A companion for the family and for the road

I believe that the basis of a happy life together for a dog and a family with children is mutual respect and clearly set rules:

• Respect and safety: The children have known from the very beginning how to behave around a dog. They are never together unsupervised, and Izi has his own safe place where he has absolute peace and where the children are not allowed.
• Balance: Thanks to clear boundaries and plenty of exercise, work and rest, Izi has grown into a calm, balanced and incredibly friendly dog who loves his family.

On top of that, Izi is a completely easy-going companion for any travel and any shared adventure. He goes with us absolutely everywhere — on holidays, to children's concerts, busy fairs and restaurants; he handles the city and waiting outside the kindergarten with ease. No means of transport is a problem for him — train, trolleybus, bus, long car journeys, a raft trip or a cable car ride, he takes it all completely in his stride. He is used to farm animals, and most of all he loves going swimming with us in the pond.

Learning together, gundog work and versatility

The toller is an incredibly versatile breed and Izi is living proof of it. Whatever sport or activity I come up with and try, Izi throws himself into it with complete enthusiasm. Just for fun we even tried dog dancing — and although dancing is somewhat outside my comfort zone, Izi was absolutely thrilled with the new exercise.

Our greatest love, though, is dummy work. Retrieving is simply in a retriever's blood, and with Izi these natural gifts are unmistakable — he enjoys dummy work enormously and puts great drive and concentration into it. That is why our next goal is to try the basic Working Tests and gradually move on to classic hunting tests (water tests, autumn tests and more).

On our shared journey I am learning everything as I go, together with him. I value Izi's immense patience beyond words — even when I make a mistake in training, he forgives me with love and carries on with incredible eagerness. He learns at lightning speed and his greatest reward is being allowed to work. Training with him and devoting myself to him fully is enormously enjoyable and fulfilling, and I am curious myself about what else we will try together and how far we will get.

Charm in the show ring

Izi has quite literally found himself at shows. He genuinely enjoys being presented in the ring — the moment he steps into it he carries himself as proudly as a peacock, shows off with great joy, and it is plain to see how much he loves the attention.

For me Izi is not just a stud dog — he is a full member of our family, a companion for every adventure and a childhood dream come true.