Dogs queue up for aversion training

Kiwi advocate Lesley Baigent was gratified by the response to Saturday's kiwi aversion training session for dogs at the Raetea reserve, at the northern foot of the Mangamuka Gorge.

Dogs were literally queuing up to undergo the training, which involves a special collar delivering an electric shock at the appropriate moment to persuade the dogs that kiwi are best left alone.

Success rates varied, Lesley said, and there were certainly no expectations of 100 per cent.

Research suggested that 65 per cent was realistic, although pet dogs were generally less receptive than their hunting/working counterparts.

DOC biosecurity ranger Irene Petrove agreed, adding that hunters were particularly supportive of the training programme.

"They see this as another element of their dogs' training," she said.

"And it's to their advantage. Quite apart from protecting the national bird, they want their dogs chasing pigs, not kiwi."

Pet dogs tended to be a different story, she said. It was not far from the realms of possibility that a family would settle down for a picnic at a location like the Raetea reserve while their dog wandered off no great distance, killed a kiwi and returned.

"The owners wouldn't even know what happened," she said.

"And many pet owners don't believe their dogs could or would kill kiwi, when we know that any dog, even the smallest, is capable of it."

Another aversion training session will get under way on the Taumarumaru reserve at Cooper's Beach at 9am on Saturday.