These hunting dogs won't be able to duck a shampoo

Craig Taylor gives his dog Meg the DoC-recommended shampoo to help stop the spread of didymo. Picture / Otago Daily Times

It is a blow to the manliness of the average bloke getting ready to kill and maim this weekend. Along with shot, duck-callers, guns and netting, duck-shooters should be out buying shampoo.

No, it is not to keep Her Indoors happy while she becomes a widow for numerous days over the next three months. It is for the other, other half - the dog.

The threat of that invasive pest didymo is hanging over the duck-shooting season as much as it does the fishing season.

Biosecurity New Zealand senior communications adviser Tina Nixon said the "check, clean, dry" campaign applied to all shooters and dogs. The dogs would be wading through waters to collect downed game birds, she said, but that water may contain a didymo cell which could be spread the next time the dog entered a new catchment.

So the dogs should be shampooed at the end of each day's hunting for up to a minute to get rid of any unwanted pests, especially didymo. Biodegradable detergents can also be used and dogs should not go into another catchment for 48 hours.

Department of Conservation technical support officer freshwater eco-systems Murray Neilson said shampoo should be used on dogs, and hunters must clean their gear around waterways.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES