Ms Sim works as an independent contractor locating bird species for various departments - with pedigree labrador Maddi, 7, and labrador/pointer cross Rua, 2, finding native ducks, seabirds and kiwi. She began training her dogs in species recovery while working with pateke (brown teal duck) as a Department of Conversation ranger. "We had a guy visit on Great Barrier Island with his labradors, and found heaps of brown teal," Ms Sim said.
"He got too busy, so I thought I'd give training my own dogs a go."
She said dogs were adept at finding kiwi, as they were "attracted" to their pungent odour.
But since kiwi have weak flight muscles, a dog's jaws can crush them in an instant - so training her "babies" to recover them alive is "quite a process".
"Most kiwi kills in some areas have been attributed to dogs," Ms Sim said.
"When tracking, there's a fine balance between letting the dog go for it, and keeping them calm and away from the bird. You have to keep that control, as kiwi are easy to kill."
To train Maddi and Rua, Ms Sim hides kiwi feathers in a stocking all over her 2 hectare property.
While tracking, the dogs are kept on a long rope - and are pulled backwards when they find the feathers, until they learn to come to a stop.
"It's real obedience training: lots of repetition and reinforcement.
"They get it eventually - they know I'm serious."
When finding a kiwi in the wild, the dogs have to sit or lie down at least a metre away. "We usually know when we're about to find something: Maddi's tail goes bananas."
Ms Sim says tracking kiwi can be a tough job, as their territory is "so vast", the terrain can be inhospitable, the dogs can get overheated, and she often has to dig through kiwi burrows.
But, the satisfaction of finding the "unique" bird never wanes.
"When you see them up close, you can appreciate how weird they are," she says.
"They are like mammals - they've got whiskers and their feathers feel like fur. I love wildlife, and I love dogs - it's a good life."
