Kiwi avoidance training for dogs
Dogs and kiwi should never meet. But just in case they do, kiwi avoidance training could help protect the kiwi.
Kiwi and dogs don’t mix. All dogs, regardless of their size, breed, or temperament, have the potential to kill a kiwi.
The best option is to keep dogs on a lead and away from kiwi areas. But for dogs that need to go into areas where kiwi live, avoidance training is a tool that could help reduce the threat dogs pose to kiwi.
Why is a dog so harmful to kiwi?
A kiwi’s skeleton is very fragile. Just a gentle nudge from an inquisitive dog has the potential to crush its very delicate ribcage and internal organs.
That’s why Save the Kiwi is working hard to raise awareness that dogs have a critical and devastating impact on our kiwi populations. This could be avoided with the help of dog owners.
Kiwi avoidance training explained
Before a dog can be trained to avoid kiwi, it must have been taught basic obedience so that it does what its owner asks.
As part of the training, dogs are walked, usually not on a lead, past a few different props like a stuffed kiwi or kiwi nesting material. If the dog shows an interest in these objects, it gets a short sharp shock from the trainer, via a special collar. The dog quickly learns that these objects are something to stay away from.
The dog is then walked past similar props and, if it avoids them, is certified as having shown consistent kiwi avoidance behaviour. Refreshers are held, usually after around 12 months, to make sure the dog remembers what it has learnt.
However, kiwi avoidance training does not make a dog ‘kiwi-proof’. It should only be used for ‘dogs with jobs’ such as hunting dogs or farm dogs that have to be in kiwi areas. Other dogs should not be taken into kiwi areas.
Does kiwi avoidance training work?
Kiwi avoidance training is not a silver bullet. Even after a dog has been trained, an uncontrolled or roaming dog may still attack a kiwi, especially if it is not regularly retrained.
The best option is simply to keep dogs away from places wild kiwi live. If it is unavoidable to take a dog into a kiwi area, it should always be under control. In many cases this means on a lead, regardless of whether it has been avoidance trained.
Photo credit: Colin Salt
Get your dog kiwi avoidance trained
Keen to get your dog kiwi avoidance trained? Contact a certified trainer in your region for more details about future training days.
Northland and Far North
Pete Graham
(Certifier no. 1)
Glen Coulston
(Certifier no. 1a)
Lesley Baigent
(Certifier no. 2)
09 408 7800 or 09 408 6014 baigentsnz@gmail.com
Jason Hanham and Wallis Cocks
(Certifier no. 3)
Hunua, Thames and Coromandel
Brian Shields
(Certifier no. 7)
Liz Whitwell
(Certifier no. 9)
lwhitwell@doc.govt.nz
Malcolm MacFarlane
(Certifier no. 10)
027 235 8424 or 07 868 9912
Thames/Coromandel
Christine Friis
(Certifier no. 11)
cfriis@doc.govt.nz
Sheila Westley
(Certifier no. 40)
021 716 514
avertmydog@projectkiwi.org.nz
Kuaotunu
Waikato & Bay of Plenty
Peter Evans
(Certifier no. 12)
07 856 4611 or 022 600 5783
pete@nzoutdoorexperiences.co.nz
Waikato
Guus Knopers
(Certifier no. 13)
027 5927 737 wildlifecontractorsnz@gmail.com
Te Puke/Western Bay of Plenty
Tiki Hutching
(Certifier no. 14)
07 325 2142 or 027 809 8185
thutching@doc.govt.nz
Opotiki/Whakatane
Andrew Glaser
(Certifier no. 15)
07 315 1001
aglaser@doc.govt.nz
Opotiki
Tim Allerby
(Certifier no. 19)
07 312 9659
tim.a@ngaituhoe.iwi.nz
Whakatane/Te Urewera
Tom Brown
(Certifier no. 41)
027 359 0146
66waimana@gmail.com
Whakatane/Te Urewera
Hawkes Bay, Taranaki & Central North Island
Willie Marsh
(Certifier no. 21)
06 376 5155, 027 3858191 or 06 834 3111 (DOC Napier)
willymarsh@inspire.net.nz
Hawkes Bay/Manawatu
Rod Smillie
(Certifier no. 24)
06 349 2100
Whanganui
Myles Gembritsky
06 3854748 and 027 353 9824
mgembritsky@xtra.co.nz
Whanganui
Paul Drought
(Certifier no. 34)
027 287 6772
paul-drought22@hotmail.com
Taranaki
Jared Coombes
(Certifier no. 35)
06 759 0350 or 027 2159 199
jcoombes@doc.govt.nz
Taranaki
Joe Carson
(Certifier no. 37)
027 577 3869
jcarson@doc.govt.nz
Taranaki
Blake Cole
(Certifier no. 38)
022 3422 191
blakejet@gmail.com
Ohakune & Rotorua
Jim Pottinger
(Certifier no. 27)
021 259 8299 or 07 8922691
hunter4hire@windowslive.com
Central & Southern North Island
Dean Flavell
(Certifier no. 28)
027 360 4129
dean.flavell@xtra.co.nz
Central North Island
South Island & Stewart Island
Ian Cox
(Certifier no. 30)
027 243 5592
icox@doc.govt.nz
Marlborough, Nelson & Golden Bay
Sandra King
(Certifier no. 20)
03 2191102
paws4conservation@gmail.com
Stewart Island
Anya Kruszewski
(Certifier no. 39)
027 591 2259
akruszewski@doc.govt.nz
Franz Josef
Stephen (Billy) Barton
(Certifier no. 42)
021 022 77173
phoenixspbltd@gmail.com
Te Anau
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