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safe working with protected species and the handler must have achieved the required skills (including obedience and hunting and detection ability on the part of the dog and control by the handler). Once training is completed and the dogs are certified both dogs and handlers must be reassessed every three years. In addition to the rigorous training that Ajax needed to become a certified bird dog, I taught him the practical skills he would require while in the mountains with me. This often required complete trust on his part and he soon became relaxed enough to be held securely round my neck in a fireman’s hold while crossing 3-wired bridges high above thundering rivers. He quickly learned that being a bush dog required him to do some not so regular dog behaviours. Looking for kea nests requires frequent river crossings, scrambling up rocks, traipsing through snow drifts and ultimately diving down tight holes in the ground. Ajax soon became used to these activities and they became second nature for him, just as they did for me. Now, 2 years on, he is adept at rock climbing, abseiling, canyoning, boating, caving, camping in the mountains, hunting and, most important, locating kea nests. Getting Ajax interested in kea was easy while living in Arthur’s Pass, where kea roam the streets with reckless abandon. Their scent is scattered all over the footpaths and they can be spotted regularly in the village car parks. A few words of encouragement from me when he showed interest in kea was
all it took. He was quick to learn and showed great aptitude at indicating whether there was a kea, kea scent or a kea nest close by. To show Ajax that kea were friendly and something that he should be interested in, but also something that he shouldn’t chase, I took him to the Deaths Corner viaduct lookout where kea frequent and display a particular boldness. On a ‘stay’ command I made Ajax sit and observe the kea while they ran around and prodded him with their beaks. When a kea ran in and picked up a stone from between Ajax’s toes and Ajax didn’t flinch, I knew he was ready. Unfortunately Ajax failed his first test to become a
DOC species dog – the park environment he was being tested in was unfamiliar and full of other interesting dogs. Although disheartened I set to work to fix the mistakes made on our first attempt and, with some more intensive training and a change of venue (to a more natural bush setting where he was used to working rather than playing), we flew through our second test with top marks. Now Ajax is a regular feature in the mountains of the Southern Alps and will be a great asset when we start looking for kea nests again this season. And, apart from that, a bit of company in the mountains and a mate (especially one with a built in fur coat) never goes amiss.
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Photos: Corey Mosen