The thought of his dogs killing a kiwi is "pretty sickening" for local hunter Chris Stevenson.
That's why Mr Stevenson put his dogs - greyhound cross Taz and huntaway cross Izzy - through kiwi aversion training yesterday at Gordon Park.
More than 20 dogs went through the training, which is run by the Department of Conservation and the Kiwis For Kiwi Trust.
Each dog was taken on a leash through the track at Gordon Park, where they encountered a kiwi. If the dog showed an interest in the kiwi the handler would deliver a "correction" - a quick electric shock from the collar on its neck.
The dog is then walked past the kiwi again to judge its reaction.
Adele Meyer from DoC said for most dogs one shock was enough to make them wary of kiwis - and that wariness could last for years.
She said kiwi had a very strong and distinctive smell that was attractive to dogs.
The aversion training used a real kiwi that had been frozen, which still retained its smell, a taxidermy kiwi for the visual component, as well as nesting material and kiwi droppings.
"The dogs quickly associate that smell and that look with pain, so they know to stay away," Ms Meyer said.
The training is aimed at hunters but also at farmers: "There might be kiwis on your back doorstep and you're not aware of it. Your dog is out roaming and is attracted by the smell of kiwi.
"The dogs aren't bad - it's just their natural instinct."
Ms Meyer said kiwis don't have rib cages so even being picked up gently by a dog could kill them.
Dog owners who take their animals through the training are given a certificate. Currently, it's not mandatory for hunters to have gone through the kiwi aversion training before entering the Whanganui National Park, but it soon will be, Ms Meyer said.
As for Mr Stevenson's dogs, Taz needed "a good zap", while Izzy got the message more quickly.
Mr Stevenson said he believed the training was important.
"The thought that one of my dogs could come out of the bush carrying a kiwi in its mouth is pretty sickening," he said.