Border collie Wink was a 5-month-old pup when a shepherd gave him to John Taylor about four years ago to see if he could be a weed detector dog.
The skinny pup was "angry" and shuddering in pain from a sore right eye, Mr Taylor said.
After a vet removed Wink’s eye, he was a new dog, began training and quickly learnt the skills required.
"He did everything. He was perfect."
Six months after arriving, Wink was a trained detector dog.
Usually, a dog took about two years to train, he said.
The duo worked in the North Island for five weeks early this year. On the trip, Wink’s work included detecting spartina grass in Thames, noogoora bur in Tauranga and velvetleaf in Cambridge, Napier and Whanganui.
The employers on the trip were Doc, several regional councils and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
"I’ve got more work than I know what to do with."
Wink barked when he found a target weed.
If the weed had a seedhead, he was trained not touch it.
"If you shake them, the seeds fall out."
If the weed had no seedhead, Wink would rip it out of the ground with his teeth.
The technology allows them to show where they have been and areas which still need to be searched.
A recent ministry trial in Invercargill revealed Wink had "no problem" detecting the weed Manchurian wild rice.
So far, Wink had been able to find every weed he had been asked to.
Environment Canterbury had requested a trial to be launched in his Invercargill workshop to see if Wink could detect African love grass.
The areas where the invasive weed grows included Tarras in Central Otago, Mr Taylor said.
He had been using dogs to detect weeds for more than eight years. His first detector dog, 12-year-old Rusty, was in his second year of retirement after a career finding velvetleaf.
The work was satisfying.
"It’s good when you get a result."
