New Zealand Huntaway puppies

About the New Zealand Huntaway

The Huntaway is New Zealand's own working sheepdog, assembled from the early 1900s by crossing Border Collies with Bearded Collies, Labradors, Rottweilers, Harriers, Gordon Setters and Smithfield Collies. The job was to shift big mobs across steep open country by barking them on, the opposite of the silent eye a Border Collie uses. Dogs New Zealand lists the breed in the Working group, and the breed standard is blunt that colour, coat and size matter far less than working ability.

This is a big, loud, tireless dog, and the New Zealand Sheepdog Trial Association states plainly that they should never be kept solely as a pet. They need hours of work and a mind kept busy, and they bark because that is the job. Coats run from smooth through to rough and bearded, so grooming is usually simple. They suit a working farm or a genuinely sporty home with space. People buy the athleticism and fail to plan for the voice.

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a New Zealand Huntaway puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a very high energy breed. The mistake owners make is trying to tire them out physically. Training, scentwork and puzzles will do more than distance ever will. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything they meet calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of their life.

Health worth knowing about

Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.

• Hip and elbow dysplasia, which working stock can be x-rayed and scored for before breeding
• Cruciate ligament and other soft tissue injuries picked up on rough country, diagnosed by a vet examining the joint after a lameness
• A change of voice or persistent hoarseness in a dog that works by barking, which is worth a veterinary throat examination
• Wide variation in type in a registry that selects on working ability, so buyers should ask what health testing the parents have actually had rather than assume a breed profile

Your New Zealand Huntaway puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a New Zealand Huntaway.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 25 to 40 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Kit sizes: crate 42 inch (42 x 28 x 30 in, 107 x 71 x 76 cm) for an adult of up to 40 kg; chew toys made for large breeds. Worked out the same way as the crate size calculator. PetMD bases a crate on the dog's own measurements, not weight or breed alone, so measure once the puppy is home.

Buying guides for this

• Best crate for a puppy: wire, plastic or soft, and how to size one with a divider

Other large breeds

More on the New Zealand Huntaway

Previous: Nenets Laika · Next: Newfoundland

Sources

• dogsnz.org.nz for adult weight and height, life expectancy, energy, grooming and the temperament ratings, coat type, country of origin and health notes
• Health notes from New Zealand Huntaway breed information at https://www.dogsnz.org.nz/breeds/info/nz-huntaway/535. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

No published figure for life expectancy, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.

Photo: Cgoodwin, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped. All photographers are listed on the photo credits page.