Dog registrations
Registering your dog for the first time
All dogs must be registered from 3 months of age or as soon as they come into your possession.
Visit Council's Service Centre on Miranda Street to register your dog(s) and make payment.
Registration fees
Registrations paid prior to 1 August are at a discounted rate. Full fees apply from 1 August.
Check out Dog Ownership Fees & Charges here.
If your dog registration is not paid, an infringement notice may be served, or the dog may be seized by an Animal Control Officer.
Renewing your dog's registration
Registration applications are sent out in June each year, or can be picked up from Council.
Dog owners must register their dogs by June 30 of each year, before their current registration has expired.
You can re-register your dog(s) and make payment online here or by visiting Council's Service Centre on Miranda Street.
Changes to dog registration
If your dog has passed away, you may be eligible for a part-refund of registration. Refunds are only applicable from the month of application.
If your dog is re-homed, or you change address, you must let us know within 14 days.
Complete the Change of Dog Owner form below.
FAQ
I live in the rural zone in the District Plan and don't have council water or waste services, but I'm classed as an urban dog owner and pay urban dog registration fees. Why?
The registration fee for dogs isn’t linked to District Plan zoning like for waste and water services. For doggie registration purposes, an urban dog owner is someone living within the 70 km or less speed zone for the Stratford and Midhirst areas. If you live outside these zones, you’ll pay rural registration fees.
The background
Back in 2015, the urban and rural dog zones were based on District Plan zoning. Under the plan, both “Rural Residential” and “Residential” properties were classed as residential, so they were treated as urban dog areas. This led to a few issues, including:
- On some streets, zoning meant one side of the road paid urban dog fees while the other side paid rural fees.
- Some areas had small property sizes that were better suited to urban dog ownership (where you need a licence to own more than two dogs), but they were zoned rural under the District Plan, so there were fewer restrictions.
- In Midhirst, there are some rural and residential zoned properties sitting side by side, meaning neighbours could have different dog fees and rules.
To make things fairer, the Council decided in late 2015 to base urban and rural dog zones on the district’s speed zones. This created a more natural divide between urban and rural areas.
It’s never easy to draw lines for things like dog registration fees, and not everyone will agree, but at the time it was seen as a reasonable solution.
We do keep feedback in mind when opportunities come up to review things like dog registration zoning, so please send any feedback you have to AnimalControl@Stratford.govt.nz
