Maitland Nsw Dolers.

[esky]

Hi all.

Was needing some urgent info/advice from any dog owners in the Maitland council area please.

We are a day away from signing contracts on a new property in the Morpeth Manor area & have only now been informed that this council has a 2 dog policy.

I have 9 little pekingese here at the moment (most have been rescued & are over 9 years old) & am not sure what the situation is? I did ring the council & spoke to someone who said the guideline is 2 but I should be ok unless there is complaints. I have just logged on to council website & it distinctly says a maximum of two dogs.

I am currently in Newcastle council area & have constantly checked on policy which is absolutely fine for my amount (once again pending no complaints). My dogs are mainly indoor dogs - just eat/sleep basically. I do take them for walks (usually 2-3 dogs at a time over 4 walks a day) & am now concerned that I would be worried about the neighbours noticing if we were to take a risk & try moving with the dogs if the 2dog policy was true. We have enough stress already having to sign before selling our current home so want to stop process straight away before it is too late if there are forseeable problems.

Does anyone know anymore on this situation?

[sas]

Hi all.

Was needing some urgent info/advice from any dog owners in the Maitland council area please.

We are a day away from signing contracts on a new property in the Morpeth Manor area & have only now been informed that this council has a 2 dog policy.

I have 9 little pekingese here at the moment (most have been rescued & are over 9 years old) & am not sure what the situation is? I did ring the council & spoke to someone who said the guideline is 2 but I should be ok unless there is complaints. I have just logged on to council website & it distinctly says a maximum of two dogs.

I am currently in Newcastle council area & have constantly checked on policy which is absolutely fine for my amount (once again pending no complaints). My dogs are mainly indoor dogs - just eat/sleep basically. I do take them for walks (usually 2-3 dogs at a time over 4 walks a day) & am now concerned that I would be worried about the neighbours noticing if we were to take a risk & try moving with the dogs if the 2dog policy was true. We have enough stress already having to sign before selling our current home so want to stop process straight away before it is too late if there are forseeable problems.

Does anyone know anymore on this situation?

If the website says 2 then it is 2.....whether or not they enforce that is a different sorry.

[Paganman]

Keeping 9 dogs when theres a 2 dog limit is a bit risky theres one hell of a diffrence between 2 and 9.Do they bark at all coz all it takes is one complaint from a neighbor and youll probably be forced to dispose of some of them

[Jumabaar]

Hi all.

Was needing some urgent info/advice from any dog owners in the Maitland council area please.

We are a day away from signing contracts on a new property in the Morpeth Manor area & have only now been informed that this council has a 2 dog policy.

I have 9 little pekingese here at the moment (most have been rescued & are over 9 years old) & am not sure what the situation is? I did ring the council & spoke to someone who said the guideline is 2 but I should be ok unless there is complaints. I have just logged on to council website & it distinctly says a maximum of two dogs.

I am currently in Newcastle council area & have constantly checked on policy which is absolutely fine for my amount (once again pending no complaints). My dogs are mainly indoor dogs - just eat/sleep basically. I do take them for walks (usually 2-3 dogs at a time over 4 walks a day) & am now concerned that I would be worried about the neighbours noticing if we were to take a risk & try moving with the dogs if the 2dog policy was true. We have enough stress already having to sign before selling our current home so want to stop process straight away before it is too late if there are forseeable problems.

Does anyone know anymore on this situation?

If it is Maitland NSW then you are covered by the NSW Companion animals act. This means that council can not enforce a dog limit because it is against state law. I am sure others will come on and clarify.

My NSW council has a two dog limit, and they have let me register 5 dogs and haven't batted an eyelid (except when they thought they could get a 6th lot of fees out of me!) My dogs are not barkers, are kept inside and my care for them meets the other requirements of the NSW companion act and while this is the case they can't do anything about the number of dogs I own

[Leelaa17]

I think there is another thread under 'general dog discussion' called 'council laws' or something similar - its not an old thread either so it should be on the first couple of pages - someone else was having issues with having three dogs in a 2 dog area (or something similar) and they went through council and asked questions and filled out a form to apply to have the third dog with them...

you might need to do something similar - there are always exceptions to the rule... I would maybe go to the area (if that is all possible) and ask around about what the residents thinks - just ask them how many dogs they have and if they have more than 2 then ask how they went about getting permission (you can pretend you are a student writing a uni paper or a news reporter etc) - people are more inclined to talk to u if they think you are researching for something

you don't have to do this - it is just an idea... if council said to you that its normally not a problem then I would assume you would get similar answers from residents... residents are more likely to tell u the truth than council!

it is risky though, as paganman said - 9 is very different from 2... I would either talk to residents, or GO IN to council (dont talk over the phone) and chat to them about it.. ask if you need to apply or if they really dont care...

if they really dont care then I would get someone to write that down so u have proof that council said that in case someone complains and council asks you to remove your dogs - at least then you will have proof that council said you were allowed to have them... or you could voice record them either way - get evidence if they say you are allowed to have the 9 dogs.

good luck.

[Ons]

my understanding is that the State Law in NSW Companion Animals Act says that you can have as many dogs as you like provided they are not a nuisance. State Law overrules council law

eta Woofen posted at the same time as me

Edited May 19, 2011 by onsntillnflash

[Leelaa17]

Hi all.

Was needing some urgent info/advice from any dog owners in the Maitland council area please.

We are a day away from signing contracts on a new property in the Morpeth Manor area & have only now been informed that this council has a 2 dog policy.

I have 9 little pekingese here at the moment (most have been rescued & are over 9 years old) & am not sure what the situation is? I did ring the council & spoke to someone who said the guideline is 2 but I should be ok unless there is complaints. I have just logged on to council website & it distinctly says a maximum of two dogs.

I am currently in Newcastle council area & have constantly checked on policy which is absolutely fine for my amount (once again pending no complaints). My dogs are mainly indoor dogs - just eat/sleep basically. I do take them for walks (usually 2-3 dogs at a time over 4 walks a day) & am now concerned that I would be worried about the neighbours noticing if we were to take a risk & try moving with the dogs if the 2dog policy was true. We have enough stress already having to sign before selling our current home so want to stop process straight away before it is too late if there are forseeable problems.

Does anyone know anymore on this situation?

If it is Maitland NSW then you are covered by the NSW Companion animals act. This means that council can not enforce a dog limit because it is against state law. I am sure others will come on and clarify.

My NSW council has a two dog limit, and they have let me register 5 dogs and haven't batted an eyelid (except when they thought they could get a 6th lot of fees out of me!) My dogs are not barkers, are kept inside and my care for them meets the other requirements of the NSW companion act and while this is the case they can't do anything about the number of dogs I own

or you could listen to woofen and just forget everything I said!!!!!!!! lol

[Jumabaar]

link to another topic on this

http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/203527-is-there-a-limit-on-the-number-of-dogs-i-can-own/

[dancinbcs]

my understanding is that the State Law in NSW Companion Animals Act says that you can have as many dogs as you like provided they are not a nuisance. State Law overrules council law

eta Woofen posted at the same time as me

That is correct. All of NSW is covered by the NSW Companion Animals Act, so no council can restrict numbers unless they receive complaints. Also, you can register your dogs at any agent or council in NSW, it doesn't have to be with your own council, because it is a state lifetime register. The councils do not actually have individual registers any more.

I assume you are coming from another state, so your dogs all need to microchipped to be lifetime registered in NSW. Breeders rates apply for entire dogs if you have a prefix.

Just noticed that your profile says you are already in NSW. If that is the case you don't need to deal with the council at all. Just do a change of address on the state register for each dog.

Edited May 19, 2011 by dancinbcs

[mita]

Bit O/T, but esky owns the most beautiful, precious pekes. I keep a photo on my desktop, that she posted a long time back.

If there was a count taken on numbers of Ooooohs & Aaaaaahs for my various desktop photos, esky's Peke Pic would get first place.

I hope it's all sorted.

[esky]

Thanks for all your replies so far - very much appreciated.

At the moment I am in NSW & all my dogs are registered with the local council. It is a dilemna, as I know I won't have that many for long as only one is 5 yrs old - the rest are between 9 & 12yrs. I am hoping they will be with me for a long time but realistically I know I will not have that many in a few years time

I would not move anywhere without them & am not a risk taker either.

[Leelaa17]

Thanks for all your replies so far - very much appreciated.

At the moment I am in NSW & all my dogs are registered with the local council. It is a dilemna, as I know I won't have that many for long as only one is 5 yrs old - the rest are between 9 & 12yrs. I am hoping they will be with me for a long time but realistically I know I will not have that many in a few years time

I would not move anywhere without them & am not a risk taker either.

From what everyone has said I would get a copy of the Act and take it into council and just ask them why they have a two dog policy if all of NSW is unrestricted?

also - I just went onto maitland council website and I didnt see anything about only have two dogs?

[esky]

Have no idea how to post a link but on the council website put "morpeth" in search box. Go to page 2 then click on council policies.

Scroll down to "keeping of animals" & then scroll to page 4.

Will definitely have to learn how to post a link

[~Anne~]

my understanding is that the State Law in NSW Companion Animals Act says that you can have as many dogs as you like provided they are not a nuisance. State Law overrules council law

eta Woofen posted at the same time as me

This.

[TigerJack]

Before I got my third dog I rang my local council as they had a similar 2 dog thing listed but I had heard of the NSW companion animal act. My council told me I could have as many dogs as I wanted as long as all of them were registered and well cared for and there were no complaints made by neighbours. I currently have ten dogs, all registered. At one point I must have had a couple more listed as well because I took a while to let them know about deceased dogs. I have had no trouble at all.

The critical thing is keep them all correctly registered with up to date addresses and keep them under control.

[Leelaa17]

Before I got my third dog I rang my local council as they had a similar 2 dog thing listed but I had heard of the NSW companion animal act. My council told me I could have as many dogs as I wanted as long as all of them were registered and well cared for and there were no complaints made by neighbours. I currently have ten dogs, all registered. At one point I must have had a couple more listed as well because I took a while to let them know about deceased dogs. I have had no trouble at all.

The critical thing is keep them all correctly registered with up to date addresses and keep them under control.

Do you mind if I ask what council area you are in tigerjack?

For some reason, when I was little, I always thought that we were only allowed to have three dogs... dad and I had two dogs and then when his girlfriend moved in she brought her two dogs with her - so we had four dogs... and for SOOO long I thought we'd get in trouble because I always thought we could have a maximum of three... little random piece of memory for you all. lol

[Rain]

Maitland council told me you are allowed 3 dogs, they need to be registered. They said you can have more as long as they dont annoy your neighbours.

They wont go looking to see how many dogs people own as long as there are no complaints.

I hope that helps.

They are a very good council to deal with.

[Keira&Phoenix]

Sounds like councils prefer two dogs but by State Law they cannot restrict your number of dogs unless complaints are made or if you are found not to be caring for them properly. Sounds like you will be fine.

9 dogs must be a handful! Although probably not as they are all senior!

Good luck with the move.

[dancinbcs]

Thanks for all your replies so far - very much appreciated.

At the moment I am in NSW & all my dogs are registered with the local council. It is a dilemna, as I know I won't have that many for long as only one is 5 yrs old - the rest are between 9 & 12yrs. I am hoping they will be with me for a long time but realistically I know I will not have that many in a few years time

I would not move anywhere without them & am not a risk taker either.

Your dogs are not registered with the local council if you live in NSW. You may have submitted the papers at the council but they are all registered with the state, not the council as no council has a register anymore. Check their registration papers and you will find that they are on the NSW Govt Companion Animals Register and this is where you need to do the change of address. The councils can set a number limit that they can enforce only if they receive complaints, otherwise you are free to have as many as you want so long as they are state registered, correctly cared for and the neighbours don't complain.

[~Anne~]

Thanks for all your replies so far - very much appreciated.

At the moment I am in NSW & all my dogs are registered with the local council. It is a dilemna, as I know I won't have that many for long as only one is 5 yrs old - the rest are between 9 & 12yrs. I am hoping they will be with me for a long time but realistically I know I will not have that many in a few years time

I would not move anywhere without them & am not a risk taker either.

Your dogs are not registered with the local council if you live in NSW. You may have submitted the papers at the council but they are all registered with the state, not the council as no council has a register anymore. Check their registration papers and you will find that they are on the NSW Govt Companion Animals Register and this is where you need to do the change of address. The councils can set a number limit that they can enforce only if they receive complaints, otherwise you are free to have as many as you want so long as they are state registered, correctly cared for and the neighbours don't complain.

You still change the microchip address with the local Council. Local Councils administer the database in NSW and are the only ones who can access the databse to edit and change detail. The Department of Local Government (a State Government Department) develops and implements the policies and laws. Local Councils then enforce them.

Edited May 19, 2011 by ~Anne~