For many of us, pets are an important part of the family. However, if you do have a dog or cat, it’s important you’re aware of your responsibilities.
You may be fined or prosecuted if:
- Your dog is found wandering outside your premises
- You encourage or cause your dog to attack, bite, worry or chase a person or another animal
- Your dog or cat is a nuisance, or you fail to comply with a court notice ordering you to stop the cat or dog being a nuisance (this includes persistent barking)
- Your dog or cat wanders onto private property without the owner’s permission on more than one occasion and a warning has been issued by Council
- You allow any part of the animal’s excrement to remain on any road, street, nature strip, reserve, public or Council land
- You don’t take responsibility for damage your dog or cat causes
Euroa Off-Leash Dog Park
Euroa Showgrounds, Cattle Pavillion, 9 Charles St, Euroa
Open: 24/7
If you would like to let your dog get some exercise off their leash, use the Euroa Off-Leash Dog Park facility.
If your pet is wandering or lost, contact our Customer Service Team on 1800 065 993 so we can keep them safe, check for microchips and get them back home where they belong. This phone line is constantly monitored. Animals that are unclaimed after eight days will go up for adoption. The Euroa Pound is no longer operational for dogs and cats, however the site is still used for livestock. Contact Customer Service for further information on impounded livestock. Our priority is to get pets back to their owners. If an animal is microchipped and registered with Council our Ranger will take them home.
When animals are surrendered to the pound, unregistered, a repeat offender is found wandering or there has been a violent incident and the pet is seized these animals are transported to the Shepparton Animal Shelter. If animal owners register and microchip their pets, it will be very unlikely their animal will be taken to the Shepparton Animal Shelter. If you pet has been impounded please phone the Shepparton Animal Shelter on 5832 9700 or visit the website.
To see pets available for adoption see the Shepparton Animal Shelter website.
Barking is a normal behavior for dogs. Even if they appear to be barking for no reason, they are trying to communicate something to their owner. Your dog may bark for many reasons, however excessive barking can become a nuisance for neighbors. According to the Domestic Animals Act 1994, dogs barking is an offence when it injures or endangers the health of any person or by excessively barking to a degree that it interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of anyone on any other premises. It is the owner’s responsibility to train the dog not to bark excessively and disrupt neighbors.
Common reasons dogs bark
- Boredom
- Not enough exercise/ space/ shelter
- Separation anxiety
- Lonely
- Protecting its territory
- Fear (storms/ thunder/ fireworks)
- Provoked, both deliberately and unintentionally, by people or other animals.
- Untrained
- Pain due to injury or illness
- Abuse
- Physical needs such as hunger/ thirst not met
- Change to their environmen, such as moving house
How do I stop my dog barking?
First you need to find out:
- When does the barking occur?
- Who or what is prompting the dog to bark? For example other people walking past the fence.
- What things around the dog are triggering the barking? For example, other dogs barking? or wildlife landing in your yard?
Once you know those questions you may need to:
- Take your dog to be checked by a veterinarian to rule out any medical issue.
- Enroll your dog in obedience training or see an animal behavioral specialist. If your dog does need training, ask your local council or vet for advice and contact information for local dog trainers.
- Introduce enrichment to rule out boredom and stimulate the dog both mentally and physically.
- Take the dog for walks before you leave them for the day
- If your dog has separation anxiety, speak to your vet and an animal behavioralist for more information on what might work for your dog.
- If dog is barking at people/ other animals/ wildlife outside the yard, make changes to your yard if possible to block the dogs view.
- Ensure the dog has adequate shelter, food and water.
- Old clothes with your scent can also work sometimes.
What can I do if my neighbor’s dog is barking?
- In most cases owners are not aware their dog is barking. We recommend speaking directly to them first.
- Keep a diary of when the dog is barking. This may help the owners stop the barking. This will also help our officers if the council gets involved.
- Keep in communication with owners if the barking continues and see if they have tried to stop the barking.
- If owners are not willing to try to stop the dog barking, then contacting the Strathbogie shire Council is the next step.
- Residents have the right to take civil action against a dog owner to alleviate a noise nuisance, if they believe that the council has not handled the matter in accordance with its obligations, the issue can be taken to the office of the State Ombudsman.
If your neighbour’s dog is barking frequently then you should initially attempt to speak to the neighbour before lodging a complaint with Council. If you cannot resolve the issue with your neighbour and the problem continues then you can contact Council on 1800 065 993 to lodge a complaint.
Forms
Other resources
My dog is barking excessively, what should I do? – RSPCA Knowledgebase
Under Strathbogie Shires Councils Local Law there is a limit on the number of animals you can have at your property. If you want to keep more than the permitted number of animals, then you need to apply for an Excess Animal Permit through Strathbogie Shire Council.
Excess animal permits help protect the health of pets and prevents inconvenience for neighbors.
Strathbogie Shires Councils Local Law states that a person must not, without a permit, have domestic pet or other animal on any property if the number of animals exceeds the permitted number in the table below.
The following animals are exempt from the above table:
- Birds or poultry that is less than 8 weeks old
- Any dog or cat that is less than 3 months old
- Working dogs
- Dogs which have been declared under the domestic animal act 1994 as either a restricted breed, dangerous or menacing dog as separate legislation applies to this class or animal.
Other animal rules:
- Roosters are prohibited in residential zones.
- A person must not without a permit keep any livestock on any property in a residential or commercial area.
Conditions that must be followed to hold an excess animal permit:
- All animals on the permit need to be registered with Strathbogie Shire Council.
- All animals must be securely confined to your property.
- In the event of any of the animals passing away, you will not be able to replace any of the animals with a new animal without first notifying the Strathbogie Shire Council for consent to do so.
- No more than the animals listed on the application are to be kept on the property.
- All animals must be kept in accordance with the relevant Codes of Practices.
Fees:
The fee for keeping excess animals is $103. This permit is for the lifetime of the animals on the permit. No renewal notices will be sent.
How to apply:
To register for keeping excess animal permit complete the following
- Fill out our online application form Keeping extra animals – Strathbogie Shire
- You need to have all your animals details such as name, gender, date of birth, microchip number and a certificate from a veterinarian if the animal is desexed.
- You will need to provide a map of housing for the animals
- Additionally, you need to provide a reason for keeping that number of animals on the property
- For further information and assistance, you can phone our community safety team on 57950000
- After you apply, an authorized Officer may be in contact to arrange a time for an inspection of your home. This is so we can ensure that your home is safe and the right size for your animals, that you comply with the relevant codes of practice and that your surrounding neighbors are not being inconvenienced by the animals.
Notify us of any permit changes:
Please notify us of any changes, these include
- Change of address
- Chang in animal number (increase or decrease)
Additional information: