Farm working dogs routine care

Working dogs need the same routine care as all other dogs, including:

• adequate nutrition
• vaccinations
• regular worm control (including heartworm prevention)
• control of fleas
• desexing (if dogs are not intended to be used for breeding).

The 'Responsible ownership of farm working dogs' booklet informs owners of working dogs of the health and legal issues they must be aware of. This information is provided online in 2 sections:

• Ownership – owners of working dogs must be aware of requirements under legislation. Where the owner of a dog is under 18 years of age, their parent or guardian will be deemed the legal owner of the dog in the event of any penalties or prosecutions.
• Health care – farm working dogs are unmistakably an integral part of the working staff in the farm workplace. Your farm working dog contributes many hours of labour so care should be taken to ensure the dog can work to the best of its ability. Farm working dogs require the same routine care as any other dog would. For instance, adequate nutrition, vaccinations, regular worm control (including heartworm prevention), control of fleas, and desexing if they are not intended to be used for breeding.

You can also download the 'Responsible ownership of farm working dogs' as a complete booklet:

• Responsible ownership of farm working dogs (PDF - 1.5 MB)
• Responsible ownership of farm working dogs (WORD - 5.7 MB)

For more advice or information

Contact your local council if you have questions about your rights and responsibilities as a dog owner.