Join or Renew Membership

Membership with Dogs Victoria entitles our members to many benefits such as discounted dog registrations through your local council, access to use our grounds at KCC Park and Bulla and their facilities including the Laurie Luxmoore Library, Canine museum and a host of other benefits!

Owners of Main registered dogs may also wish to explore entering their dog into the many Dog activities and competitions our Affiliated Clubs hold.
We have a list of ever growing benefits for our members, for a list of what these are please see our Membership Benefits page. 

If you would like to become a member of Dogs Victoria, please see the sign up detail below or via hardcopy ''Application for Membership'' under the Forms section of the website and please read the following:

 
Applicable Organisation membership conditions

Legislative requirements

1. Comply with all legislative requirements at all times, including the Domestic Animals Act 1994, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, and their associated regulations and Codes of Practice applying to the welfare, keeping, breeding and management of dogs and cats. Any breaches should be reported to the Applicable Organisation.

2. Be familiar with and comply with the Code of Practice for the Responsible Breeding of Animals with Heritable Defects that Cause Disease.

3. Be familiar with and comply with the Code of Practice for the Tethering of Animals, ensuring cats, puppies and pregnant, whelping and lactating bitches are never tethered, and that any tethering maintains the safety and welfare of the animal.

4. Register and microchip dogs and cats over three months of age with the local council, including animals that are for sale.

5. By 10 April each year, renew local council registrations of all dogs and cats that are still being kept.

Accommodation / Housing

6. Provide housing that prevents escape and guarantees the health, safety and welfare of animals, including protection from adverse environmental conditions and extreme weather.

7. Provide protection from disease, injury and distress.

8. Always provide adequate ventilation and sufficient space for animals to stand and move freely, including during transportation.

9. Ensure no part of a pen/cage floor area is made from suspended wire.

10. Ensure pens/cages are not stacked on top of one another.

Animal health

11. Provide prompt veterinary treatment to ill or injured animals.

12. Keep good levels of cleanliness and hygiene in premises where animals are kept.

13. Make every effort to control pests such as fleas, ticks, etc.

14. Treat animals regularly for internal and external parasites and vaccinate against common diseases.

15. Provide sufficient exercise to maintain animals’ health and fitness.

16. Provide animals with a safe, balanced and complete diet and serve the food in clean containers.

17. Ensure animals have access to plenty of clean water in clean containers.

Banned procedures (ear cropping (dog)), tail docking (dog), debarking (dog), declawing (cat))

18. Do not allow any banned procedures to be carried out on any animals.

19. Do not show or exhibit any animal that has undergone a banned pocedure.

Breeding

20. Ensure only healthy animals are used for breeding.

21. Keep proper records of all breeding activities and ensure these records are available for inspection by any person authorisedby the organisation.

Code of Ethics

22. Follow the Applicable Organisation’s approved Code of Ethics at all times.

23. Where reasonable, allow inspections of breeding premises by the Applicable Organisation to ensure compliance with the Applicable Organisation’s Code of Ethics.

24. Keep accurate records of all animals (both kept and sold) and breeding operations, as specified in the Code of Ethics, for a minimum of 5 years.

Collars

25. Use of collars must be compliant with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations 2019, which prohibits pronged collars, while electronic collars may only be used as specified.

Dog working & environmental conditions (not applicable to cat organisations)

26. Ensure dogs are not pushed beyond their natural abilities by administering drugs or medications to enhance performance.

27. Do not work dogs in conditions that may result in them suffering from negative health issues such as hypothermia, hyperthermia or dehydration.

Dog training (not applicable to cat organisations)

28. Ensure dogs are not trained or worked beyond their willingness and capabilities.

29. Ensure all training methods used are humane and do not cause undue fear, distress or pain.

Domestic animal businesses

30. If you have more than 10 relevant fertile females, register as a domestic animal business with the local council in which the business premises is located and apply to the Minister for Agriculture for commercial dog breeder approval.

Euthanasia

31. Ensure animals that must be destroyed are euthanised in a humane manner (i.e. by barbiturate overdose) by a suitably authorised person.

32. Ensure animals are not euthanised using blunt force trauma.t: 9788 2500 f: 9788 2599 office@dogsvictoria.org.au www.dogsvictoria.org.au

Hereditary disease

33. Take legitimate action to reduce the incidence of hereditary diseases.

Information sharing

34. Note that an authorised officer may ask for membership details and any other relevant information held by an Applicable Organisation, and this information is legally required be shared with said authorised officer to assist in regulatory activities.

35. Note that membership status may be shared with authorised officers of the council and/or RSPCA as well as the Secretary of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (i.e. the Department) after notification of a change in status resulting from resignation, disqualification, suspension or cancellation.

Sale of animals

36. Ensure no animal leaves the seller before 8 weeks of age.

37. Ensure dogs and cats sold or given away are implanted with a microchip by an authorised implanter, where information recorded on the microchip record must include the breeder’s source number, and accompanied by a signed transfer of ownership form. Breeders are recommended to have the new owner fill out the transfer of ownership form on purchase and to send the form directly to the reevant Animal Registry Service.

38. Ensure dog and cat advertisements, for sale or for free, include each animal’s full microchip number and the seller’s source number, as well as the number of the council registered domestic animal business (DAB) where applicable.

39. Ensure dogs and cats sold have current vaccinations, with a valid certificate to be provided to the new owner.

40. Provide purchasers of desexed animals with a copy of the desexing certificate.

41. Provide new owners with literature about feeding, desexing, parasite control, health, housing, responsible pet ownership, current legislation regarding registration, training and socialisation of dogs, and vaccination.

42. Ensure all dogs and cats sold are accompanied with a breeder health declaration.

43. Accept a returned animal and refund 75% of the purchase price within three days of sale for any reason not supported by a veterinary practitioner.

44. Accept an animal returned within 21 days of sale and refund 100% of the purchase price if accompanied by a veterinary practitioner statement that the animal is unacceptable for health reasons.

45. Refund 100% of the purchase price where an animal is diagnosed with, suffering from, dies of, or is euthanised because of a physical defect or disease that is traceable to the point of sale within three years of purchase where the owner provides supporting statements from a veterinary practitioner.

46. Ensure animals sold or given away are in the best possible state of health.

47. Do not allow animals to be used as donations or prizes.

Transport

48. Transport animals in a safe and secure manner.

49. Do not transport animals in the boot of a sedan type car.

50. Tether or cage animals appropriately when on the back of a ute or trailer.

51. Provide animals with adequate ventilation and temperature control when travelling

 

Sign up
To become a member, please select the applicable membership type below. Please note all new applications require photo ID to support your application.

Single membership (in one name), applicable to membership categories Ordinary, Secondary, Concession, Associate, Junior or Companion memberships.

Joint membership (in two names, both parties must reside at the same address), applicable to membership categories Joint (Dual) or Joint Concession.
* For members wishing to hold a membership in co-ownership that live at separate addresses, please refer to the Forms page to locate the appropriate Syndicate form.

Alternatively, you can download the Membership Application form from the Forms section on the website and submit by email or post. 
Email: office@dogsvictoria.org.au
Post: Locked Bag K9, Cranbourne Vic 3977

Becoming a Dogs Victoria Member DOES NOT automatically entitle you to become a BREEDER there are minimum membership time periods, and education and assessment criteria.  If you are thinking about becoming a Dogs Victoria Breeder, please visit out Becoming a Breeder page to learn more.

Existing members
To renew your membership, an email will be sent out at the end of February with a unique code. Once you receive the unique code, please log in to Show Manager then you will be able to renew your membership.

A condition of membership is that all members on application or reinstatement must have read and agreed to the following Membership Declaration.