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Dogs

Dog living

What to do first when your dog is finally here:

Register your dog with the local authorities. Dogs are subject to a dog tax. Depending on where you live, this will range between CHF 40 and more than CHF 200 per year.

After the registration with the local authorities you have to visit a veterinarian, who must additionally register the dog in the Swiss dog database (AMICUS) within 10 days.

Rules for dog owners have become much stricter in recent years and vary in each Canton. In some regions, it is mandatory to attend dog training courses for certain dog breeds, when you get a dog from puppy age, or when you are entirely new to owning a dog. We recommend asking the authorities of the place you are moving to about local requirements.

This link will take you to an overview of the laws on dogs in all Cantons (German language only)

For the Canton of Zurich, consult the Dog Training Course Guide to find out whether and for which dog breeds you will need to attend training courses.   

 

Useful websites

 

Additional duties if you are a dog owner

Please remember to include your dog in your public liability insurance policy. 

In Switzerland, you are required to clean up after your dog - everywhere. Look out for the green Robidog boxes to get the plastic bags and dispose of their poo. If you fail to do so, you can get fined by up to CHF 400.

Robidog