In New Zealand the main rules for breeders come from animal welfare law, which makes one document unusually important: the Code of Welfare for dogs, whose minimum standards a court can treat as evidence of what a responsible breeder should have done.
The most important first
- The central framework is the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and the Code of Welfare: Dogs issued under it by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Failure to meet a minimum standard in the code may be used as evidence to support a prosecution under the Act.
- The code’s minimum standards for breeding require breeders to make all reasonable efforts to avoid increasing known inherited disorders, to provide a suitable whelping area, and to supply puppies only when they can feed independently and are in good health.
- People supplying puppies must disclose any known inherited disorders to the person receiving them at the time of supply.
- The code recommends, as best practice rather than a minimum standard, that puppies are at least eight weeks old and have begun socialization before they are sold or rehomed, and that bitches are not mated under 12 months or on their first heat.
- Dogs must be registered with the local council before they turn three months old and microchipped within two months of registration, as Auckland Council summarizes the Dog Control Act 1996 rules.
Rules last checked: November 1, 2026
We checked this page against the official sources listed below on the date above. Rules can change after that date, and no single page can cover every situation, so something that matters to you may have been amended since, or may not be covered here at all. Before you rely on it, check these as well:
- The current code: MPI reviews and amends the Code of Welfare: Dogs. Read the latest version and check whether any recommendation has become a minimum standard.
- Your council: registration, microchipping, the number of dogs you may keep, permits and kennel rules are set or administered locally and differ between councils.
- Consumer law: what you promise a buyer about health and suitability can be governed by consumer protection law, alongside the disclosure duty in the code.
- Your breed organization: if you are a Dogs New Zealand member or accredited breeder, its rules and codes apply on top of the law.
- Imports, exports and business: MPI rules for moving dogs across the border, and business and tax obligations if you breed regularly.
Check the current rules at the source before each breeding year and before any sale that is new to you, such as a first litter or a first buyer in another state or country. Ask the authority in writing when the answer matters, and keep a dated note of what you checked and what you were told.
How the rules work
The Code of Welfare: Dogs (in force since October 2018, amended in 2021) is issued under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and applies to everyone responsible for dogs, including breeders, owners, show and sport handlers and working-dog handlers. It contains two kinds of content. Minimum standards, which generally use the word “must”, are the legal floor: MPI states that failure to meet one may be used as evidence to support a prosecution under the Act. Recommended best practice, which generally uses “should”, is what MPI encourages but owners are not required to follow. A breeder who reads only the minimum standards is reading the least the law expects, not what a careful breeder does. The general structure of breeding law is in laws, regulations and kennel clubs.
Minimum standards for breeders
Part 6 of the code deals with breeding. Minimum Standard No. 7 requires breeders to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the genetic make-up of both sire and dam will not increase known inherited disorders — the reason health screening is part of your legal position, not only your reputation. Minimum Standard No. 8 requires that bitches due to whelp, or whelping, are provided with a suitable whelping area. Minimum Standard No. 9 requires that puppies are able to feed independently and are in good health when made available for sale or rehoming, unless they are orphaned or a veterinarian considers early removal necessary, and that people supplying puppies disclose known inherited disorders at the time of supply.
The disclosure duty deserves attention. It means a known inherited condition in a puppy has to be told to the buyer when the puppy is supplied, not discovered later. Put it in writing in the puppy pack and your sales contract.
Procedures on puppies
The code also sets minimum standards for procedures that breeders sometimes ask about. Tails may only be docked by a veterinarian, for therapeutic reasons and with pain relief. Front dewclaws, and hind dewclaws that are jointed, may only be removed by a veterinarian with pain relief. If this applies to your breed, talk to your veterinarian before the litter is born.
Recommended best practice
The code’s recommendations go further. Bitches should not be intentionally mated under 12 months of age or on their first heat; veterinary advice should be sought before mating a bitch aged seven or older, or mating a bitch for the first time at five or older; and bitches should not be mated so that they whelp and rear litters in consecutive seasons. Puppies should not be permanently removed from the dam before four weeks of age and should have suckling access until six weeks, and puppies should be at least eight weeks old and have begun socialization before sale or rehoming — the work described in socialization. None of these is a minimum standard, but they describe what the code treats as good practice, and a breeder who departs from them should have a reason.
Registration, microchipping and council rules
Dog control in New Zealand is administered by territorial authorities under the Dog Control Act 1996. Auckland Council’s guidance, for example, states that a dog must be registered before it turns three months old and microchipped within two months of registration. Councils also set bylaws, which can include limits on the number of dogs, permits for keeping several dogs, and rules for kennels. Rules differ between councils, so check with yours, and make sure buyers know they must register their puppy with their own council.
Selling and consumer law
If you sell puppies “in trade”, the Consumer Guarantees Act may apply. It requires that goods are of acceptable quality, fit for purpose and as described. Private sellers who are not in trade are generally outside the Act. Whether your breeding counts as being in trade depends on your circumstances, so ask an adviser if you are unsure.
Breed club schemes
Dogs New Zealand runs an accredited breeder scheme with its own code of ethics and code of practice for members. Like registry rules elsewhere, these are conditions of membership rather than law, but they can set expectations that go beyond the legal minimum. If you are a member, read them alongside the Code of Welfare.
Dogs New Zealand’s Code of Conduct, for example, asks members not to mate a bitch under 12 months, not to breed more than two litters from her in 18 months or more than four in total without committee approval, and not to let a puppy go to its new home before eight weeks. These are membership conditions, not law.
In practice
A breeder plans to mate a bitch on her first heat at ten months because the timing suits a show calendar. Reading the Code of Welfare, she sees that this goes against the recommended best practice, and that her breed club’s code also discourages it. She waits for the next heat, uses the time to complete the bitch’s health screening, and records in the bitch’s file why the mating went ahead when it did.
(Illustrative, composite scenario.)
What the kennel clubs say
Dogs New Zealand is an FCI member, so the FCI’s International Breeding Rules form the baseline.
Its Code of Conduct asks members not to mate a bitch under 12 months, and not to breed more than two litters from her in 18 months or more than four in total without committee approval.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules change, so always check with your own kennel club.
Work on it
A few minutes here will teach you more than re-reading the article.
Ask yourself
- Could I show what reasonable efforts I made to avoid passing on known inherited disorders in my last litter?
- Did every buyer receive, in writing and at the time of supply, any known inherited disorder in their puppy?
- Where do my breeding practices depart from the code’s recommended best practice, and is there a good reason each time?
Find out & check
- Read the current Code of Welfare: Dogs on the MPI website, and ask your council what registration, permit and dog-number rules apply to your property.
Do one thing
- Add a disclosure line for known inherited conditions to your puppy pack template today.
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Sources & further reading
- Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand — Code of Welfare: Dogs. mpi.govt.nz
- Ministry for Primary Industries — Code of Welfare issued under the Animal Welfare Act 1999: Dogs (PDF). mpi.govt.nz
- Auckland Council — Dog registration rules. aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
- Dogs New Zealand — Code of Conduct. dogsnz.org.nz
- Consumer Protection (MBIE) — Consumer Guarantees Act. consumerprotection.govt.nz
- MSD Veterinary Manual (A. P. Davidson, DVM, DACVIM) — The Breeding Soundness Examination in Dogs and Cats. msdvetmanual.com
- FCI — Members and contract partners. fci.be
Where evidence is limited, recommendations rest on established practice and expert judgment, and may be updated as knowledge develops. This is general information, not legal or financial advice: requirements differ between jurisdictions and change over time — confirm the current rules with the authority named here and have your own situation reviewed by a qualified professional where you breed.
Next steps
- Read next: Breeding and selling puppies in the United States.
- Related: Breeding and selling puppies in Australia.
- Return to the area hub: Becoming a responsible breeder.