What canton will you live in? The laws with which you need to comply are largely cantonal at present.

Will you retain official residency in France, though?

Generally, liability insurance for dog owners is included in your Privathaftpflicht policy. This is not the case from all insurers, so you need to check out exactly what a policy offers. It is a fairly inexpensive add-on to the general personal liability policy. IIRC, I pay under CHF 50 per year for a dog liability insurance cover of 5 mio.

What will happen if the federal proposals for automatic presumption of liability for dog owners is an open question. (This being Switzerland, I'd wouldn't be surprized to see my premium raised a bit...)

But the important question of whether a non-Swiss insurer would be acceptable for compliance with the laws in your canton is something only the good folk at the cantonal Veterinary Office or at the local Gemeinde can tell you. I'd advise getting their answer to this question in writing.

Hope you and your dog enjoy your stay in Switzerland (I love danes, BTW - beautiful dogs! )

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Lugano is where we will settle. I am not sure of what coverage my husband has gotten yet,but at least, now I know what to ask for! As for asking, the local vet,etc.guess it will have to wait till we arrive (except that the stressful choice of leaving or taking him has o have already been made!)Yes, as our main house is in France (who can afford to buy in Switzerland?!)I imagine our..or at least my residence will be maintained here, but it depends on so many factors, schools,affordable activites for the children, heathcare, including pets,etc. We travel and move alot but so far Switzerland has been the most stressful! Wish me luck!!

Before you arrive, I would urge you to research the Ticino dog control laws. You want to make sure you have everything in order before you make the move:

From the Ticino website:

http://www.ti.ch/DSS/DSP/UffVC/temi/...ni/pericolosi/

I'm afraid I do not speak any Italian - so I can't be of much help here. But according to the Tier Im Recht summary of cantonal laws:

http://www.tierimrecht.org/de/tiersc...cht/tessin.php

- As of Dec 07, The Tessin Grossrat has decided to allow the cantonal government to implement a breed ban, but it is not required to do so.

- It is expected that there will be a general on-lead restriction in public places, and there may be zones designated where muzzles are required.

- If a dog has ever bitten, an absolute on-lead and muzzle restriction will be enforced.

- It is also expected that new dog owners (as a new resident you may be considered anew owner...) will be required to attend dog ownership classes, and owners of certain breeds will be required to pass a test.

- There will be an obligatory liability insurance requirement for all owners.
---

Danes are usually not on the dangerous lists, but you should talk to the officials at the cantonal veterinary office and find out exactly what you will be required to do, and by when.

Here's the address for the Ticino Veterinary Office:

Ufficio del Veterinario cantonale
Via Dogana 16
6500 BELLINZONA
Veterinario cantonale aggiunto
Luca Bacciarini
tel. +41 91 814 41 00
fax +41 91 814 44 44 luca.bacciarini@ti.ch

They will be able to tell you all you need to know to comply with the law.

---

Any EF dog owners in Ticino who can comment further?

At a Federal level, they are against a breed ban but are supporting mandatory training courses for dogs and owners from 1st September. If you have a doggie already, you will not be required to participate.

http://www.20min.ch/news/schweiz/story/27624629 gives more information (not much, German)
http://www.bvet.admin.ch/tsp/02222/index.html?lang=de carries more information (German, can switch to French and probably Italian) - see PDF on the right side.

super!!! I should get more dogs before 2010,

This is far more sensible than the WBK proposal (Big sigh of relief...)

Key here in selecting a course will be whether a trainer/training course is recognized by the BVET - which trainers are recognized/certified, and what the criteria for recognition are will be made public later, apparently.

It will be very interesting to see what the theory course includes...

But, are we finished now?

How does the Bundesrat's decision play with the various proposals floating round the Nationalrat? Is the WBK proposal now dead, or (Given Kathy Rilkin's statements eariler re: her determination to push the WBK measures through) is there a chance that it too could still come into force?

A few more details on the new requirements, from an article in the NZZ:

http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schwei..._1.727999.html

New owners will need to attend about 5 hours of theory classes to prepare them or dog ownership, focusing largely on what it really means to own a dog, and what society expects of owners.

Further, when you take on a new dog, you will be required to attend at least 10 hours of training classes (5 x 2 hours) in the first year of ownership. The focus should be on understanding the dog, especially reading body language, as well as on training.

Also the BVET will regulate who may offer a training course - trainers must have at least 3 years of professional experience, must have passed a test, and must be certified by one of the organizations recognized by the BVET.

About
Well of course this is all well meaning stuff but somewhat out of touch with reality.

My impression is that most dog schools here are small "Mum & Dad" type outfits. I did a quick web search of dog schools but did not find any that claimed to have formal & recognised qualifications.
They must demonstrate "3 years of professional experience"; they can certainly demonstrate years of experience but how will they prove "professional" rather than gifted amateur?
They will need to pass a test which is not yet created; I can imagine this would be a test about the regulations relating to dogs which are rather long & complex & written in Hochdeutsch (probably also French & Italian) _ many of these Mum & Dad type outfits are unlikely to have sufficient language skills (I mean those residing in the Swiss dialect areas) or a high enough level of education to do well.
& finally they "must be certified by one of the organizations recognized by the BVET" which I foresee as also a complex & expensive exercise. Also I could not find any "recognised organizations" quoted on the BVET web site; I wonder what you have to do to get "recognised"?

I hope the result of this new legislation will not be to force a lot of animal lovers out of business & replace them with expensive organisations.

Marton

Just a heads-up for all you who use a dog sitter or provide dog sitting/care services...

I wrote to BVet asking if/how the new law would impact professional dog sitters, that is, someone who is paid to provide dog care.

Their reply was that anyone who does dog sitting professionally will be required to complete a special education course. The details of this are still under discussion, but once finalized will be published on their website at:

http://www.bvet.admin.ch/tsp/02222/index.html?lang=de

The new law comes into force on 1 Sept 08 - but I would expect there to be a grace period for those who fall under this clause to complete whatever requirements are set...

Anyway, if you are a pet sitter, or you use one, keep an eye on the BVet website.

Hi all,

I started looking for some help finding and English speaking vet around Mettmenstetten/Zug if anyone knows one, and came accross this thread.

I will be leaving France for CH tomorrow....with my 3 Chocolate Labs. I rather think I may be facing some challenges here and would welcome any help with the following.
1- How long do I have to register my dogs.
2- Given the 25kg limit, my dogs are between 32 & 37 kgs, am I right in thinking that I will not be able to exercise all 3 on my own.
3- Recommendations for insurance for them, and an idea of vets fee's.

I don't speak German....yet, and it may be a while before it's up to translating some of the links in earlier posts, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

That is the point really; the whole thing is in danger of turning into a farce.
It is something like 6/7 weeks before the new law comes into force & nobody has a clue who will be providing any of these mandatory courses and what their content will be.
The idea is that "teachers" will themselves have to attend a higher level mandatory course & to pass an exam so you can imagine how long all that will take.
If you push the BVET their reply is simply something like "Oh, you have 2 years after 1st September to comply".

Marton
p.s. there is also a deathly silence about what these courses might cost.....

Hi M&P Goose

I think in all the discussions running through this thread there may be some confusion - as of now, the proposal which categorized dogs by size has not been implemented.

The only laws you need to concern yourself with (for now!) are the Zug cantonal regulations, the current federal laws on microchipping and registration in the database, and the new federal Animal Welfare Law which mandates training courses for new owners from 1 Sept 2008. (Refered to in posts 164-169). For an overview, take a look at the BVet site, 'Hunde Richtig Halten':

http://www.bvet.admin.ch/tsp/02222/index.html?lang=de

Not all the details of the new law are finalized, so do check this site from time to time.

An overview of the Zug regs can be found here:

http://www.tierimrecht.org/de/tiersc...-recht/zug.php

Which basically says that at present there are no cantonal dog laws for Zug , dog control is regulated at the Gemeinde level. So when you register your dogs, the folks at your Gemeindehaus will tell you what is expected.

So, step 1, you will have 10 days to register your dogs with the Gemeinde. Then you will need to have your microchip number and dog and owner details entered in the database. Only a vet can do that, so you'll need to make an appointment soon-ish. I'm afraid I can't give you a personal recommendation of a local vet (mine is in Küsnacht ZH - if you are willing to go that far I'll gladly give you the info...) but here's a list several vets in canton ZG:

http://www.vet-look.ch/kanton.php?kanton=zg

So you are free to walk all three of your dogs together in the canton of ZG. (When it comes to dogs, Zug is the least regulated of the cantons. Do be aware, though, if you visit other cantons you will have to abide by their rules.) But don't forget to use the Robidogs!

Insurance usually is included as part of your private liability coverage, but make sure that is indeed the case with whoever you choose, as a few insurers may require a separate rider. Also, ask at your Gemeinde if there is a minimum liability cover stipulated. (In SZ we are required to hold 3 Mio minimum, I don't know about ZG.) My coverage for 5 mio costs less than CHF 50 per year.

As to vet fees - for routine care, I have found veterinary care to be relatively inexpensive here. I am paying about the same, or less, than I paid in the States for routine things.

For instance, my healthy 2 year old has so far cost me only CHF 800 for spaying and aftercare, and under 250 per year for vacs and the odd visit to calm a panic attack on my part.

On the other end of the scale, my elderly guy with a compromised immune system and a badly stacked genetic deck - and who has pretty much everything wrong with him - runs about CHF 300 per month for meds, regular blood testing, consultations, etc.

Specialist care can be quite expensive, though, as it is anywhere. Oncology (including surgery, chemo, after care, etc.) ran into the many thousands.

But those examples are at the extreme end - as above, I've found routine care surprisingly affordable here. And my dogs' care has been absolutely top-notch.

Hope you and your dogs enjoy Switzerland.

woha... i know this is getting a bit old topic, but I have to catch up here...

Ziggi;
Just for the reson I prefer a pedigreed dog from responsible breeder: A resposible breeder shold take their dogs to healt/mental test. F.x. parents of my Dobermann and German Pinscher were eye checked, x-rayed hips and whent to mental test and had good result. For me - it is the most important thing that my little buddy will have good health and nice temprament. Reson for a purebreed... well, I like to know what kind of dog I am going to have next 10-15 years. I like the working-german breeds very much, and enjoy activity with them, as obediance, tracing, agility...
If I would by a mixture of border collie and afgahn... oh my goodness... what kind of dog will I end up with?
(and a bit offtopic... but no not so off.... about the gean pool.... Total population of Icelandic peoplea are 300,000. Avarage, we are all related in 6-7 generation - also marraged cople And you'd be surprised how perfect people we are hehe)

miniMia;
hallo... can I be your friend?
Uhhh well, everything was so simple in Iceland. And now I know nothing. I don't know how things works when I want to go to show/training and jah... preatty much everything...

Just to say, now down to 4 weeks & still nothing on the BVET web site about who will give these mandatory courses.
About who will "train the trainers", they say a list will be published in September; they do not mention the year .

Marton

One week to go before the new law comes in & still nothing about who will give these new courses, where, when, or how much.

There is a new brochure on the site (see link) which gives a short introduction to dog ownership, does not seem to be an English version.
The emphasis seems to be changing from "the new law starts 1Sept. 2008" to "you must complete the new courses before 1Sept 2010"

http://www.bvet.admin.ch/tsp/02222/i...fWym162epYbg2c

Marton

Thought I read in Tages-Anzeiger (or was it 20min?) a couple of months ago that those lessons will only be given by licensed dog trainers and would probably run about 50 to 60 chf. per hour with 10 hours required.

Mostly true; the questions are
"Who are the licensed dog trainers?" The BVET are supposed to put the list on their web site but nothing yet. Currently there is no recognised licensing process for dog trainers.
"Who licences the dog trainers?" The BVET are also supposed to put this list on their web site but nothing yet. This is the more interesting question because you can not have "licensed dog trainers" before it is clear who issues the licences and what is the process. The BVET said anybody who wants to be licensed must pass an exam; the exam & examing body are aslo not yet defined.
BTW the law states 15 hours; 5 hours theoretical & 10 hours practical.

15 hours @60CHF per hour is a big chunk of change; don't let your dog have puppies before you are sure someone will take them! 5 puppies @ 15 hours @60CHF per hour is knocking on for 5,000 CHF.

Marton

interesting link as last week popped into the Geminde in Maur registered my dog, couple of days later popped into the vets, no inspection of the dog (has european pet passport) registered with them, details being sent off ANIS for registration- told that within one month get my card, 38 chf and Bobs your uncle. No mention what so ever from either parties of the above which I have only just come across on this site.

Dog is 35kg ex racing greyhound with a penchant for cats and small furry animals. (goes out with muzzle on but in reality more to stop him going for other dogs not humans- loves kids etc)

Am I missing something here- ie will I get pinged for not doing Federal Dog Control?

It's not that complicated at all! You can show any dog that has a pedigree. Just sign 'er up! Training as well, find a club & sign up!! easy peasy!!

Federal dog control is a law (legislation) and not something you do.