For the second year in a row, the most popular dog name in the Ashburton District is Pip, according to our dog registration data.
Ted is the second most popular dog name, followed by Bella, Molly, Max and Ruby. Also popular were Poppy, Luna and Gus; less common were Ziggy, Queen and Viper (see more below).
The district has over 6400 registered dogs and the most popular breed is Labrador, followed by Huntaway, Border Collie and Jack Russell terrier.
Dog owners received their annual registration notice via email recently, with instructions about how to re-register their pet and pay the annual cost.
Compliance and Development Group Manager Ian Hyde said it was the first year Council had used email to send re-registration notices to dog owners.
“It’s worked really well with 91 per cent of forms sent by email, and we’ve already had over a thousand dogs registered. This is a much more efficient way of registering dogs and we’re really pleased with the response so far.
“If you didn’t receive an email about registration, then please get in touch with our Customer Service team as we may not have your email address on file.”
Dog owners have until the end of July to register their dog, and they should remember to keep the long-wearing metal registration tags.
“However, if you have a particularly active dog and the number on the tag is hard to read, then bring the old one in and exchange it for a new one.”
If your dog’s registration details have changed, such as a new address or ownership, or they are now deceased, you’ll need to contact Council by email or phone, and staff will update your changes.
The law requires all dogs over three months of age to be registered, and dogs that have not been registered with Council before are classified as a new dog.
Council is also fetching feedback from dog owners and the community on proposed updates to the Dog Control Bylaw and Policy.
You can read more about those, and have your say, at itsourplace.nz.
The most popular breeds in 2025-26 were:
Labrador
Huntaway
Border Collie
Jack Russell Terrier
Staffy
Heading
The 25 most popular dog names in 2025-26:
Pip
Ted
Bella
Molly
Max
Ruby
Poppy
Luna
Gus
Jess
Mac
Cooper
Meg
Charlie
Lucy
Jack
Sam
Storm
Bear
Daisy
Rosie
Tessa
Toby
Archie
Willow
The five least common names were:
Uno
Urban
Vinny
Yoda
Yoshi
