Staff at the Dunedin City Council are anxious to get dog owners to register their animals.
Animal Control team leader Ros MacGill said dog registration was due by July 31, but many owners had been dragging the chain.
Last year, 13,365 dogs were registered in Dunedin.
So far, only 8239 dogs had been registered for the 2008-09 season and Ms MacGill was concerned about the large numbers of unregistered dogs which council would have to chase up.
"Last year we had to chase up about 900 dog owners because they failed to register their dogs. That's a waste of ratepayers' money."
Dogs aged three months or more must be registered and failure to do so may face a $37.50 late payment penalty.
If owners still do not register their dogs, they would be issued a $300 infringement notice and the animal may be impounded, she said.
