Legally, puppies must be at least 8 weeks old and fully weaned before they can be sold and leave their mothers. Puppies can be advertised before the 8 weeks, but not sold. Closer to 12 weeks is recommended for seperating the mother from its puppies.

This ad states the date of birth is 28/12/2020 adding 8 weeks to this would mean the earliest date of sale should be Monday, 22/02/2021.

This is set out in the Animal Health and Welfare (Sale or Supply of Pet Animals) Regulations Act of 2019 Section 3.

Additional requirements for dogs imported into Ireland:

• Dogs have to be microchipped and registered with an Irish microchip database.
• Dogs have an EU pet passport or EU Health Certificate. You should ask to see this when viewing a puppy.
• Rabies - All imported dogs are required to be vaccinated for rabies. Pets have to be at least 12 weeks old when they are given this. Owners must wait a further 3 weeks before bringing the dog to Ireland.
• Most dogs need to be treated for tapeworm (specifically Echinococcus multilocularis) between 1 - 5 days before they travel to Ireland.

The treatments should be recorded in the pet passport or on the EU health certificate.

Additional information is available from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and on our knowledgebase about importing dogs into Ireland.