A Dog The County Calls Dangerous
Health & Safety 822.042 — 30 days to register, restrain and insure a dangerous dog, and 10 days to appeal an order to destroy it
What makes a dog dangerous. A dangerous dog is one that makes an unprovoked attack causing bodily injury to a person, or commits unprovoked acts that make a person reasonably believe it will attack and cause bodily injury, in either case outside an enclosure reasonably certain to keep it in.
Thirty days. Not later than the 30th day after learning that they own a dangerous dog, the owner registers it with the animal control authority, restrains it at all times on a leash in a person's immediate control or in a secure enclosure, obtains liability insurance or financial responsibility of at least $100,000 for injuries from an attack and proves it to the authority, and complies with any local dangerous dog rules.
When the owner learns it. An owner learns that the dog is dangerous when the owner knows of an attack of the kind the definition describes, receives notice of a court's finding, or is told so by the animal control authority.
If the owner does not comply. The owner delivers the dog to the animal control authority within the same 30 days. On anyone's application, a court that finds after notice and hearing that the owner has not complied orders the dog seized, and the owner pays the local fees for seizure and impoundment.
Eleven days, and an appeal. The court orders the dog returned if the owner complies before the 11th day after the dog is seized or delivered, and humanely destroyed if not. Any order to destroy a dog is stayed for 10 calendar days, during which the owner may file a notice of appeal, and no court may order destruction while an appeal is pending.
Cities and counties often add their own dangerous dog rules on top of these, and those are not on this page. What a particular designation means for a particular dog is a question for a licensed Texas attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Health & Safety 822.041 — Definitions for dangerous dogs
- Health & Safety 822.042 — Requirements for owner of dangerous dog
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.