Minnesota Dangerous Dog Law

What happens right after the bite?

Under the Board of Animal Health's rabies rule, a dog that bites a person must be confined and watched for 10 days, or euthanized and tested⁶. A vaccinated dog usually spends those days at home or where local authorities direct. An unvaccinated dog can be ordered into a veterinary clinic or another secure place, and the owner pays⁶. If the dog falls ill during the period, the illness must be reported to the Department of Health; a dog that dies or shows signs of rabies is tested⁶. Rabies itself is reportable immediately, around the clock¹⁴.

The bite also tends to reach local animal control through a police call, a hospital or the victim. That is what starts the dangerous-dog process.

Potentially dangerous or dangerous?

Minnesota uses two levels¹⁹.

• Potentially dangerous dog: a dog that, unprovoked, bites a person or a domestic animal; chases or approaches a person off the owner's property "in an apparent attitude of attack"; or has a known tendency to attack unprovoked.
• Dangerous dog: a dog that, unprovoked, inflicted substantial bodily harm on a person; killed a domestic animal off the owner's property; or, after the owner was notified it was potentially dangerous, aggressively bit, attacked or endangered people or animals.

"Provocation" means an act that an adult could reasonably expect may cause a dog to attack or bite¹⁹. A dog cannot be declared dangerous over harm to someone who was trespassing or committing another tort on the owner's premises, or who was provoking, tormenting or assaulting the dog⁷. Police dogs are exempt⁷.

The state law binds every city and county. Since 2008, animal control and police must enforce it whether or not a local ordinance adopts it²¹. Local rules may add to it but may not target a breed: an ordinance regulating dangerous dogs based solely on breed is void⁷.

How do you challenge a dangerous-dog declaration?

The authority must give written notice describing the dog, the reasons and the right to a hearing²⁰. You have 14 days from the date of the notice to request a hearing; miss that and the right ends²⁰. The hearing is held within 14 days of the request before an impartial hearing officer, and the decision is due within 10 days after the hearing²⁰. While you wait, the dog must already be kept in a proper enclosure and muzzled and leashed outside it²⁰.

If the declaration is upheld, you pay the hearing's actual costs up to $1,000 and have 14 days from the decision to meet every other requirement²⁰. If the dog was seized, you can stop its disposal by posting security for its care within 7 days of the seizure²⁰.

What must the owner of a dangerous dog do?

The owner must register the dog with animal control and show a proper enclosure, a posted warning sign, a $300,000 surety bond or liability policy, a microchip and payment of the annual fee⁷. The dog wears a dangerous-dog tag at all times⁷. It must be sterilized within 30 days, and the owner must report the dog's death or move within 30 days and warn any new owner¹².

If the dog is not registered or insured 14 days after notice, is outside the enclosure without restraint, or is not sterilized, animal control must seize it. You then have 7 days to reclaim it by paying the fees and proving compliance¹⁶.

After six months, and once a year after that, you can ask animal control to lift the designation by showing the dog's behavior has changed, for example through age, neutering or training⁷.

When can the dog be destroyed?

Animal control may destroy a dog that, without provocation, caused substantial or great bodily harm to a person, inflicted multiple bites, bit several people in one attack, or bit someone in an attack by more than one dog. It cannot do so until the owner has had a hearing before an impartial decision maker¹⁵. A court must order a dangerous dog destroyed when an owner already convicted of breaking the dangerous-dog rules is convicted of a new violation involving the same dog¹⁶.

What are the criminal penalties?

Breaking the registration, enclosure or insurance rules is a misdemeanor, and a gross misdemeanor the second time²². Letting any dog run uncontrolled or failing to confine it, so that it causes great or substantial bodily harm, is a misdemeanor¹⁷. If a declared dangerous dog injures someone after the owner's conviction, the owner faces a gross misdemeanor with up to 364 days in jail and a $3,000 fine¹⁷. A death caused by an animal known to be vicious is second-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years¹⁸. Provocation is a defense to these crimes^17,18.

Some convictions bring a ban on owning any dog, extended to everyone in the household unless animal control approves. The ban can be reviewed after three years²³.

For the victim's side, see Minnesota dog bite law. For other states, see the dangerous dog laws by state and what happens when my dog bit someone.

Rules for a declared dog in Minnesota

Minnesota rules in brief

Reporting. No Minnesota statute or rule makes every dog bite reportable to the state. Health care providers must report rabies cases and suspected cases to the Minnesota Department of Health immediately, by phone, at any hour¹⁴. Ordinary bites are reported to local animal control or police, who enforce the 10-day confinement rule⁶.

Euthanasia. Animal control may destroy a dog that, without provocation, caused substantial or great bodily harm, inflicted multiple bites, bit several people in one attack, or bit a person in a multi-dog attack, but only after the owner has had a hearing before an impartial decision maker¹⁵. A court must order a dangerous dog destroyed if the owner, already convicted once, is convicted again for the same dog¹⁶.

Criminal penalties. Letting a dog run uncontrolled or failing to confine it, causing great or substantial bodily harm, is a misdemeanor, and a gross misdemeanor for a repeat with the same dog¹⁷. A declared dangerous dog that injures someone after the owner's conviction under § 347.55 makes the owner guilty of a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $3,000)¹⁷. A death caused by an animal known to be vicious is second-degree manslaughter, up to 10 years¹⁸.

Breed rules. Cities and counties may not regulate dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs based solely on breed; such ordinances are void⁷.

Compare states: dangerous dog laws by state, bite quarantine rules, euthanasia after a bite. If your dog bit someone, start with what happens next.

Sources

1. Minnesota Statutes § 347.22, Dog owner's liability, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Minnesota Statutes § 541.05, Various cases, six years, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Anderson v. Christopherson, No. A11-0191 (Minn. July 18, 2012), Minnesota Supreme Court (State Law Library archive). Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Clark v. Connor, No. A13-1110 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 21, 2014), Minnesota Court of Appeals (State Law Library archive). Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Minnesota Statutes § 466.05, Notice of claim against a municipality, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. Minnesota Rules 1721.0580, Management of animals that bite humans, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. Minnesota Statutes § 347.51, Dangerous dogs: registration, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Minnesota Statutes § 604.01, Comparative fault, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. Minnesota Statutes § 541.07, Two- or three-year limitations, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. Minnesota Statutes § 541.15, Periods of disability not counted, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. Minnesota Statutes § 549.20, Punitive damages, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Minnesota Statutes § 347.52, Dangerous dogs: requirements, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. Minnesota Statutes § 65A.303, Homeowner's liability insurance; dogs, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. Reporting Rabies (animal and human cases and suspected cases), Minnesota Department of Health. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. Minnesota Statutes § 347.56, Destruction of dog in certain circumstances, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. Minnesota Statutes § 347.54, Confiscation, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Minnesota Statutes § 609.226, Harm caused by dog, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. Minnesota Statutes § 609.205, Manslaughter in the second degree, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. Minnesota Statutes § 347.50, Dangerous dogs: definitions, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. Minnesota Statutes § 347.541, Disposition of seized animals (hearing), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. Minnesota Statutes § 347.565, Applicability, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
22. Minnesota Statutes § 347.55, Penalty, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.
23. Minnesota Statutes § 347.542, Restrictions (dog ownership bans), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked 17 October 2026.