Nevada Dog Bite Law

How dog bite liability works in Nevada

Nevada has no civil dog bite statute. Next door, California and Arizona make owners liable for bites by statute; in Nevada a bite claim is an ordinary negligence case. The leading opinion, Wright v. Schum, 105 Nev. 611, 781 P.2d 1142 (1989), began with the words "This is a dog bite case" and decided it entirely on negligence principles, weighing what the defendant "knew or should have known about the dog" and how easily the risk could have been removed².

The only statute in the Nevada Revised Statutes written about biting dogs, NRS 202.500, is a criminal law. It defines a "dangerous" dog (menacing behavior on two occasions within 18 months) and a "vicious" one (killing or seriously injuring a person without provocation), and it makes keeping a known vicious dog a crime¹. It creates no civil cause of action, but a prior dangerous or vicious finding is strong evidence that the owner knew of the risk.

Two other statutes shape claims here. A 2013 law, AB 110, stopped any dog from being declared dangerous or vicious because of its breed alone and barred breed-specific local ordinances^1,18. A 2021 law, NRS 687B.383, bars homeowners and renters insurers from refusing, cancelling or surcharging a policy because of a dog's breed; it was amended again in 2025¹¹.

Nevada's deadline is two years from the bite, and the clock does not run while the victim is under 18^4,5. Claims against a county, city or police department are capped at $200,000 with no punitive damages⁷. For other states, see the national table.

No dog bite statute: the one-bite rule

Nevada has no statute that makes a dog's owner automatically liable for a bite. Claims rest on the common law, described below. See the one-bite rule for how it compares with the states that have a statute.

Proving the owner knew or was careless

Nevada claims run on ordinary negligence: the injured person must show the defendant failed to use reasonable care and that this caused the bite². In Wright v. Schum the Nevada Supreme Court looked at what the defendant knew or should have known about the dog, how likely serious injury was if it escaped, and how small the burden of preventing it was, and held a jury could find negligence². Prior aggression therefore matters a great deal in practice, and a dog already declared dangerous or vicious under NRS 202.500 makes the owner's knowledge easy to prove¹. No Nevada statute turns a leash-law violation into automatic liability, and no published Nevada Supreme Court opinion this page relies on decides whether breaking a local leash or at-large ordinance is negligence per se in a dog case.

Defenses owners raise

Provocation

With no dog bite statute, provocation is not a stand-alone legal defense. It works through negligence and shared fault: a jury can weigh what the injured person did in deciding whether the owner was careless and how to split fault³. Under the criminal statute, a dog cannot be declared dangerous or vicious for a defensive act against someone who provoked it, meaning tormented it or caused it pain¹.

Committing a crime

A dog that bites a person who was committing or trying to commit a crime cannot be found dangerous or vicious for that act¹. That rule governs the designation and criminal side. In a civil suit, the intruder's own conduct is counted against them as comparative negligence³.

Other defense

Shared fault: if the jury finds your negligence greater than the combined negligence of the defendants, you recover nothing; otherwise your award is reduced by your percentage³.

Police dogs

The criminal dangerous-dog statute does not apply to a dog used by a law enforcement officer on duty¹. A civil claim over a police dog bite is a tort claim against the government, which may raise the immunity for discretionary acts and for acts done with due care under a statute⁸. Any award is capped at $200,000⁷.

Shared fault

Modified comparative fault (barred at 51%) (NRS 41.141).

Your own negligence does not bar recovery if it was "not greater than" the negligence of the defendants together; at 51% or more you recover nothing³. The jury returns the full damages and each party's percentage, and the judge reduces the award³. Where there are several negligent defendants, such as an owner and a landlord, each pays only its own share, except in claims for strict liability, intentional torts or concerted acts³.

How the five fault systems compare: provocation, trespass and shared fault.

Nevada dog bite statute of limitations

2 years (NRS 11.190(4)(e))

A personal-injury suit must be filed within two years of the bite⁴. A claim for a pet or other property hurt in the attack has three years⁴. For a bite by a county, city or state dog, a claim may be filed with the governing body (or the Attorney General) within two years, but filing it is not a condition of suing⁶.

Children. The time a victim is under 18 does not count, so a bitten child has until two years after their 18th birthday, with no cap in the statute⁵.

Work out your own date with the dog bite claim checker, or compare deadlines in every state.

Damages

A negligence claim covers medical bills, future care, lost earnings, pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, and emotional distress, with no damages cap against a private owner; the caps in NRS 41.035 apply only to the state and local governments, where the limit is $200,000 per claimant and punitive damages are barred⁷. Punitive damages against a private owner need clear and convincing proof of oppression, fraud or malice and are capped at three times compensatory damages (or $300,000 if compensatory damages are under $100,000)⁹. When a person's intentional or negligent act injures or kills a pet dog or cat, NRS 41.740 allows vet costs, market value and burial costs plus attorney's fees, no emotional damages, capped at $5,000 per pet¹⁰.

Landlords and property owners

A Nevada landlord is not liable just for owning the property or for failing to evict a tenant whose dog the landlord knew was dangerous². Liability can arise when the landlord takes on the job of controlling the dog. In Wright v. Schum the landlord used the threat of eviction to impose a plan to keep the tenants' dog chained or indoors, left a known broken gate unrepaired, and the dog escaped and attacked an 11-year-old passerby; the Nevada Supreme Court reinstated the negligence claim against him². See landlord liability.

Insurance

Since 2022, NRS 687B.383 bars insurers from refusing, cancelling, not renewing or raising rates on homeowners, renters, mobile-home, multi-family and umbrella policies because of a dog's breed, and they may not ask about breed¹¹. An insurer may still act on a particular dog known or declared to be dangerous or vicious under NRS 202.500¹¹. State law sets no minimum liability coverage for owners of dangerous dogs¹.

More on coverage, breed exclusions and renters policies: dog bite insurance.

Wright v. Schum: when a landlord answers for a tenant's dog

Nevada's leading dog bite opinion is a landlord case. In 1989 an 11-year-old boy walking home from swimming was badly hurt by a pit bull that escaped from a rented house through a broken front gate². A neighbor had complained to the landlord about the dog. He made the tenants promise to keep it chained or indoors, threatening eviction, but left the gate as it was².

The Nevada Supreme Court held that a landlord is not liable just for being a landlord or for failing to evict a tenant with a dangerous dog². But once this landlord used his power over the tenants to take on the problem, he owed a duty to handle it with reasonable care, and a jury could find he failed². Two justices dissented, warning that the ruling would widen landlord liability². The rule that follows: a landlord who merely knows of a dangerous dog is usually not liable, but one who steps in to control it can be.

Bite reports and quarantine

A bite that breaks the skin by a dog, cat or other rabies-susceptible animal is a reportable condition in Nevada¹². A health care provider who treats it must report it to the local health authority (or the rabies control authority it designates) within 24 hours, by phone during business hours¹². Animal control then investigates each report¹³. In Southern Nevada, the health district tells people bitten by a pet to call the local animal control agency right away¹⁶.

Every dog, cat or ferret that bites a person must be quarantined and observed for 10 days, whether or not it is vaccinated, under a vet or a person the rabies control authority designates¹³. Owners pay all quarantine and vet costs¹³. Washoe County allows home quarantine for some vaccinated dogs, but not for a dog that was roaming at large or is behind on rabies shots; those go to the shelter or a vet hospital¹⁵.

Dangerous-dog hearings, euthanasia orders and criminal penalties are covered on Nevada dangerous dog law.

Questions about Nevada dog bite law

Is Nevada a one-bite state?

In practice, yes. Nevada has no statute making owners automatically liable, so a bitten person must prove negligence, and what the owner knew about the dog's past behavior is often the deciding fact². A dog with a prior dangerous or vicious finding under NRS 202.500 makes that proof much easier¹. See the one-bite rule.

How long do I have to sue for a dog bite in Nevada?

Two years from the bite for the injury itself⁴. Damage to a pet or other property has three years⁴. For a child, the two years start at age 18⁵.

Will my dog be put down for biting someone in Nevada?

Not automatically. A first bite normally means a 10-day quarantine, after which a healthy dog goes home once the owner pays the costs¹³. State law lets a judge order a dog destroyed when a known vicious dog seriously injures someone and the owner is prosecuted¹; local animal control rules may add other grounds. See my dog bit someone.

Can my homeowners insurer drop me because of my dog's breed in Nevada?

No. NRS 687B.383 bars insurers from refusing, cancelling, not renewing or raising rates because of breed, and from asking about breed¹¹. They may act if your particular dog is known or declared to be dangerous or vicious¹¹.

What if a dog attacks my dog in Nevada?

The claim is for property damage and has a three-year deadline⁴. NRS 41.740 lets an owner recover vet costs and the pet's market value, plus attorney's fees, when a person intentionally or negligently injures or kills a pet, capped at $5,000 per pet with no emotional damages¹⁰. The statute does not say directly whether it governs an attack by another person's dog. See dog attacked my dog.

Official contacts

Sources

1. NRS 202.500, Dangerous or vicious dogs: Unlawful acts; penalties, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Wright v. Schum, 105 Nev. 611, 781 P.2d 1142 (1989), Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. NRS 41.141, Comparative negligence, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. NRS 11.190, Periods of limitation, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. NRS 11.250, Disabilities preventing running of statute, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. NRS 41.036, Filing tort claim against State or political subdivision, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. NRS 41.035, Limitation on award for damages in tort actions, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. NRS 41.032, Acts or omissions of officers, employees and immune contractors, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. NRS 42.005, Exemplary and punitive damages, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. NRS 41.740, Damages for killing or injuring a pet, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. NRS 687B.383, Insurance decisions based on breed of dog prohibited, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. NAC 441A.020, 441A.040, 441A.225 and 441A.230, Animal bite reporting, Nevada Legislature (State Board of Health regulations). Checked 17 October 2026.
13. NAC 441A.415 and 441A.425, Investigation and quarantine of animals that have bitten persons, Nevada Legislature (State Board of Health regulations). Checked 17 October 2026.
14. NAC 441A.420, Rabies control authority powers, Nevada Legislature (State Board of Health regulations). Checked 17 October 2026.
15. Frequently Asked Questions: Animal Bites and Reporting, Washoe County Regional Animal Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. Rabies, Southern Nevada Health District. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. NRS 193.130 and 193.150, Punishment of felonies and misdemeanors, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. Statutes of Nevada 2013, ch. 121 (AB 110), p. 426, Nevada Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.