Tennessee Dangerous Dog Law

What happens right after a bite?

Tennessee's Anti-Rabies Law lets the Department of Health or the local animal control program require a dog that has bitten someone to be observed, by confinement or quarantine, for as long as the commissioner or the department's rules require¹³. The department's guidance sets that period at 10 days from the bite, whether or not the dog is vaccinated¹⁴. The investigation is run by the health department or the animal control program in the county or city where either the owner or the bitten person lives¹³. Home confinement is allowed at the discretion of the department or the animal control program; "confinement" in the statute means a building, a pen, an escape-proof enclosure or a leash¹³. Hiding a dog to keep it out of observation is a Class C misdemeanor¹³.

The health department asks that every bite, by a pet or a wild animal, be reported to the local health department and to animal control¹⁴. In Knox County, for example, medical providers and veterinarians must report a possible human rabies exposure immediately¹⁵. A healthy unvaccinated dog that bites still gets the same 10-day observation; the long 6-month isolation rule applies to pets exposed to a rabid animal, not to dogs that bite people¹⁴.

Does Tennessee have a statewide dangerous-dog law?

No. As of October 2026 Tennessee has no state procedure for declaring a dog "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous", no state registry and no state insurance requirement for such dogs. A 2026 bill, SB 1794, would have created a public dangerous-dog registry and required leash or enclosure rules and liability insurance; the House deferred it and the Senate tabled it in March 2026¹⁷.

What the state does have is a destruction procedure for serious attacks. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 44-17-120, a dog that attacks a person and causes death or serious bodily injury may be destroyed on the order of the general sessions judge of the county where the attack happened. The district attorney general files the petition, which names the owner. The owner is served under Rule 4.01 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and has five days after receiving notice to appear and show cause why the dog should not be destroyed; if the owner does not appear, the order issues¹.

Local dangerous-dog ordinances

The same statute lets counties with more than 800,000 people, or metropolitan governments with more than 100,000, adopt their own ordinances for petitions in general sessions court about dangerous dogs and dogs that kill or seriously injure people or other animals¹. Other cities and counties regulate dogs through their general animal-control powers. So the hearing, the standard of proof, the appeal deadline and any enclosure or insurance rule after a bite depend on the local code where you live. Ask the animal control agency that opened the case which ordinance it is using.

Can the owner be charged with a crime?

Yes, under the running-at-large statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 44-8-408, as amended in 2023. An owner commits an offense when the dog goes uncontrolled on another person's premises without consent, or on a road or any place open to the public¹. The penalty depends on the harm:

• no harm: Class C misdemeanor, fine only;
• property damage: Class B misdemeanor, fine only;
• bodily injury: Class A misdemeanor, fine only;
• serious bodily injury: Class E felony;
• death: Class D felony¹.

The penalties go up one level, to as high as a Class C felony for a death, if the dog was trained to fight, attack or kill, or if the owner knew the dog was dangerous and it had already bitten someone causing serious injury or death¹. For the misdemeanor levels, reasonable care in trying to confine the dog is no defense; for the two felony levels it is an affirmative defense¹. The statute lists exceptions: hunting dogs, stock dogs, a dog being moved by its owner, police and military dogs, a dog securely confined, a dog protecting someone, an injured person who was on the owner's property to commit a crime, and provocation. The hunting, stock and moving exceptions apply only if the owner pays or tenders all damages within 30 days¹.

A court that convicts an owner after a dog at large causes injury, death or property damage must order full restitution, including incidental and consequential damages. The conviction does not stop the injured person from also suing under the civil dog bite statute¹.

Special rule for people with violent felony convictions

Since July 1, 2010, a person convicted of a violent felony may not knowingly own or control a "potentially vicious dog" (one that, unprovoked and off its keeper's property, has bitten and caused bodily injury, or has twice menaced people or animals) or a "vicious dog" (one that has caused death or serious bodily injury off its keeper's property) for ten years after the sentence ends. Any dog such a person keeps must be microchipped and, if older than 12 weeks, spayed or neutered. A violation is a Class A misdemeanor¹⁶.

Breed rules

No Tennessee statute bans breeds or stops cities from doing so. Several towns have adopted local breed bans; Selmer's 2008 ordinance, for example, makes it unlawful to keep a pit bull dog in town limits¹⁸. Check the code of your own city or county.

What if the dog bites again?

There is no state "second bite" rule for dangerous-dog status, but repeat history matters in three ways. A prior bite causing serious injury, known to the owner, raises the criminal penalty under § 44-8-408¹. It satisfies the knowledge element that a victim must prove for a bite on the owner's home property^1,4. And a serious attack can lead the district attorney to seek destruction under § 44-17-120¹. For the civil side of a bite, see Tennessee dog bite law.

Rules for a declared dog in Tennessee

Tennessee rules in brief

Reporting. The Department of Health asks that every animal bite be reported to the local health department and the local animal control office¹⁴. Local rules add duties: in Knox County, medical providers and veterinarians must report a possible human rabies exposure immediately¹⁵. The bite investigation is handled by the department or the animal control program in the county or city where the owner or the victim lives¹³.

Euthanasia. A general sessions judge may order a dog destroyed if it attacked a person and caused death or serious bodily injury. The district attorney general petitions; the owner has five days after notice to appear and show cause¹. Large counties and metro governments may set their own dangerous-dog procedures by ordinance¹.

Criminal penalties. If a dog running at large causes serious bodily injury, the owner commits a Class E felony; if it causes death, a Class D felony. Penalties rise if the dog was trained to fight or the owner knew of a prior serious bite. Reasonable care is an affirmative defense at the felony levels¹.

Breed rules. No Tennessee statute preempts local breed bans, and some towns have them, such as Selmer's 2008 ban on keeping pit bull dogs¹⁸.

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. Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 44-8-408, 44-8-413, 44-17-120, 44-17-403 (consolidated dog laws, text as of Jan. 2026), Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Hudson v. Gravette, No. M2022-01787-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 8, 2025), CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Searcy v. Axley, No. W2017-00374-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 19, 2017), CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Moore v. Gaut, No. E2015-00340-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 30, 2015), CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Fletcher v. Richardson, 603 S.W.2d 734 (Tenn. 1980), CourtListener (Tennessee Supreme Court opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
6. McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992), CourtListener (Tennessee Supreme Court opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
7. Sandridge v. Henderson, No. W2024-00242-COA-R10-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 19, 2024), quoting Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104, CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Tate v. Shelby County Board of Education, No. W2020-01639-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 25, 2022), quoting Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106, CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
9. McClay v. Airport Management Services, LLC, 596 S.W.3d 686 (Tenn. 2020), CourtListener (Tennessee Supreme Court opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
10. Woodson v. MEG Capital Management, Inc., 395 S.W.3d 140 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012), CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
11. A.M. v. Masek, No. W2024-01412-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 23, 2025), CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Greenlee v. Sevier County, No. E2017-00942-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 26, 2018), CourtListener (Court of Appeals of Tennessee opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
13. Tennessee Anti-Rabies Law, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 68-8-101 to 68-8-113, Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. Rabies Education & Prevention, Tennessee Department of Health. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. Rabies Information, Knox County Health Department. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1363 (violent felons; custody of dogs), Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Lawmakers table bill that would've created 'dangerous dog registry' in Tennessee (Mar. 27, 2026), WSMV 4 Nashville. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. Selmer, Tenn., Municipal Code §§ 10-301 to 10-306 (Ord. 574, 2008), archived copy, Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Checked 17 October 2026.