Texas Dog Bite Law

How dog bite liability works in Texas

Texas never passed a civil dog bite statute. The rule comes from Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974), a case about a boar hog, not a dog. The Texas Supreme Court held there that an owner who knew or had reason to know an animal had dangerous propensities is strictly liable for the harm it causes, however careful the owner was². Because that liability depends on the owner's knowledge, Texas is a one-bite state, even though some websites call it strict liability.

A dog with no history is not a free pass. Marshall also said the owner of a non-vicious animal can be liable for negligent handling, and in Bushnell v. Mott, 254 S.W.3d 451 (Tex. 2008), the court held that an owner who watches their dog attack a visitor and does nothing to stop it can be liable even if the dog was never known to be dangerous^2,3. Leash and at-large ordinances, set city by city and county by county, can also support a negligence claim⁸.

What Texas does legislate is the owner's criminal and regulatory exposure. Since 2007, an owner whose unsecured dog makes an unprovoked attack off the owner's property and causes serious bodily injury can be charged with a third-degree felony, with no proof that the dog was known to be dangerous⁸. That law, Health and Safety Code § 822.005, does not create a civil claim, but a conviction or a dangerous-dog finding is strong evidence of what the owner knew.

So in Texas, liability without proof of the owner's knowledge exists only in criminal law, never as a civil claim. For how other states handle it, see the national table and the list of strict liability states.

No dog bite statute: the one-bite rule

Texas 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

A Texas plaintiff can plead two theories. Strict liability under Marshall v. Ranne requires proof that the dog had dangerous propensities abnormal to its class and that the owner knew or should have known it; once proven, the owner's care in confining the dog is no defense². Negligence requires a breach of ordinary care in handling the dog; Bushnell v. Mott notes that Texas appellate courts have found no negligence in simply letting a non-vicious dog be loose on the owner's own property, but found a duty to try to stop an attack once it starts³. A violation of a local leash or at-large ordinance can be argued as negligence per se, and § 822.007 expressly leaves those ordinances to cities and counties⁸.

Defenses owners raise

Assumption of risk

Marshall v. Ranne holds that voluntary assumption of the risk is a defense to a vicious-animal claim, but only if the injured person had a free choice; a farmer who had to face the hog or give up the use of his own land did not assume the risk².

Trespassing

The Restatement rule adopted in Marshall excludes trespassers on the owner's land from strict liability for a domestic animal known to be dangerous². A trespasser may still argue negligence, but the owner's duty to a trespasser is narrow.

Provocation

Texas has no statutory provocation defense for civil claims. Provocation is argued as the victim's share of fault under Chapter 33, which reduces damages and bars recovery above 50%⁴. In the criminal and dangerous-dog provisions, only an "unprovoked" attack counts⁸.

Other defense

No prior-knowledge defense works against a negligence claim built on the owner's own conduct: in Bushnell v. Mott the owner's failure to call off an attack in progress was enough to reach a jury³.

Shared fault

Modified comparative fault (barred at 51%) (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.012).

The jury assigns each party a percentage of responsibility; your damages are reduced by your percentage, and you recover nothing if it is greater than 50 percent⁴. Chapter 33 applies to "any cause of action based on tort"⁴. Marshall v. Ranne held in 1974 that a plaintiff's ordinary contributory negligence is no defense to a vicious-animal strict-liability claim²; that ruling predates Chapter 33, and no Texas Supreme Court decision found for this page settles how the two fit together in an animal case.

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

Texas dog bite statute of limitations

2 years (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003)

Suit for personal injury, and for damage to property such as a pet, must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues, which for a bite is the day of the bite; a wrongful-death claim runs two years from the death¹. A claim against a city, county or other governmental unit also requires written notice within six months of the incident, or a shorter period set by a city charter, unless the government had actual notice of the injury⁶.

Children. The time a child is under 18 is not counted, and the statute sets no outer cap, so a bitten child has until their 20th birthday to sue¹.

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

Damages

A bite victim can recover economic damages (medical bills, lost earnings, future care) and noneconomic damages such as pain, mental anguish, disfigurement and impairment; Texas sets no cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary dog bite suit, but medical expenses are limited to the amounts actually paid or incurred⁵. Exemplary (punitive) damages require clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence and a unanimous jury, and are capped at the greater of $200,000 or twice economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000⁵. No Texas statute doubles or trebles damages for a dog bite.

Landlords and property owners

An out-of-possession landlord owes a duty to people bitten by a tenant's dog only if the landlord had actual knowledge both that the dog was on the property and that it was dangerous, and had the ability to control the premises; knowledge the landlord merely should have had is not enough, Batra v. Clark, 110 S.W.3d 126 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003)⁷. Batra distinguished landlords who keep control of common areas such as apartment walkways, who can be liable for attacks there⁷. More at landlord liability.

Insurance

No Texas statute found for this page limits homeowners or renters insurers' use of dog breed. The one state insurance rule is for declared dangerous dogs: the owner must carry liability insurance or show financial responsibility of at least $100,000 and give proof to animal control⁸.

Texas ranked #6 in the United States for dog-related homeowners insurance claims in 2025: 1,313 claims with an average cost of $70,885 (national average $65,450), according to the Insurance Information Institute and State Farm. These are insurer payouts, not court awards.

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

Lillian's Law: the 2007 felony for unsecured dogs

On November 26, 2005, Lillian Stiles, 76, was killed by six loose dogs while gardening in her yard in Milam County¹². Texas law then punished an owner mainly through the dangerous-dog provisions, which required an earlier attack or designation. House Bill 1355, passed in 2007 and known as Lillian's Law, added § 822.005 to the Health and Safety Code^8,12. It makes an owner criminally liable when, through criminal negligence, they fail to secure a dog and it makes an unprovoked attack off their property causing serious bodily injury or death, with no need to show the dog had attacked before⁸. The same bill defined "serious bodily injury" for dog cases as severe bite wounds or severe ripping and tearing of muscle that would require hospitalization⁸. The law is criminal only. It gives a bitten person no civil claim, but a conviction, or the facts proven to get one, often carries into a civil suit.

A hog case still governs Texas dog bites

The leading Texas animal-attack case involves a boar hog. In Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974), a neighbor's boar hog that the owner should have known was vicious roamed onto the plaintiff's farm and bit his hand². The Texas Supreme Court ended decades of conflicting lower-court rulings by holding that claims for injuries from vicious animals are governed by strict liability, following Restatement of Torts §§ 507 and 509². It also held that the victim's contributory negligence was no defense, and that the victim had not assumed the risk because his only alternatives were facing the hog or giving up the use of his own land². Thirty-four years later, Bushnell v. Mott relied on Marshall to confirm that owners of dogs with no history can still be liable for negligence³.

Bite reports and quarantine

Any person who knows of an animal bite or scratch that could transmit rabies must report it to the local rabies control authority where the person lives, where the animal is, or where the bite happened, with the victim's and owner's names and addresses if known; the authority must investigate⁹. The statute sets no deadline, and the duty covers the victim, the owner, doctors and witnesses alike⁹.

A dog that bit a person is quarantined until the end of a 10-day observation period, regardless of its vaccination status, in a state-licensed quarantine facility chosen by the local rabies control authority¹⁰. The authority may allow a veterinary clinic or home confinement instead, but home confinement requires an approved secure enclosure, a vaccinated dog (unvaccinated only if not over 16 weeks old), checks on the first and last days, and a dog that was not a stray¹⁰. The owner pays the reasonable costs, and refusing to quarantine is a Class C misdemeanor⁹.

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

Questions about Texas dog bite law

Is Texas a one-bite state?

Yes. With no civil dog bite statute, the injured person must show the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous, under Marshall v. Ranne, or that the owner was negligent^2,3. A first bite is not automatically free: an owner who fails to stop an attack, or breaks a leash ordinance, can still be liable^3,8. See the one-bite rule.

My dog bit someone in Texas. Will it be put down?

Not usually for a first bite with minor injuries. The dog goes into a 10-day rabies quarantine¹⁰. A court can order euthanasia only after a hearing, and only if the dog caused death or serious bodily injury, or if a declared dangerous dog's owner fails to comply with the rules; orders are stayed 10 days for appeal⁸.

Can I sue my neighbor if their dog bit my child in their yard?

Yes, if you can prove the neighbor knew or should have known the dog was dangerous, or was negligent, for example by doing nothing to stop the attack^2,3. A child invited onto the property is not a trespasser, and the child's own claim can be filed until age 20^1,2. See child dog bites.

Does a dog bite have to be reported in Texas?

Yes. Any person who knows of a bite that could transmit rabies must report it to the local rabies control authority, usually city or county animal control⁹. Failing to submit the dog for quarantine is a Class C misdemeanor⁹.

Can a dog owner go to jail in Texas for a bite?

Yes, if the injury is serious. An owner whose unsecured dog makes an unprovoked attack away from the owner's property and causes serious bodily injury commits a third-degree felony, or a second-degree felony if the victim dies⁸. A leashed dog under the owner's immediate control is a defense⁸.

Official contacts

Sources

1. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code ch. 16 (§§ 16.001, 16.003), Texas Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974), CourtListener (Supreme Court of Texas opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Bushnell v. Mott, 254 S.W.3d 451 (Tex. 2008), CourtListener (Supreme Court of Texas opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code ch. 33 (proportionate responsibility), Texas Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code ch. 41 (damages), Texas Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code ch. 101 (Tort Claims Act), § 101.101, Texas Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. Batra v. Clark, 110 S.W.3d 126 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003), CourtListener (Texas Court of Appeals opinion). Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Texas Health and Safety Code ch. 822 (regulation of animals; dangerous dogs), Texas Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. Texas Health and Safety Code ch. 826 (Rabies Control Act), Texas Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 169.27, Bite Incidents, Cornell LII (Texas Administrative Code). Checked 17 October 2026.
11. Quarantine (rabies quarantine facilities), Texas Department of State Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Holding the owners of violent dogs accountable (Kerry Spears, The Texas Prosecutor, July–August 2007), Texas District & County Attorneys Association. Checked 17 October 2026.