Georgia dog laws: leash, licensing, bites and breed rules

Georgia's main dog statute is the Responsible Dog Ownership Law, which deals with dogs that have bitten or attacked. Leashes, licences and rabies programs are handled by counties and municipalities. This summary is general information about state law and is not legal advice. Reviewed November 2026.

Leashes and licensing

The state has no general leash law. It does say that no owner or custodian of a dog in heat may let the dog roam or run free beyond the owner's property. Counties and municipalities pass the ordinances that require leashes, and these matter for civil cases: under the vicious-animal statute, showing that a city, county or consolidated-government ordinance required the dog to be at heel or on a leash, and that it was not, is enough to prove vicious propensity.

Licensing is also local. Georgia's rabies chapter authorizes and requires each county and municipality, in controlling rabies, to regulate or license animals.

Rabies vaccination

Responsibility for rabies control rests with each county board of health, which must adopt rules requiring dogs and cats to be inoculated against rabies and setting the intervals and procedures. The vaccine must be given by a licensed veterinarian or a licensed veterinary technician. A person bitten by an animal reasonably suspected of being rabid must immediately notify the county board of health. The owner or custodian of any animal that has bitten a person or another animal, or that shows signs of rabies, must notify the board and confine the animal as its rules require.

Dangerous dogs and bites

Georgia's dangerous-dog article lets a local dog control officer investigate and classify a dog. A dog is "dangerous" if it punctures a person's skin with its teeth without serious injury (a nip, scratch or abrasion is not enough), attacks aggressively so that a person reasonably fears serious injury, or kills a pet animal while off its owner's property. A dog is "vicious" if it inflicts serious injury on a person. A dog control officer must mail the owner a notice within 72 hours of the determination, and the owner has seven days to request a hearing.

An owner of a classified dog must register it, which means an enclosure, warning signs at every entrance and, for a vicious dog, a microchip and at least $50,000 in liability insurance. Dangerous dogs may be off the owner's property only on a leash of six feet or less under control, or in a locked cage. A vicious dog must be muzzled and leashed outside its enclosure. A dog found to have seriously injured a person on more than one occasion must be euthanized, and a superior court can order euthanasia in other cases. Violations are generally misdemeanors.

On civil liability, one statute makes the owner of a vicious or dangerous animal liable for injuries caused by careless management or by letting it go at liberty, if the injured person did not provoke it. Georgia also recognizes common-law claims based on the owner's knowledge of the dog's tendencies.

Breed-specific rules

The state's dog statutes contain no breed ban and no rule on local breed regulation. The dangerous and vicious definitions turn on conduct.

Tethering and hot cars

Georgia's dog statutes do not regulate tethering. The state has no statute written specifically against leaving a pet in a car. A law enforcement officer who rescues a pet from a locked vehicle in an emergency is not liable except for gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct or malfeasance. The same statute does not address private bystanders.

Where to check your local rule

Counties and cities often have stricter leash, licence, number-of-dogs and breed rules than the state. Check your city or county animal control website or ordinance code. If your dog has bitten someone or has been reported, talk to a lawyer or the animal-control office.