Antioch, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Section 31683 lets a city adopt or enforce its own program for controlling potentially dangerous or vicious dogs, incorporating all, part, or none of the state chapter, and even punish violations more strictly than the state does or as a misdemeanor, but it draws one hard line: no program regulating any dog can be specific as to breed, except as separately allowed by Health and Safety Code § 122331. Antioch's implementing ordinance tracks that line exactly. 801(B) defines a "potentially dangerous dog or animal" solely by conduct: two unprovoked incidents requiring defensive action within a 36-month period, an unprovoked bite causing less than a severe injury, or an unprovoked attack injuring a domestic animal, with no breed criterion anywhere in the definition.

803(A), the Animal Control Supervisor weighs the severity of any injury, the number of attacks, and the circumstances, and cannot make a dangerous designation if the injury occurred during a trespass, a provocation of the animal, or while the dog was defending a person from an unjustified attack. An owner is notified in writing and can appeal to the city's Board of Administrative Appeals under Title 1, Chapter 4, with a further appeal to Superior Court available under Cal. Food and Agric. Code § 31622.

804 lets the Supervisor order microchipping, spay or neuter, a fine of up to $500 under Cal. Food and Agric. Code § 31662, liability insurance, current rabies vaccination and license, a completed obedience or aggressive-dog course within 30 days, a muzzle and a leash no longer than six feet rated to hold four times the dog's weight in public, self-latching yard gates, and "Beware of Dog" signage; the designation drops off after 36 months with no further incidents.