Dougherty County, GA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

The county's dangerous/vicious dog system is behavioral, not breed-based: Sec. 5-32 lets an animal services officer investigate any dog reported as a biter or aggressor and classify it after mailing the owner written notice by certified mail within 72 hours, with the owner given seven days to request a hearing before the classification becomes final and a right to further appeal to the Probate Court of Dougherty County. Once classified, Sec. 5-32(c)(1) makes it unlawful to possess the dog without a nontransferable certificate of registration, issued only to an adult owner, one per domicile regardless of how many classified dogs live there.

Registration under subsection (c)(2) requires a secure enclosure that cannot rely on an electronic (invisible) fence, a posted warning sign showing the dog's classification number, and microchipping. A vicious dog additionally needs proof of at least $100,000 in liability insurance before registration issues. Off the owner's property, Sec. 5-32(d) requires a dangerous dog to be on a leash no longer than six feet under a capable handler, or in a locked cage or crate, unless it is working as a hunting, herding, or predator control dog; a vicious dog must additionally be muzzled and cannot be left unattended with minors, and no owner may keep more than one vicious dog.

Owners must report within 24 hours if a classified dog escapes, attacks, dies, or is sold, and a vicious dog can only be transferred to a government facility or veterinarian for euthanasia. No registration issues to anyone convicted of two or more animal control violations, or, for a vicious dog specifically, to anyone convicted of certain violent, dogfighting, cruelty, or drug-trafficking felonies within the prior two years.