Clackamas County, OR Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

The classification process starts with a written Dangerous Dog Notice served by personal service or certified mail. The owner has seven days from the date of service to request a hearing before a Hearings Officer; missing that deadline waives the right to a hearing and the dog can be classified based on the county's evidence alone. A hearing on classification can be combined with any hearing on the underlying bite or attack citation, and the Hearings Officer may decline to classify a dog as dangerous if the behavior followed a wrongful assault on the dog or owner, was directed at a trespasser, or involved similar extenuating circumstances.

Once a dog is classified, Code 5.01.050(C)(4) requires the owner to obtain a certificate of registration within seven days, renewed annually, by presenting a current rabies vaccination certificate, proof of a secure enclosure, a county-approved warning sign posted at every entry point, microchip identification, and payment of the annual registration fee. A qualifying secure enclosure for a dangerous dog must be a fully fenced pen, kennel or structure at least six feet high, anchored below ground or set in concrete, built so neither children nor unauthorized persons can reach inside, and kept locked; the interior of a home does not qualify unless a Hearings Officer specifically allows it. Beyond confinement, a Hearings Officer may separately order liability insurance, a county-approved pet ownership program, certified obedience training, spay or neuter, or, after weighing the factors in ORS 609.093, euthanasia. Selling or giving away a dangerous dog requires written notice to the new owner and to the county, and the new regulations follow the dog if the buyer lives in Clackamas County. An owner can seek declassification after two years with no further dangerous-dog incidents and no violations of the imposed conditions, plus proof of completed obedience training, though the secure enclosure and microchip requirements survive declassification.