Royal Oak, MI Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 195, Article IV, Dangerous Dogs, adopted 5-6-2013 by Ordinance No. 2013-07, contains no reference to breed anywhere in its text; § 195-23 defines DANGEROUS DOG solely by conduct, as any dog that bites or attacks a person, or that bites or attacks another dog or domestic animal and causes serious injury while that animal is on its own owner's property or under its owner's control, with defenses for law-enforcement use, provoked bites, defense of a person, and a dog protecting itself, its offspring, or responding to pain.

A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG is one that causes a lesser injury, menaces without provocation, has been impounded running at large three or more times in twelve months, or acts highly aggressively within an enclosure it could escape. Under § 195-24, the Animal Control Officer classifies a dog after a complaint and must notify the owner by certified mail with the findings; the owner has 15 days to request a hearing before the Animal Review Board, made up of the Chief of Police or a designee, the City Manager or a designee, and a City resident appointed by the City Commission, and the classification becomes final if no hearing is requested.

Once classified, § 195-25 requires an owner of a dangerous dog to register the dog with the Police Department, keep it in a proper enclosure measuring at least six feet by 12 feet by six feet, post a warning sign with a symbol, carry a $1,000,000 liability policy, and complete an Animal Review Board-approved obedience class within 90 days of the final determination. Section 195-30 further requires the dog to be muzzled, leashed and under a responsible person's control whenever it is outside the enclosure.

Noncompliance triggers immediate confiscation under § 195-31, and the Animal Control Officer can instead go straight to District Court under § 195-32 to seek destruction of a dog that attacked without provocation.