Troy, NY Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

The Troy City Council wrote § 124-9 for the City of Troy in Rensselaer County, New York, and it is the heaviest rule in Chapter 124. It defines a dangerous dog by conduct and training, not by breed. A dog qualifies if it has a known propensity to attack unprovoked, if it attacks, threatens or endangers a human being or animal without provocation, or if it is owned or harbored for dog fighting or trained for it. The registration application asks for the dog's breed among other identifying details, but breed does not decide whether a dog is dangerous.

Subsection B stacks duties on the owner. The dog cannot be unconfined on the premises: it must be securely confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or dog run with sides six feet high or a secure top, and if the pen has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides must be embedded no less than one foot. Beyond the premises the dog must be securely muzzled and restrained with a chain having a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds and not exceeding three feet in length. Owners must display a warning sign visible and readable from the public right-of-way, provide liability insurance of at least $100,000, register the dog with the City Clerk for a $30 fee, and spay/neuter and microchip the dog at the owner's expense. Owning a dog for fighting, and possessing a dangerous dog with intent to sell, offer for sale or breed it, or buying one, are barred outright.

Subsection C covers enforcement. On probable cause that a dangerous dog is harbored in violation of Subsection B, a law enforcement officer can petition a court of competent jurisdiction to order seizure and impoundment pending trial. For violations of B(2) (the muzzle-and-chain rule) and B(3) (the dog-fighting ban), the officer can seize and impound the dog directly pending trial.