§PlainStatute

Personal Injury · Dog Bite Liability

Dog Bite Laws in Texas

Whether Texas holds a dog owner automatically liable, follows the one-bite rule, or takes a mixed approach, plus landlord liability and the main defenses.

Case lawControlling decision
Established by Common law · courtlistener.com
Read from the official source · Jul 8, 2026How we verify →
Dog-bite liability · Texas
One-bite rule
To win, you must prove the owner knew or should have known the dog had a dangerous propensity, or was otherwise negligent; there is no automatic liability for a first bite.
BasisCommon law
Landlord liable?Rarely
Leading caseCommon law

How liability works in Texas

What the rule is, and what you must show.

What the victim must show
Actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous propensity (a prior bite, growling, lunging), or ordinary negligence in restraining the dog. Texas follows Restatement (2d) of Torts §509.

Landlords & defenses

Who else can be liable, and what defeats a claim.

Landlord liability
Generally no. A landlord faces the same knowledge standard: they must have known of the specific dangerous propensity and had the ability to control or remove the dog.
Main defenses
No prior knowledgeNo negligenceProvocationTrespassing / comparative fault

The full picture, with the source

Every field, and any recent development.

Liability modelOne-bite rule
BasisCommon law: Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974)
What it coversActual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous propensity (a prior bite, growling, lunging), or ordinary negligence in restraining the dog. Texas follows Restatement (2d) of Torts §509.
LandlordGenerally no. A landlord faces the same knowledge standard: they must have known of the specific dangerous propensity and had the ability to control or remove the dog.
Main defensesNo prior knowledge · No negligence · Provocation · Trespassing / comparative fault

What Texas dog-bite victims get wrong

Texas is one of only two states here with no dog-bite statute at all. Liability comes straight from common law, anchored by the Texas Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in Marshall v. Ranne. That makes Texas a "one-bite" state: to recover, you generally must prove the owner knew, or had reason to know, the dog was dangerous (a prior bite, growling, or lunging), or that the owner was negligent in handling it. Because there is no statute to read, the honest ceiling for this page is "corroborated," resting on the leading case and official legal-aid summaries rather than a code section. That is not a gap in the law; it is simply how common-law states work.

Common questions

Is Texas a one-bite state for dog bites?

Yes. Texas has no dog-bite statute, so liability follows common law (Marshall v. Ranne): you generally must prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous or was negligent.

Do I automatically win if a dog bites me in Texas?

No. Without a strict-liability statute, you must show the owner knew or should have known of the dog’s dangerous propensity, or acted negligently.

What counts as the owner "knowing" a dog was dangerous in Texas?

Actual or constructive knowledge is the classic proof: a prior bite, growling, or lunging. Ordinary negligence in restraining the dog is an alternative path.

Is a landlord liable for a tenant’s dog bite in Texas?

Generally only if the landlord knew of the specific dangerous propensity and had the ability to control or remove the dog. That is the same knowledge standard owners face.

Leading case
→ No dog-bite statute. Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974)
Marshall v. Ranne (Tex. 1974) · leading case · courtlistener.com
Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

Embed this explainer

Paste this on your own site. The embed stays in sync with this page, so any update here shows up there too.

<iframe
  src="https://plainstatute.com/embed/statute/dog-bite--texas"
  title="Texas statute explainer by PlainStatute"
  loading="lazy"
  height="640"
  style="width:100%;max-width:640px;border:1px solid #e4e2d9;border-radius:12px"
  data-plainstatute="dog-bite--texas"></iframe>
<script>
  window.addEventListener('message', function (e) {
    if (e.origin !== 'https://plainstatute.com') return;
    var d = e.data || {};
    if (d.type !== 'plainstatute:embed-height') return;
    var f = document.querySelector('iframe[data-plainstatute="' + d.slug + '"]');
    if (f) f.height = d.height;
  });
</script>
Dog-bite liability · other states
Louisiana·Oklahoma·Arkansas·New Mexico·California·Florida·All states →