The state-level rules every owner and walker in New Brunswick should know. Local leash lengths, licensing and off-leash rules are set by each city — find those on the city pages below.
New Brunswick has no strict-liability dog statute and not even an Occupiers' Liability Act — dog-attack claims run on common-law scienter and negligence. Because negligence attaches to whoever has care and control of the dog, and municipal by-laws define 'owner' to include anyone who possesses or harbours a dog, a walker can be personally liable and cited even though they do not own the dog.
New Brunswick has no statutory strict-liability dog-owners act and, unusually, no Occupiers' Liability Act at all — occupier duty here is governed by the common law. Dog-attack claims therefore rest on two common-law routes. First, scienter (the 'one-bite' or known-propensity rule): the keeper is strictly liable where they knew or ought to have known of the particular dog's dangerous propensity. Second, ordinary negligence: a failure to take reasonable care in controlling the dog, which does not require proof of a prior known propensity. The province's SPCA Act (S.N.B. 2014, c. 132) is welfare and cruelty legislation only — it does not create civil liability to an injured person.
Dog control is largely municipal. The Local Governance Act (S.N.B. 2017, c. 18) empowers local governments (s. 10(1)(k)) to make by-laws about animals and animal control, and where a rural community has no by-law of its own the provincial Dog Control Regulation (NB Reg 2022-36) applies. Municipal by-laws contain the dangerous-dog controls: for example, Moncton's Animal Control By-Law H-1322 requires a declared dangerous dog to be leashed on a lead not exceeding 1 metre, muzzled, kept in a secure enclosure, tagged as dangerous within 14 days and signposted; Fredericton's By-law S-11 imposes similar leash, muzzle and confinement controls and bars dangerous dogs from off-leash areas. Provisions vary by city, so confirm the local by-law.
Municipal by-laws set the day-to-day rules. In Moncton (H-1322) a dog is 'running at large' unless secured by a leash of no more than 3 metres in public or on others' property, and the owner must immediately bag and remove feces. In Fredericton (S-11) a dog must be restrained by a leash not exceeding 2 metres except in a designated off-leash area (where a leash must still be carried), must be registered and wear a collar and tag, and its feces must be removed immediately. Fines are enforced as provincial offences — Moncton's by-law sets ranges from roughly CAD $50 up to CAD $1,070 depending on the offence, and Fredericton offers a voluntary payment of about CAD $50 before a charge is laid. [VERIFY: exact licence fees and Saint John's by-law number and section citations — the Saint John by-law text could not be loaded to primary source.]
Identification is set by municipal by-law; there is no province-wide microchip mandate. Moncton (H-1322) is notable in treating a microchip as an alternative to a licence — a microchipped dog is exempt from the licence requirement, while a non-microchipped dog must be licensed and wear its current licence tag on a collar. Fredericton (S-11) requires registration and a collar and licence tag, with a microchip typically only ordered for a dangerous dog. Saint John requires licensing with a tag. Confirm the specific municipality's identification rules for the areas you work. [VERIFY: microchip and tag specifics in your city's current by-law.]
This is general information about New Brunswick law, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with the official state and municipal sources.