The state-level rules every owner and walker in Nova Scotia should know. Local leash lengths, licensing and off-leash rules are set by each city — find those on the city pages below.
Nova Scotia has no strict-liability dog-owners statute — dog-attack claims run on the common law (scienter and negligence) plus municipal by-laws. Because negligence attaches to whoever has care and control of the dog, and Halifax's by-law defines 'owner' to include anyone who possesses or has the care or control of a dog, a walker can be personally liable and cited even though they do not own the dog.
Nova Scotia has no provincial 'Dog Owners' Liability Act' and no statutory strict liability for dog attacks (unlike Ontario). Civil claims rest on the common law. First, scienter (the 'one-bite' or known-propensity rule): a keeper is strictly liable where they knew or ought to have known the particular dog had a vicious or mischievous propensity. Second, ordinary negligence: a failure to take reasonable care in controlling or handling the dog, which does not require proof of any prior known propensity. Third, the Occupiers' Liability Act (S.N.S. 1996, c. 27) imposes a duty on the occupier of premises to take reasonable care to keep entrants safe — relevant where a dog injures someone while a sitter is minding a client's home, because 'occupier' includes a person with responsibility for and control over the premises.
Dog control in Nova Scotia is delegated to municipalities. For most municipalities the enabling statute is the Municipal Government Act (S.N.S. 1998, c. 18); for Halifax it is the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter (S.N.S. 2008, c. 39), which grants dog and dangerous-dog by-law powers. Halifax's current animal by-law is By-law A-700, 'Respecting Animals and Responsible Pet Ownership' (this replaced the older A-300, which was repealed in 2015). Under A-700 a dog may be designated dangerous where it attacks, or shows a propensity to attack, a person or animal; once designated the owner must microchip and license it as dangerous, keep it securely confined on their property, and off-property keep it muzzled, leashed and under the control of a person at least 18 years old. [VERIFY: exact section numbers within A-700 — the by-law PDF could not be opened to its primary text.]
Under Halifax By-law A-700 a dog in public must be leashed on a leash not exceeding 3 metres and securely held, except in a designated off-leash area where posted signage governs. Every dog must be licensed, and owners must immediately remove their dog's feces from public property and from private property that is not their own (a service-dog exception applies). [VERIFY: current licence fees and Summary Offence Ticket amounts — Halifax reports figures such as a lifetime licence around CAD $200 (CAD $75 if spayed/neutered) and running-at-large tickets around CAD $237.50, and dog-attack fines of roughly CAD $300 / CAD $600, but these dollar amounts could not be confirmed against the by-law or enforcement schedule and vary by municipality.]
There is no province-wide microchip mandate in Nova Scotia statute — the provincial Animal Protection Act deals with welfare, not universal identification. Identification is set by municipal by-law. Under Halifax By-law A-700 a licensed dog must carry its licence tag; microchipping is mandatory for any dog designated dangerous and is the eligibility condition for the discounted lifetime licence. Outside Halifax, check the local municipality's by-law for its tag and identification rules, as these differ across Nova Scotia. [VERIFY: microchip and tag rules in the specific municipality you work in.]
This is general information about Nova Scotia law, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with the official state and municipal sources.