The state-level rules every owner and walker in West Virginia should know. Local leash lengths, licensing and off-leash rules are set by each city — find those on the city pages below.
West Virginia (W. Va. Code § 19-20-13) makes location decide: a dog running AT LARGE off the owner's property is strict liability regardless of history, but a bite ON the owner's own property drops back to the common-law one-bite / scienter rule.
West Virginia (W. Va. Code § 19-20-13) provides that any owner or keeper who permits a dog to run at large is liable for any damages the dog inflicts on the person or property of another while so running at large. In Marcum v. Ballomy (157 W. Va. 636, 1974) the Supreme Court of Appeals held this imposes strict liability — the victim need not prove negligence or any prior viciousness. A loose dog off its owner's property that injures someone is near-automatic liability.
If the dog is not running at large — for example the victim was bitten on the owner's own property or the dog was restrained — strict liability under § 19-20-13 does not apply. West Virginia then falls back to the common-law one-bite rule: the victim must prove scienter, that the owner knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous propensities from prior bites, growling, or lunging. So the standard turns on where the injury happens — off-property and at large is strict liability; on the owner's land is one-bite.
There is no statewide leash law — local ordinances govern, and the at-large concept (dog off the owner's property and uncontrolled) is central to both the statute and any negligence theory. Rabies vaccination is required statewide (W. Va. Code § 19-20A) with county dog licensing. The core defenses are provocation (the victim teasing, hitting, or tormenting the dog) and trespass (the victim was unlawfully on the owner's property), though the trespass defense is weaker where an owner knew children entered the property.
West Virginia applies modified comparative fault with a 51% bar — a victim's recovery is reduced by their share of fault (for example, provocation), and is barred entirely if they are 51% or more at fault. The personal-injury statute of limitations is two years (W. Va. Code § 55-2-12) from the date of injury.
This is general information about West Virginia law, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with the official state and municipal sources.