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My dog or cat bit someone : what happens next in Quebec

Today, in this order

Here is what Quebec's agriculture ministry (MAPAQ), the City of Montreal and the law ask of you.

Information checked on October 11, 2026. This is not legal advice.

In this guide

Today

Today, in this order

Your dog or cat bit someone: the person calls 811, then you call us. Don't give your pet away or get rid of it.

  1. The person who was bitten or scratched calls 911 for a serious injury or a dangerous situation; otherwise, Info-Santé at 811 (service in English), even for a small wound: a nurse advises them.
  2. Your pet: without punishing it or putting yourself at risk, put it in a closed room. Keep it alive and keep it from biting during the 10-day observation period.
  3. Leave your name and phone number with the person who was bitten; keep your pet's vaccination record handy.
  4. Call us during our hours. Outside our hours, we do not run an emergency service: if your pet is hurt or seems unwell, call a 24/7 veterinary emergency centre and tell them it bit someone.
  5. If your dog lives in Montreal: call 311 within 3 days. Elsewhere, even on the island: check with your municipality.
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MAPAQ

The 10-day observation period

When a dog or cat has bitten or scratched a person, MAPAQ asks that it be kept alive and under observation for the 10 days that follow, vaccinated or not. With no signs compatible with rabies after 10 days, it could not have passed rabies on at the time of the incident.

The observation is your responsibility; MAPAQ may oversee it and contact you.

What MAPAQ asks

  • Do not give your pet away, sell it, abandon it or have it euthanized.
  • Avoid anything that could harm its health, including a vaccine.
  • A new bite restarts the 10 days.
  • Stay reachable from day 10.

Any change?

Is it acting differently, staggering, limping, drooling heavily, eating less or showing any other unusual sign? Isolate it without handling it, call us and notify MAPAQ (contact details (opens in a new tab), in French); outside our hours, call a 24/7 veterinary emergency centre and tell them it bit someone. If it runs off, notify MAPAQ. If it dies, notify a veterinarian and MAPAQ before disposing of the body.

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The signature card

No home medications

Do not give your pet anything to calm or relieve it without talking to us first: pain needs an exam.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol)

Fatal to cats, even a single tablet. There is no safe dose. In dogs it is dangerous too, and it is not a painkiller for them. If your pet swallowed any, it is an immediate emergency.

Ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), aspirin

Toxic to dogs and cats alike: digestive ulcers, kidney damage. Cats are even more sensitive to them than dogs. Never a human anti-inflammatory, for any reason.

Leftover prescriptions and another animal's medication

Same apparent problem, same weight, same household: none of that is ever enough. What relieves a dog can kill a cat, and a dose calculated for another patient is not a dose.

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City of Montreal

In Montreal, if it's a dog

If your dog lives in Montreal and has bitten, attacked or tried to bite a person or a pet, you must (by-law 21-012, art. 38):

  • notify the City within 3 days by calling 311, and say where the dog is kept;
  • put a basket muzzle on it outside your home, even in the yard or a common area, until the City says otherwise;
  • when it is off leash, keep it in a fenced area that holds it, where no one can put a hand or foot through;
  • keep it in the same place until the City decides.

During the 10 days, MAPAQ asks that you keep it. The by-law only allows it to be handed over to a shelter or a veterinary clinic, with notice to the City 2 days ahead, among other conditions (arts. 35 and 38).

A basket muzzle lets your dog pant and drink; a closed muzzle does not.

See alsoReport a dog bite (City of Montreal; 311, or 514 872-0311 from outside Montreal) (opens in a new tab)Heatstroke: prevention

The law

What may follow

Who reports what (Quebec regulation, P-38.002, r. 1)

  • A doctor treating a person bitten by a dog reports the bite to the municipality (s. 3).
  • A veterinarian reports a dog bite, to a person or a pet, if they have reasonable grounds to believe the dog is a risk to public health and safety (s. 2).

What your municipality can decide, for a dog

  • On reasonable grounds to believe the dog is a risk, have it examined by a veterinarian the municipality chooses (s. 5).
  • Declare it potentially dangerous, with standards such as a basket muzzle (ss. 8, 9 and 22 to 25).
  • Order measures proportionate to the risk, up to euthanasia (s. 11); it must order euthanasia if the dog killed or seriously injured a person (s. 10).

Before a declaration or an order, it must tell you why and give you time to respond; its decision is in writing (ss. 12 and 13).

Full texts and finesQuebec regulation (LégisQuébec) (opens in a new tab)by-law 21-012 (City of Montreal; current version in French only) (opens in a new tab)

The other way round

Your dog was bitten by another dog

Have your dog examined promptly: call us during our hours. If it is bleeding nonstop or struggling to breathe, or outside our hours: a 24/7 veterinary emergency centre. Note who owns the other dog: in Montreal, they must notify the City within 3 days; you can also call 311. Did yours bite too? Everything above applies to it.

Bitten while separating them? Info-Santé at 811; the City asks you to report it to a neighbourhood police station.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Will my dog be put down or taken away for biting someone?
During the 10-day observation period, MAPAQ asks that you not have it euthanized. For a dog, it is the municipality that can decide on measures, under Quebec's regulation on dogs: if the circumstances justify it, it can order measures proportionate to the risk, which can go as far as euthanasia, and it must order the euthanasia of a dog that killed or seriously injured a person. Before making such an order, it must tell you what it intends to do and why, and give you time to respond. An inspector can also seize the dog in certain cases, for example to have it examined; in Montreal, the City can order it kept temporarily in an animal services centre until its final decision, if the circumstances warrant it.
What may follow
My dog is vaccinated against rabies. Why the 10-day observation?
Because MAPAQ asks for observation, whether or not the animal is vaccinated. An up-to-date vaccine lowers the risk; the observation is what settles the question: with no signs compatible with rabies after 10 days, it could not have passed rabies on at the time of the incident. Not up to date? MAPAQ asks that you not have it vaccinated during those 10 days; talk to us about it afterwards.
The 10-day observation period
The bite didn't break the skin. Do I still need to do anything?
Yes. The person who was bitten still calls Info-Santé at 811: a nurse will assess whether there is a risk and whether they need to see a doctor. Whether or not MAPAQ contacts you, keep your pet alive and under observation for 10 days, and keep it from biting. If your dog lives in Montreal, the City's by-law also covers an attempted bite: notify the City within 3 days by calling 311; elsewhere, follow your municipality's rules. In Montreal, the City also asks the person who was bitten to report the bite to a neighbourhood police station, however minor it is.
In Montreal, if it's a dog
My dog bit my child, or me, at home. Do the same rules apply?
Yes. No exception for family: the person who was bitten calls Info-Santé at 811; your pet stays alive and under observation for 10 days. If your dog lives in Montreal, also notify the City within 3 days by calling 311; elsewhere, follow your municipality's rules. A young child should never be left alone with a dog, even the family dog.
In Montreal, if it's a dog
My cat bit someone. What happens now?
The person who was bitten or scratched calls Info-Santé at 811. MAPAQ asks for the same 10-day observation for a cat as for a dog: keep it alive, keep it from biting or scratching again, and do not have it vaccinated during that time. Quebec's regulation on dogs and the City of Montreal's obligations (311, basket muzzle) are for dogs; in Montreal, the City's by-law lists a cat bite among prohibited nuisances.
The 10-day observation period
My dog bit another dog. What do I need to do?
If your dog lives in Montreal, your obligations also apply when the victim is a pet: notify the City by calling 311 within 3 days, put a basket muzzle on your dog outside your home, even in the yard or a common area, keep it in a fenced area when it is off leash, and keep it in the same place until the City decides; elsewhere, follow your municipality's rules. A veterinarian with reasonable grounds to believe the dog is a risk to public health and safety also reports the bite to the municipality. MAPAQ's texts on the 10-day observation concern a bite or scratch to a person: if someone was bitten while separating the dogs, they call Info-Santé at 811. Never put your hands between two dogs that are fighting.
In Montreal, if it's a dogYour dog was bitten by another dog

In one sentence

The person calls 811; your pet stays alive, under observation and kept from biting for 10 days; if your dog lives in Montreal, call 311 within 3 days; call us during our hours and, outside them, if your pet is hurt or seems unwell, call a 24/7 veterinary emergency centre.

This guide summarizes the instructions and rules in force on October 11, 2026, based on the official texts. It is not legal advice: the official texts prevail. For any question about your pet's health, talk to us.

Also worth reading

Updated October 16, 2026

Did your pet bite someone?

Call us during our opening hours; outside our hours, if your pet is hurt or seems unwell, call a 24/7 veterinary emergency centre.

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