The Wisconsin dog statutes a protection dog owner should read

Under s. 174.02, an owner is liable for the full amount of damages when a dog injures a person, a domestic animal or property, and the statute adds a forfeiture. The amounts rise if the owner was notified, or otherwise knew, that the dog had earlier bitten someone without provocation.

Once a dog has been in an unprovoked bite, the statute doubles the damages for a later bite that breaks the skin and leaves scarring. A court can also order a dog destroyed after two serious injuries to a person or domestic animal off the owner's property, if the owner knew about the first.

A license is needed for any dog over five months old, and s. 174.07 says the license is issued once you show evidence that the dog is currently immunized against rabies. The tag belongs on the collar, with exceptions such as a dog securely confined indoors or in a fenced area.

The same chapter also directs counties to publicize early each year that licenses and rabies shots are required, so expect a county notice if you move in.

A dog is "running at large" when it is off its owner's premises and not under the control of the owner or another person. An untagged dog outdoors, outside a fence, also draws attention from officers.

For a protection dog, "under control" is not a technicality. It is the central skill, and any seller who plays it down should lose your trust.

Cities and counties add their own rules. Madison, for example, sends park visitors to its own dogs-in-parks rules and to ordinances 8.195 and 23.32. Call your municipal clerk or humane officer for the rules where you live.