Leash Laws

Dog owners could get a citation for violating their city's leash law. Most cities require dogs to be safely under the control of it’s owner and on a leash at all times.

There are numerous reasons why dogs must be on a leash and under the control of it’s owner at all times...such as:

1. It’s the law: When in public, most leash laws require a dog to be on a "substantially" strong leash that can restrain that specific dog from from escape. Dogs must also be on a leash that is six feet "OR LESS" in length when fully extended.

2. Safety of your dog: A dog can become trapped, injured or bitten by bees or a snake and even become exposed to poison ivy or ticks if allowed too far from it's owner's mediate supervision. Also, a dog on a long leash, or one that is allowed to run loose could get hit by a car.

3. Safety of people: Some people are afraid of dogs. Even friendly dogs that are loose can scare a person or knock someone down, especially a small child.   Additionally, an off leash dog can cause a car accident. If a dog that's on a partially retracted leash lunges at someone, causing it's leash to deploy more than 6 feet of cord, the dog could then make contact and push the person someplace unsafe like from a sidewalk to out in the street.

4. Decrease fights with other dogs: An off leash dog could come across as a threat to a leashed dog or wonder up to an unfriendly leashed dog causing a fight.

5. Bottom Line...No Leash = A Ticket: Grabbing your dog's collar that has no leash attached won't prevent you from receiving a ticket. If you see an officer and grab your dog's collar to maintain control, you are still in violation of the leash law, but if your dog's collar has an Emergency Leash on it, and you grab the collar, even if you don't deploy the Emergency Leash's cord, you are in compliance with the law because you are maintaining control of your dog with a properly attached leash.