Ankeny, IA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Ankeny's Code of Ordinances draws its dangerous-dog line from behavior, not breed. Section 57.01(6) defines a "dangerous dog" as any dog that, unprovoked, bites a person or another domestic pet or animal; any uncontrolled dog that chases or approaches a person in a manner that threatens safety without provocation; or any dog with a demonstrated propensity, tendency or disposition to attack or threaten humans or other domestic animals, a category that also sweeps in a security dog trained to attack. Nothing in that definition, or in the separate and more severe "vicious animal" definition at section 57.01(7), turns on the dog's breed.

Once a dog is declared dangerous under the City Code, section 57.03 imposes a specific set of physical-control regulations on the owner or caretaker: the dog cannot leave its kennel or pen unless secured on a leash no longer than four feet, and even on that leash it must stay under the physical control of someone competent to handle it at all times, never tied off to a tree, post or building. The dog is also barred from any part of the house it could exit on its own, such as a porch with an open door path, and cannot be left in a room with open windows or a screen as the only barrier. Ankeny reserves harsher, near-total confinement, muzzling and double-fenced kennel requirements in section 57.04 for the separate "vicious dog" category.