Arcata, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Humboldt County does not publish a list of banned dog breeds, and California law largely preempts the field. California Food and Agricultural Code section 31683 reads: 'Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing its own program for the control of potentially dangerous or vicious dogs that may incorporate all, part, or none of this chapter, or that may punish a violation of this chapter as a misdemeanor or may impose a different penalty for a violation of this chapter. No program regulating any dog shall be specific as to breed.' The same chapter (FAC §§ 31601-31683) gives local jurisdictions a behavior-based path to designate an individual dog as 'potentially dangerous' or 'vicious' based on its conduct, with notice-and-hearing procedures, but the determination must be tied to that specific dog's behavior – not its breed. The narrow statutory exception in Food and Agricultural Code section 122331 allows cities and counties to enact 'breed-specific ordinances pertaining only to mandatory spay or neuter programs and breeding requirements,' but expressly forbids using breed to declare a dog dangerous or vicious. Humboldt County's behavior-based dangerous-dog enforcement is handled by Humboldt County Animal Control in coordination with the Sheriff's Office.