Elyria, OH Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Elyria City Council wrote the dangerous dog rules into Chapter 505 of the Codified Ordinances, and § 505.01(a) defines three labels, none of which turns on breed. A dangerous dog is one that, without provocation, injured a person short of killing or serious injury, killed another dog, or was the subject of a third or subsequent violation of the state dog control statute or an equivalent municipal ordinance. A vicious dog is one that, without provocation, killed or seriously injured a person; a dog that did so while someone was committing or attempting a trespass or other criminal offense on the owner's property is excluded. A nuisance dog is one that, off its owner's premises and without provocation, chased or approached a person in a menacing fashion or tried to bite. Police dogs working with officers are carved out of all three definitions.

Division (e) sets the containment rule. At home the dog must be locked at all times in a pen with a top, a locked fenced yard, or another locked enclosure with a top. Off the premises it must be on a chain-link leash or tether not more than six feet long, plus one more safeguard: a locked covered enclosure, a handler of suitable age and discretion, a leash tied to a stationary object with a person stationed close by, or a muzzle.

Division (f) adds court-ordered liability insurance, a dangerous dog registration certificate from the County Auditor with a tag worn on the collar at all times, and immediate notice to the local dog warden if the dog is loose, bites a person, or attacks another animal off the owner's property. Division (j) sets the certificate fee at fifty dollars ($50.00), renewed annually, and requires proof of rabies vaccination, spaying or neutering, a microchip, and warning signs at the residence. The applicant must be 18 or older.

A designation is not final until a court rules. Under division (k), the owner has ten days after notice to file a written hearing request, the person who made the designation must prove it by clear and convincing evidence, and the dog stays under the division (e) restraints while the case and any appeal are pending.