Menifee, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

California Food and Agricultural Code § 122331 expressly states that no city, county, or other local government entity 'shall enact any ordinance specific as to breed' that prohibits ownership of any specific dog breed — although the same section allows local agencies to enact 'breed-specific programs of mandatory spay or neuter requirements' and breed-specific breeding programs. This statewide preemption means Menifee CANNOT and does NOT ban pit bull-type dogs (American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier), Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, or any other breed. Instead, California uses a behavior-based dangerous-dog framework: Cal. Food & Agric. Code § 31602 defines a 'potentially dangerous dog' (e.g., bit a person causing less-than-severe injury, or attacked another animal off owner's property), and § 31603 defines a 'vicious dog' (caused severe injury or death, or potentially-dangerous dog that continues offending). After a hearing under § 31621 et seq., a dog may be declared vicious and ordered destroyed or subjected to strict containment, muzzling, signage, and liability-insurance requirements — regardless of breed. Menifee enforces these state procedures through Animal Friends of the Valleys (AFV) and the Riverside County animal-services framework. NOTE: Private HOAs (common in Menifee's master-planned communities such as Sun City, Heritage Lake, Audie Murphy Ranch, and Hidden Hills) and homeowner-insurance carriers may impose their own breed lists — those are private contractual restrictions, not city law.