Orem, UT Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

No Orem-specific ordinance restricts dogs by breed, and Utah state law preempts the field. B. 97, effective 2015) provides that a municipality may not adopt or enforce a breed-specific rule, regulation, policy, or ordinance regarding dogs, and that any such breed-specific rule is void. As a result Orem cannot ban or restrict pit bulls or any other breed. Instead, dangerous dogs are regulated based on individual behavior, not breed: under the governing Utah County animal control code, possession of a vicious dog is unlawful unless it is restrained, confined, or muzzled so it cannot bite or attack (Utah County Code 5-2-16), and a vicious dog must be kept in a heavy-gauge wire run six feet high with a secure ceiling and floor and kept leashed and muzzled when out of its kennel.

Knowingly allowing a vicious animal to go at large is a Class B misdemeanor, or a Class A misdemeanor if it causes a human death (Utah County Code 5-2-17).