Sacramento County, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

California law preempts most breed-specific regulation. Food & Agricultural Code section 31683 provides that a city or county may adopt its own potentially-dangerous/vicious-dog program but that, except as provided in Health & Safety Code section 122331, no program regulating any dog may be specific as to breed. Section 122331 is the single exception: it authorizes local mandatory spay/neuter and breeding programs that may be breed-specific. Relying on this exception, Sacramento County adopted a requirement that pit-bull-type dogs in the unincorporated county be spayed or neutered (an ordinance widely reported when the Board of Supervisors enacted it). Beyond that sterilization rule, the County does not prohibit owning any breed, and its dangerous-dog and leash provisions apply to all dogs regardless of breed. Owners of intact pit-bull-type dogs should confirm current requirements with Animal Care and Regulation, since exemptions (for example, veterinarian-certified health reasons or qualifying registered/working dogs) and intact-license options may apply much as they do under the County's general mandatory-sterilization framework.