Riverside, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

California Food & Agricultural Code §31683 expressly preempts any city or county ordinance that declares a dog 'potentially dangerous' or 'vicious' based solely on breed, so the City of Riverside has no breed ban. However, the same state statute, together with Health & Safety Code §122331, expressly allows breed-specific MANDATORY SPAY/NEUTER programs. Riverside County Code §6.08.125 — enforced inside the City of Riverside by the Riverside County Department of Animal Services (RCDAS) under the City's contract for animal control — provides: 'No person shall own or possess a pit bull over the age of four (4) months that has not been spayed or neutered, except as provided for in subsection D.' 'Pit bull' is defined to include the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and any mixed breed identifiable as partially one or more of those breeds. Exemptions in subsection D: (1) dogs licensed to a county-registered breeder; (2) dogs used by a public law-enforcement agency; (3) assistance dogs as defined in Food & Agricultural Code §30850; (4) dogs with a licensed veterinarian's written health exemption; (5) dogs in training at a licensed kennel and licensed in another jurisdiction; and (6) dogs pending a breed determination requested by the owner. Dangerous-dog designations in the City otherwise follow California Food & Agricultural Code §§31601–31683 (the 'Potentially Dangerous and Vicious Dogs' statute), which is behavior-based, not breed-based.