San Luis Obispo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

005(a) bars any person from permitting a dog they own, harbor or control to be in or upon any public roadway, walkway, park or other public area unless securely restrained by a leash and under the direct control of a person competent to exercise full care, custody and charge over the dog, or unless the dog is at a 'heel' beside a person and obedient to that person's command. Subsection (b) separately prohibits letting a dog trespass onto the private property of another without the owner's or possessor's express prior consent.

The leash rule does not apply to a dog actively herding livestock or hunting so long as it obeys its handler's commands, to any park or public area an agency has specifically designated as an off-leash recreational zone, or to registered service dogs and dogs working search-and-rescue or law enforcement, per subsection (c). 001 backs this up more broadly by barring any animal other than a household pet from running at large on a public street or trespassing on another's property. 007 lets a private property owner take up a trespassing dog themselves and deliver it to the division or hold it for pickup.