Fairfax County, VA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

1-2-4 has two working parts. 1-1-1: a dog that is off its owner's property and not on a leash, cord, or chain and not confined in a primary enclosure. Second, it places the violation on the owner personally. Any person who owns a dog found unrestricted 'shall be in violation of this Section,' which means the owner is on the hook even if a dog walker, sitter, or family member was minding the animal when it got loose. The ordinance carves out a short list of situations where an unleashed dog is lawful: a dog under direct supervision while lawfully hunting, a dog in a supervised training class or show, a dog competing in a formally sanctioned field trial, a dog inside an off-leash exercise area designated by the county or the park authority, and a working service animal.

Outside those settings, restraint is mandatory everywhere off the owner's own property. When an unrestricted dog is found, subsection (b) directs that it be impounded, with one exception: if the rightful owner of the dog can be immediately ascertained and located, the owner is allowed to take custody of the animal then and there, but may still be issued a summons for violating the section.