Chelsea, MA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Under section 4-48 of the Chelsea Code of Ordinances, every dog owner or anyone with a dog in their possession or custody must keep the animal under restraint and take reasonable precautions to stop it from leaving the owner's property while unattended. The section gives three compliant ways to satisfy that duty: secure enclosure in a locked house, building, fence or pen the dog cannot climb, dig or jump out of; confinement by chain, cable or trolley of at least eight feet in length; or control on a leash no longer than five feet, held by a responsible and competent person.

If a parcel is too small to safely maintain a chained dog under those terms, the code bars using a chain there at all. Section 4-48(b) places the same duty on a minor dog owner's parent or guardian. Enforcement runs through the animal control officer and the police department. Section 4-47 requires every licensed dog to wear its identification tag at all times; an unrestrained dog found without one is apprehended and held until it is properly licensed, and if it is not licensed within ten days of confinement it is disposed of under the article's impoundment provisions.

Section 4-43(e) authorizes the animal control officer or police to seize any unrestrained dog, a female in heat, or a dog disturbing the peace and hold it at the animal shelter, where it can be reclaimed for ten days before the city may place it in a new home or humanely euthanize it. Chelsea's related running-at-large provision, section 4-4, separately bars dogs from swimming in park ponds or damaging park flower beds and shrubs, regardless of restraint status.