Erie County does not adopt a single county-wide leash ordinance; dog control is set by each town or city under New York Agriculture & Markets Law Article 7. The Erie County Department of Health, however, enforces mandatory rabies vaccination and immediate animal bite reporting county-wide, and dog licensing under §109 is required for every dog over four months old.
Dog control in Erie County is governed by a layered framework. New York Agriculture & Markets Law Article 7 sets the statewide baseline: §109 requires licensing of every dog over four months of age, §117 makes it a violation for a dog to be "at large" off the owner's premises and not under control, and §123 establishes the dangerous-dog adjudication procedure. Article 7 expressly authorizes towns, cities, and villages — not counties — to set their own leash, tethering, and at-large rules, which is why Erie County itself does not publish a county-wide leash chapter.
What the county does do is enforce rabies and bite-reporting requirements county-wide through the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) Environmental Health Division. Any bite or scratch from a dog, cat, ferret, or wild mammal must be reported immediately to ECDOH at (716) 961-6800 (or (716) 961-7898 after hours) so the agency can arrange the 10-day observation or rabies post-exposure prophylaxis required under NY Public Health Law §2145 and 10 NYCRR Part 2. ECDOH also offers free rabies vaccination drive-thru clinics three times a year and works with the SPCA Serving Erie County on cruelty investigations.
Failure to license a dog under §109 is punishable by a fine of up to $25 for a first offense. At-large violations under §117 and local leash ordinances generally start at $25–$100 and escalate with repeat offenses. Failure to report an animal bite to ECDOH can result in public-health enforcement and quarantine of the animal at the owner's expense.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Erie County.
See how Clarence's dog leash laws rules stack up against other locations.
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