Commerce City, CO Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Sec. 4-2005(a) bars an owner from letting any animal off the owner's premises unless it is under control in one of two ways: on a leash, cord or chain no longer than ten feet, held by a competent person who is physically able to control the animal and is actually maintaining physical control of it, or confined inside a vehicle, or similarly physically confined so it cannot escape and passersby cannot reach it. "Competent person" is defined in Sec. 4-1001 as a person over ten years old capable of controlling the animal and to whose command it is obedient, so a young child holding a leash does not satisfy the section if the dog will not obey them.

Subsection (b) adds a property-damage rule: an owner cannot let an animal, at large or not, destroy, damage or injure shrubbery, plants, flowers, grass, lawn, fences or other property on premises the owner does not own or occupy. Subsection (c) carves out the city's designated off-leash dog park sites entirely, and also creates an affirmative defense where the animal was contained wholly on private property with that property owner's consent, which covers, for example, a dog in a fenced backyard other than the owner's with the neighbor's permission.

The ten-foot leash cap is stricter than a simple "leash required" rule: a retractable leash extended beyond ten feet, or an owner who has lost physical control even while holding a leash, both fall outside the safe harbor.