Coral Springs, FL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

City Code § 4-7(a), the city's animal control leash requirement, places a duty on every person having custody or control of a dog to keep it securely fastened to a leash not to exceed ten feet and to maintain control of both the leash and the animal at all times while on public streets, in any public place, or on property other than the owner's own. The ten-foot cap means even a leashed dog can be cited if the leash is too long to keep the animal under control.

The section carves out one zoning exception: it doesn't apply on privately owned A-1 zoned property, the city's agricultural district, where dogs may run without the leash requirement. Everywhere else in the city, from sidewalks and parks to a neighbor's yard, an unleashed dog or one on an overlong leash is a violation regardless of the dog's temperament.

Section 4-7 also addresses bite prevention: subsections (b) and (c) separately require owners to control their dogs so they don't bite people lawfully on public or private property, or bite other animals, though those provisions carry a steeper penalty than the leash requirement in subsection (a). A first violation of § 4-7(a) carries a minimum civil penalty of fifty dollars under § 1-8.1(d)(9); the escalating schedule in § 1-8.1(e)(2) raises a second violation to one hundred dollars, a third to two hundred dollars, and a fourth or later violation up to five hundred dollars. A loose or improperly leashed dog can also be seized and impounded by an animal control officer under the animals-at-large provision in § 4-5(e).