Tehama County, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Tehama County's animal regulations sit in Title 7 of the County Code and are enforced in the unincorporated area by the Tehama County Animal Care Center, with the Sheriff's Office Operations Division handling animal regulation. The County's published animal-regulations guidance states that no person shall permit a dog to run at large from the owner's private property, and that any time a dog leaves the owner's property it must be 'restrained by substantial leash and under physical control of its owner.' That is a control requirement rather than a fixed leash length, so owners are responsible for keeping a dog on a leash and controlled off their own land. The County also publishes an anti-tethering standard - a dog may not be tethered to a stationary object for more than three hours in a 24-hour period and must have access to water and shelter while tethered (this tracks California Health and Safety Code 122335). Statewide, California's potentially-dangerous and vicious-dog program (Food and Agricultural Code 31601-31683) backstops local rules, and a dog that runs at large and bites or attacks can be declared potentially dangerous or vicious. Because Red Bluff, Corning, and the City of Tehama are incorporated, their own city codes - not the County Code - govern leashing inside those city limits. Report an at-large or aggressive dog in the unincorporated county to the Tehama County Animal Care Center at (530) 527-3439.