Edison, NJ Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Edison Township Code § 9-3.1 flatly prohibits any dog running at large at any time within the Township, and § 9-3.2 requires that any dog taken off its owner's premises be accompanied by a person capable of controlling it and secured on an adequate leash no more than six feet long. The Code's definitions section, § 9-1.1, defines 'at large' as 'off the premises of the owner and not under the control of the owner or a member of his immediate family, either by leash, cord, chain or otherwise.' A dog confined to its owner's yard is not covered by the leash rule, but a dog anywhere else in the Township, on a sidewalk, in a park, in a neighbor's yard, must be on the six-foot leash and under the physical control of a competent handler.

The Code also regulates how dogs may be restrained on their owner's own property. Section 9-3.3, added by Ordinance No. O.1985-2017, bans chaining or tethering any unneutered or unspayed dog at any time. A neutered or spayed dog may be tethered only on a line at least fifteen feet long with a swivel on both ends, weighing no more than one-eighth of the dog's body weight, attached to a buckled collar or harness (never a choke, slip, or prong collar), for no more than nine hours in any twenty-four-hour period, and never during extreme heat of 90 degrees or above, extreme cold of 32 degrees or below, or severe weather.

Enforcement falls to the Edison Township Police Department, the Health Department, and the Animal Control Officer, who may pick up any dog found running loose or improperly leashed.