Elkhart County, IN Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Chapter 90 (Animal Control) of the Elkhart County Code of Ordinances, adopted by Ordinance 09-396 on December 7, 2009, makes restraint a core owner duty. Section 90.02 lists the general animal care requirements every owner and owner's agent in the unincorporated area must meet, and division (H) states plainly that each animal must be 'properly under restraint and not at large.' Section 90.01 defines AT LARGE to include an animal that is not on a leash and is off the owner's property, on a leash that doesn't adequately confine it to that property, on a leash not under the immediate control of someone physically capable of restraining the animal, or otherwise not under the owner's or agent's direct control. RESTRAINT itself means securing the animal by leash or confining it within the real property limits of the owner or owner's agent.

The chapter carves out one exception: a dog engaged in legal hunting or farming activity, and under the control and supervision of its owner or the owner's agent, is not considered AT LARGE even off-leash. Beyond restraint, § 90.02 layers on related duties that intersect with loose dogs, including division (J), which bars an animal from molesting, attacking or interfering with people's freedom of movement in a public right-of-way without provocation, and division (K), which bars chasing or interfering with motor vehicles there. A dog found at large repeatedly, three or more documented occasions in twelve months with aggressive behavior, can also cross into the DANGEROUS ANIMAL definition at § 90.01, triggering the impoundment and registration process under §§ 90.11 and 90.12.