Elyria, OH Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Dog restraint in the City of Elyria is set by § 505.01 of the Codified Ordinances, enacted by Elyria City Council in Chapter 505, Animals and Fowl. Division (d) applies to any dog, at any time, and has two parts. The owner, keeper or harborer must keep the dog physically confined or restrained upon the premises by a leash, tether, adequate fence, supervision or secure enclosure to prevent escape, and must keep the dog under the reasonable control of some person. The only exception is a dog lawfully engaged in hunting and accompanied by its owner, keeper, harborer or handler. The code prints no leash length for an ordinary dog; the six-foot chain-link leash limit in division (e) applies only to a dangerous dog off its premises.

Division (c) adds a heat rule: no owner, keeper or harborer of a female dog can permit it to go beyond the premises while in heat unless the dog is properly in leash.

A police officer or animal warden can impound every dog found in violation of § 505.01 under § 505.02. If the dog wears no valid registration tag and the owner is not otherwise reasonably determined, notice is posted at the pound or shelter and the dog can be sold or destroyed if not redeemed within three days. If the dog wears a valid tag or the owner is reasonably determined, the owner receives certified mail notice and has fourteen days from the date of notice to redeem. Redemption requires payment of all lawful costs and a valid registration tag if the dog has none.

Related duties travel with the leash rule. Section 505.03 requires registration of any dog more than three months of age, and § 505.035 requires the dog to wear a valid tag at all times. A dog found without one is prima-facie evidence of lack of registration and subjects the dog to impounding, sale, or destruction.