Freehold Township, NJ Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Chapter 79, Article I, § 79-8 of the Freehold Township Code sets the leash and at-large rules for every dog kept in the Township. Subsection E bars an owner, keeper or harborer from letting a dog run at large on public streets or in any public park, public building or other public place, or on private property, without the permission of that property's owner. Subsection F builds on that by requiring any dog present on a public street, public place or private property, other than the owner's own, to be accompanied by a person at least 12 years old and securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet long, whether or not the owner of that other property has given permission.

, and § 79-8H requires anyone who lets a dog defecate on a public sidewalk, park or thoroughfare to immediately remove the waste by a sanitary method approved by the Board of Health. An Animal Control Officer appointed under § 79-12, shared regionally with Manalapan, Millstone, and the Boroughs of Freehold and Englishtown, enforces these leash and at-large rules and may impound any unlicensed dog found running at large under § 79-7, along with any dog off its owner's premises without a current registration tag or any female dog in season found off-premises.