Garden Grove, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

080(A)(1) bars an owner or custodian from willfully or negligently allowing a dog on private property unless it is restrained by a fence, wall, substantial chain, a leash not exceeding six feet, another appropriate physical restraint, or is under the charge of a competent handler. Subsection (A)(2) applies the same six-foot chain-or-leash rule to dogs on public property, unless the property's owner or operator grants written permission for the dog to be there off-leash. Subsection (B) separately bars dogs from public school property altogether, except for guide, signal, or service dogs and dogs under direct City personnel supervision or in Council-designated areas.

Subsection (F) requires owners to prevent a dog from defecating or urinating on public sidewalks, common apartment hallways, entranceways, business floors, or in any public park, and to immediately remove any feces the dog deposits. Subsection (G) requires owners to take reasonable precautions to prevent their dogs from biting or attacking, and makes it a code violation for a vicious dog's owner to fail to exercise ordinary care if the dog injures someone. 060(B) singles out violations of subsections (D) (nuisance) and (G) (public protection) as automatic misdemeanors, while other restraint violations are infractions unless they recur within a year of two prior chapter violations.