Gilroy, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 4.26, 'Dogs; restraint required; exceptions,' anchors Article IV of Chapter 4 of the Gilroy City Code. Subsection (a) imposes two distinct duties: an owner or person with custody or control of a dog must keep it confined to that person's own premises within enclosures reasonably appropriate to prevent it running at large, and separately, no dog may walk the public streets unless restrained by a leash capable of restraining at least four times the dog's own weight. The chapter carves out five specific exceptions to the leash rule: assistance dogs performing their duties; dogs in field or obedience trials or exhibitions; dogs assisting an owner or handler in lawful hunting or herding of livestock; dogs assisting a security guard or a peace officer in law enforcement activity; and dogs being trained for those same purposes on private land with the landowner's permission, so long as they remain under direct control.

This restraint duty sits alongside, but is distinct from, the city's separate at-large nuisance provisions in Section 4.11 and the escalated fine structure in Section 4.35 for an unsterilized dog caught running at large, which doubles the base fine unless the owner has the dog sterilized within 15 days of citation. Enforcement runs through the Gilroy Police Department's animal control division and the administrator, who may also proceed under the seizure and impoundment procedures in Sections 4.50 through 4.59 for a dog at large.