La Habra, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 6.20.100 of the La Habra Municipal Code makes it unlawful for any dog owner or harborer to allow a dog onto a public street, sidewalk, park, school ground, public place or unenclosed lot without a leash held by an able-bodied person, regardless of whether the dog carries a current license. A companion rule, Section 6.20.110, separately bans letting a female dog run at large on any public street, lane, alley, court or other public place while she is in heat. The leash requirement does not reach dogs that stay on the owner's own property: under Section 6.20.120, the animal control officer cannot seize a dog or cite its owner for a leash violation as long as the dog has not strayed from private property the owner or keeper controls.

If a dog strays and then returns home, a citation can still issue, but only impoundment when the owner is not present, and the officer must post a notice on the front door naming where the dog is held and how to reclaim it. Handlers must also carry the means to remove dog waste in public and in designated parks under Sections 6.20.130 and 6.20.140, with an exception for visually disabled persons using seeing-eye guide dogs. Dogs can only enter a park or playground the city council has designated by resolution and posted for leashed dog access, and never during an organized youth activity like baseball, football, soccer or basketball. The La Habra Police Department's animal control officers and sworn officers enforce all of these sections.