La Plata County, CO Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

The rule sits in Chapter 10, Division 3. Section 10-30(IV) is short: it is unlawful for the owner of a dog to permit the animal to run, or be, at large. The section prints no leash length and no distance test for ordinary dogs; the question is whether the dog is at large. Any dog found running at large can be restrained by an animal control officer or any other person and impounded at the county's designated animal shelter, which § 10-11 assigns to the La Plata County Humane Society.

Guard dogs carry a stricter restraint rule under § 10-30(III). Guard dogs must be registered annually with the Humane Society, and warning signs must be conspicuously posted around the property and enclosure, with the words "Guard Dog" in letters four or more inches tall and a telephone number answered twenty-four hours per day. At all times a guard dog must be confined in an enclosed area adequate to ensure it will not escape, or be under the immediate command or physical restraint of its owner or handler. An officer with probable cause that a guard dog is not confined can seize and impound it.

Impoundment powers are broader in § 10-40, which lets animal control officers seize pet animals found at large. No person can refuse to deliver an animal on lawful demand. Officers can enter private property to seize an animal but not a domicile, enclosed building or structure, or an enclosure that confines the dog without consent of the owner or resident or an order from the court.

Section 10-31 limits enforcement to unincorporated La Plata County. Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio enforce their own leash rules inside their limits. Peace officers or Board-designated animal control officers enforce, and the District Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District prosecutes at his discretion.