Lower Paxton, PA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

The operative rule is § 68-1 of the Lower Paxton Township Code, added by the Board of Supervisors on 12-3-1973 as Ord. No. 73-21. It is unlawful for any person to permit a dog, cat, pet or other livestock that the person owns, or that is under his supervision or control, to run at large. The section names three places: the public streets or highways of the Township, the private property of any other person, and any property not belonging to or in the possession of the owner of the animal or of the person under whose supervision or control it is being kept. A dog on the owner's own property is outside those three places, while the same dog on a neighbor's lawn or a public street is inside them.

Chapter 68 does not print the word leash and sets no leash length. The duty is to keep the animal from running at large, and it falls on the person who owns the animal and on anyone who has it under supervision or control, so a dog walker or a house guest in charge of the dog carries the same duty as the owner.

Section 68-2 closes off the licensing argument. The chapter applies to all dogs and other animals in the nature of pets found running at large in violation of § 68-1, irrespective of payment for or issuance of any license in respect to the animal involved. A current dog license is therefore not a defense.

Section 68-6 assigns enforcement to any Township police officer or Code Enforcement Officer as assigned by the Township. Section 68-7 sets the penalty, which was last amended on 11-6-2019 by Ord. No. 18-05. Chapter 68 also covers cats under the same at-large wording, and Lower Paxton Township handles feral cat feeding separately in § 68-5.