Anne Arundel County, MD Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

County Code § 12-4-905 bans letting a domesticated animal be "at large," defined in § 12-4-101 as off the owner's property and not restrained by a leash or under the control of the owner or a responsible person. Anyone who sees a loose animal must report it to the Department of Animal Services, whose officers may pursue animals at large on public property or onto the exterior of private property. Off-leash exceptions exist for supervised search-and-rescue or hunting-dog work, supervised obedience training with landowner permission, and dogs inside a designated off-leash dog park (county-run or a secured HOA/condo dog park). This applies countywide, including unincorporated communities like Glen Burnie and Severna Park; it does not apply to eartipped community cats or, separately, to Annapolis and Highland Beach, which enforce their own codes.