Middletown, OH Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 618.01(a) bars an owner or keeper of any animal, not just dogs, from permitting it to run at large on a public road, highway, street, lane, alley, or unenclosed land, or from letting it wander onto private property without the owner's consent. Division (b) separately bans herding or keeping animals for grazing on land the owner doesn't occupy without permission of the landowner. Division (c) makes an animal found running loose in those places prima facie evidence of a violation, shifting the practical burden to the owner to explain.

Division (e) sets the core leash rule: unless a dog is lawfully hunting with its handler, its owner, keeper, or harborer must at all times either physically confine or restrain the dog on its own premises by leash, tether, adequate fence, supervision, or a secure enclosure that prevents escape, or keep the dog under the reasonable control of some person. Division (d) adds a stricter rule for female dogs in heat: they cannot leave the owner's premises at any time unless properly on a leash.

Penalties scale by provision. A running-at-large violation under division (a) or (b) is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A first confinement violation under division (e) is only a minor misdemeanor, rising to a fourth-degree misdemeanor on repeat offenses, and a court may order supervision or obedience training. Letting a dog in heat off-leash is a fourth-degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a third-degree misdemeanor on each later offense, under § 618.01(h).