Milpitas, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section V-210-4.05, in Chapter 210's animal-behavior nuisance article, states the physical-restraint rule plainly: all dogs must be leashed whenever they are off the property of their owner or the person controlling them. The Chapter carves out only three exceptions: the dog is on private property whose owner has given permission for it to run free, the dog is on public property specifically designated as an area where dogs may be unrestrained, or the dog is enrolled in an approved dog obedience class. Outside those three situations, a dog on a public street, sidewalk, park or common area without a leash is in violation regardless of the dog's temperament or history.

The leash rule interacts with Chapter 210's dangerous-dog scheme: a Level 1 or 2 potentially dangerous dog under Section V-210-5.09 must additionally be muzzled and confined to a leash no longer than 3 feet capable of restraining four times the dog's weight, and a Level 3, 4 or 5 dog under Sections V-210-5.10 and V-210-5.11 needs the same muzzle-and-3-foot-leash combination attached to a commercial-quality walking harness. Separately, Section V-210-6.10 makes it unlawful for any unsterilized dog or cat to run at large on public property or on private common areas such as a condominium project, layering a sterilization-status rule on top of the general leash requirement.