New Berlin, WI Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 152-10 defines a dog as "at large" when it is on private property without consent, on public property without restraint and control, or not secured in a vehicle. Subsection F lists public-nuisance conduct owners must prevent: running at large, excessive or habitual barking (documented by two or more separate households, or ten minutes or more of noise within a fifteen-minute period), failing to immediately pick up waste on streets, walks, adjacent private property, parks or school grounds, an unsanitary keeping area, tying the dog on a leash that reaches within three feet of a public walk, and property damage.

Every dog over five months old must carry an annual license tag from the City Clerk, obtainable at the same time property taxes are paid, with a late fee if the owner misses the April 1 deadline. Under Subsection J, the Police Department or an appointed officer apprehends any dog running at large and confines it at a designated facility for up to seven days; an unclaimed dog may be sold or humanely destroyed after that window, and a reclaiming owner must pay all apprehension and care costs, which rise after the first 24 hours. Dogs are separately barred from City school grounds under Subsection K, aside from service animals and police K-9s.