New Brunswick, NJ Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 6.04.290 bars any person owning, keeping or harboring a dog from suffering or permitting it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public park, public building or other public place within the city. Section 6.04.300 sets the standard for a dog on those streets and places: it must be accompanied by a person over the age of twelve and be securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet long. Both duties fall on the person owning, keeping or harboring the dog.

A dog for which a license is required must wear a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened under Section 6.04.250, and under Section 6.04.260 no one except an officer in the performance of duty can remove a tag without the owner's consent. The dog warden can impound an unlicensed dog running at large, a dog off its owner's premises that the warden or an agent has reason to believe is a stray, a dog off the premises without a current registration tag, and a female dog in season that is a stray or at large (Section 6.04.200). An officer in immediate pursuit can go onto premises to seize such a dog, except the owner's premises when the owner is present and forbids it (Section 6.04.210). Section 6.04.220 requires written notice that the dog is liable to be disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days, and Section 6.04.060 lists a $50.00 redemption fee and a quarantine fee of $25.00 per day. Section 6.04.360 also bars a dog from defecating on sidewalks, parks, school grounds and other public property, or on private property without the owner's permission, and Section 6.04.370 requires the person who curbs a dog to remove the feces immediately by a sanitary method approved by the department of health.