Lake County, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Lake County Animal Care & Control is the agency that enforces the County's animal regulations in the unincorporated areas. The County's animal provisions are codified in the Lake County Code, Chapter 4 (Animals, Fish and Fowl), which is published on the County's Municode portal. The County's published guidance and licensing program treat owned dogs as the owner's responsibility and authorize impoundment of stray and at-large animals; Animal Care & Control responds to running-at-large and dog-bite complaints and operates a shelter at 4949 Helbush Drive in Lakeport. The exact leash length and the precise wording of the restraint section appear in Chapter 4 of the County Code and should be confirmed there, because this is a rural, agricultural county where working stock dogs and hunting dogs are common (the County even offers a reduced license for actively working cattle and hunting dogs). Statewide, California Food and Agricultural Code sections 31601-31683 give counties a dangerous-dog and vicious-dog program that applies where a local rule does not, and a dog that habitually runs at large or attacks people or livestock can be declared potentially dangerous or vicious under that scheme. Because Lakeport and Clearlake are incorporated cities, their own municipal codes - not the County Code - govern leashing inside city limits. Residents with an at-large or aggressive-dog problem in the unincorporated county should call Lake County Animal Care & Control at (707) 263-0278.