Waukesha County, WI Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Waukesha County operates a network of fully fenced off-leash Dog Exercise Areas (DEAs) and Dog Swim Areas as part of its park system - Minooka Park (Waukesha) is the flagship DEA and requires a county park sticker or daily entrance fee. Outside the designated DEAs and Dog Swim Areas, dogs in county parks must be on a non-retractable leash no longer than 6 feet held by a competent handler; electronic leashes or e-collars are explicitly not considered a leash. Handlers may not let dogs interfere with other people's enjoyment of the park, and a handler whose dog creates a public nuisance may be asked to leave or cited. The City of Waukesha regulates dogs under Code of Ordinances Chapter 6 (Animals): dogs and cats may not be at large, must be leashed or otherwise under direct control of the owner, and police may apprehend any animal running at large and impound it. The City further requires owners to immediately pick up pet waste on any public or private property other than their own, with enforcement under City ordinances 33.01(5)(a) and 33.02(6). The Town of Waukesha makes it unlawful for any person to own or harbor a dog that is at large within the town. Other municipalities follow similar at-large frameworks; Menomonee Falls, for example, allows a dog off-leash only when within 50 feet of a competent handler and not annoying pedestrians or trespassing. Statewide rules in Wis. Stat. ch. 174 require every dog 5 months and older to be licensed annually with proof of current rabies vaccination. Wis. Stat. sec. 174.042 authorizes municipal impoundment of dogs running at large and untagged dogs. Wis. Stat. sec. 174.02 imposes strict liability on owners for any injury caused by their dog, with double damages where the owner had prior notice of biting tendencies, and forfeitures from $50 to $5,000 depending on the circumstances. HAWS (Humane Animal Welfare Society) at 701 Northview Road, Waukesha, serves as the contracted impound and reclamation facility for nearly every Waukesha County municipality.