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

056(B), codified in the Park Ordinance chapter but written to cover 'any public street, sidewalk, park or other public place,' bars letting a dog off-leash in those spaces unless the dog is confined in a vehicle. The leash must be secure, no longer than six feet, and held continuously by a person capable of controlling the dog. The rule does not apply to a permit holder conducting obedience classes, trials or dog shows in a public place; to dogs under control of a responsible person inside a designated dog park; or to service dogs kept under control at all times.

056(C) separately requires dog owners, or whoever is responsible for the dog, to clean up and sanitarily dispose of feces left on a public street, sidewalk, park, other public place, or private property they do not own. Within designated dog parks, additional rules apply: no more than three dogs per responsible person at once, hours limited to dawn through dusk (subject to posted maintenance closures), mandatory removal of any dog that bites or attacks or attempts to, a requirement that dogs over four months be healthy, vaccinated, licensed and tagged, a ban on dogs under four months (per California Health and Safety Code Section 121690) and on female dogs in heat, a ban on food in the dog park area, mandatory leash possession even while off-leash inside the park, and a requirement that an adult accompany minors under 16.