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

Pleasanton's leash rules are set in its own Municipal Code, not by Alameda County. Section 7.16.010 states it is unlawful for any owner to permit a dog, licensed or unlicensed, to be 'at large.' The definition in Section 7.04.020 spells out the leash standard: a dog is 'at large' if it is on public property or another person's private property and is not securely restrained by a substantial leash 'not to exceed six feet if the leash is nonretractable or 30 feet in length if the leash is retractable,' or is restrained but not physically controlled by the owner. A narrow exception lets a dog work without a leash to herd, guard, or gather domestic animals or fowl with the property owner's consent, so long as it is controlled and harms no one. The one official off-leash exception is the designated dog exercise area at Muirwood Community Park, where dogs may be off-leash under voice control, with no more than three dogs per handler and a leash carried (Section 13.08.080). Outside that fenced area and in all other city parks, dogs must be leashed. Enforcement runs through Pleasanton Police Animal Services via the East County Animal Shelter in Dublin.