Summit County, OH Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Summit County Code of Ordinances Sec. 22(c) gives owners, keepers, and harborers two compliance options: physically confine or restrain the dog on the owner's premises with a leash, tether, adequate fence, supervision, or secure enclosure that prevents escape, or keep the dog under the reasonable control of a person. The only exemption is a dog lawfully engaged in hunting while accompanied by its owner, keeper, harborer, or handler. 22(b) separately requires that a female dog in heat never leave the owner's premises unless it is properly restrained by a leash.

These duties sit inside Chapter 505, Animal Control, and Sec. 97 makes the General Offenses Code, including Chapter 505, apply in both the incorporated and unincorporated area of the County, yielding to a conflicting municipal ordinance only where one exists. A dog that repeatedly violates the restraint duty is reclassified: a third violation involving the same dog triggers mandatory registration of that dog as a dangerous dog under Sec. 22(i), which carries a $50 annual fee paid to the County Fiscal Officer, proof of rabies vaccination, spay or neuter status or a veterinary exemption, and permanent microchip identification.

Dangerous dogs must then be confined in a locked, topped pen or kept on a chain-link leash or tether no longer than six feet whenever off the owner's premises, per Sec. 22(d). Enforcement runs through the County Animal Warden and Summit Public Health, and complaints are handled by the municipal court with territorial jurisdiction over the dog owner's residence, per Sec. 23.