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

Sacramento County Code section 8.08.056 prohibits a dog from straying off property owned or legally possessed by the owner or the person entitled to control the dog unless the dog is restrained by a leash or lead not exceeding eight feet in length. The Animal Care and Regulation FAQ summarizes this as: dogs must be kept on a leash when off the owner's private property, with some exceptions. The code lists four exceptions: (1) when the dog is assisting a peace officer in law-enforcement duties or participating in a search-and-rescue effort at the specific request of law enforcement; (2) when the dog is enrolled in and actually participating in a dog training or obedience course, exhibition, or competition conducted by an organization with the grounds owner/operator's permission; (3) when the dog is assisting the owner or person in charge of livestock in herding or controlling that livestock; and (4) when the dog is accompanying and under the direction of a person engaged in hunting on land within a restricted shooting district. A dog off-property and not leashed is an unrestrained dog 'at large.' Enforcement is by Sacramento County Animal Care and Regulation officers, who in practice first educate owners and offer a spare leash before citing.