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

Riverside County Ordinance No. 630 (as amended through 630.19), enforced by the Department of Animal Services, governs dogs in the unincorporated areas. Section 14 states it is unlawful for the owner or person in charge of any dog, licensed or not, to permit the dog to run at large. The ordinance's Section 1 definition of "At Large" requires a dog off its owner's premises to be under physical restraint by a leash of a size and material appropriate to the size and temperament of the dog, held by a person capable of restraining it, or otherwise physically restrained by some device. The definition expressly states this does not include voice control, eye control, or signal control. On the owner's own property, a dog must be maintained by physical restraint, fence, kennel, or voice command so it cannot leave the property. The ordinance does not set a maximum leash length; it requires a leash appropriate to the dog and held by a capable person. A narrow exception exists for dogs actively engaged in hunting or training within areas designated for firearm use by Ordinance 514, where the dog is controlled by the hunter; such dogs must still be rabies-vaccinated and licensed, and must be leashed when not hunting. Any person may humanely take up a dog running at large and deliver it to the Animal Services Director.