Rowan County, NC Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 5-36 of the Rowan County Code defines sufficient restraint broadly: a leash attached to a harness or collar, confinement indoors, a suitable cage, a fence or similar secure enclosure, or temporary confinement in a stopped or moving vehicle all count, but an electronic correction collar alone does not satisfy the rule once the animal leaves its owner's property. The section sets a hard leash-length ceiling for public spaces: six feet in constricted areas such as sidewalks and other public pathways where pedestrians and pets are close together, rising to a maximum of sixteen feet in larger open public spaces like fields.

Subsection (b) makes the underlying duty explicit and unqualified: it is unlawful for any person to keep an animal unless it is restrained, whether on or off the owner's or keeper's property, so restraint is required even in a fenced yard. Dogs kept on an outdoor tether must use a restraint system, such as an overhead pulley, retractable cable, or ground-anchored swivel cable, that gives the dog at least ten feet of travel and is attached with a buckle collar or body harness weighing no more than ten percent of the dog's body weight; being loose in the bed of an open truck never counts as restrained.

Hunting, sporting, and working dogs are exempt from these specific tether and leash-length requirements while engaged in that work, and the animal services director can grant a written exemption for other restraint methods after verifying public safety needs. Female dogs and cats in heat must be confined indoors or in an enclosure that keeps them away from other animals; chaining one to a fixed object outdoors does not count as confinement.