Sioux Falls, SD Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Sioux Falls Code § 90.002 (Running at Large Prohibited): 'Except on property designated by the city as an animal off-leash area, it shall be unlawful for any person to have any animal which is owned, kept, harbored, or allowed to be habitually in or upon the premises occupied by him or her or under his or her control to be at large and to go in or upon the private premises of others or upon any public property.' The reckless-owner subsection provides that any person convicted of running at large more than two times in a 12-month period is a 'reckless owner,' and any fine for a reckless owner must, at a minimum, be double the usual fine. Community cats are statutorily excluded from impoundment for being solely at large. Off-leash areas designated by the city of Sioux Falls Parks & Recreation include Lien Park (NE), Spencer Park (S), Family Park, Kirby Dog Park, and Hayward Park; entry to these fenced facilities is the only legal place to allow a dog to run unleashed inside city limits. The city's Animal Control unit (administered through the Sioux Falls Police Department in partnership with the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society) responds to leash-law calls and impounds at-large animals to the Humane Society's shelter. Licensing is required under Chapter 90 for all dogs 6 months and older, with registration due within 30 days of acquisition; license issuance requires proof of current rabies vaccination. South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 40-34 supplies the statewide backstop — SDCL § 40-34-13 makes ownership of a vicious dog a public nuisance, and SDCL § 40-34-14 defines vicious dog behavior in breed-neutral terms (an at-large dog that bites or attacks on public ways may trigger statewide vicious-dog provisions as well as the city's restricted-animal designation under § 90.003).