Skagit County, WA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

SCC 9.41.150(1) is Skagit County's operative leash mandate: within any County park, all dogs or other pets must be physically controlled by a leash no greater than eight feet in length, with the only exception being areas the Parks and Recreation Department has specifically designated and posted as off leash pet areas. The section goes further than most municipal leash laws by making the owner strictly liable for the conduct of the animal while in a County park (SCC 9.41.150(2)), meaning no showing of negligence is needed to hold an owner responsible if their leashed or off-leash pet causes harm.

Owners must also pick up and remove any feces their animal deposits in a County park (SCC 9.41.150(3)), and dogs and other pets are barred from any designated swimming beach or play area unless specifically posted otherwise, an exception that does not apply to guide animals (SCC 9.41.150(4)). Outside County parks, in the rest of unincorporated Skagit County, Title 7 does not impose a general at-large or leash requirement; it instead regulates dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs specifically, requiring an owner of a dog found potentially dangerous or dangerous to keep it on a leash no longer than six feet whenever off the owner's property, alongside muzzling, confinement and registration requirements (SCC 7.06.025).