Spalding County, GA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 12-1005 of Spalding County's Animal Control Ordinance makes it unlawful for any owner or possessor of an animal, including dogs, to fail to keep it under restraint or to let it roam at large. The section defines control precisely: an animal is under control when confined in a parked or moving vehicle, secured on a leash of six feet or less held by a competent person, obeying the voice command of a competent person present with it, or confined in an enclosure with the property owner's permission.

On the owner's own property, acceptable restraint for dogs not classified as dangerous or vicious includes a secure fenced enclosure, an invisible containment system with a posted warning sign, or a cable line or trolley system meeting detailed length, tether-material, and swivel specifications, while unattended tethering to a stationary object with rope, wire, or chain is banned outright except temporarily during special events. On county parks, nature trails, and other county property, section 12-1005(f) requires any animal to be leashed at six feet or less unless signage says otherwise, and section 12-1005(g)-(h) bars animals within 50 feet of concession or seating areas and within 20 feet of athletic field boundaries around sporting events, with a service-animal exception.

Owners must immediately remove and sanitarily dispose of their dog's excrement from any public right-of-way, county or municipal park, or private property that is not their own, carrying pickup equipment while out with the animal. Violations fall under section 12-1017, punishable under Georgia law penalties referenced in Code section 1-1007, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.