Taylor, MI Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 6-10 of Chapter 6, Article I sets Taylor's baseline restraint rule: it shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to allow the animal to be found running at large, or outside of any fenced-in or secured area except on leash and under physical control. The chapter's definitions section, 6-1, defines running at large as the status of any animal not on a leash or confined in some other manner, so a dog outside a fence without a leash in hand is automatically in violation regardless of how well-behaved it is.

A violation of Section 6-10 is a municipal civil infraction carrying the sanctions in Section 1-13 of the Taylor Code. Where an owner chooses to tether rather than hold a leash directly, Section 6-14 adds its own restraint standard: a dog cannot be continuously tethered more than three hours per day, and the tether itself cannot exceed ten feet unless made of coated steel cable, with a buckle-type collar or harness required rather than a choke or pinch collar. Tethering also cannot leave the dog without shade in the sun or shelter when the temperature drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, cannot bring the dog within five feet of a property line, and cannot involve more than one dog to a single tether. The animal control officer or department of public works director can order stricter tethering conditions case by case.