Terrebonne Parish, LA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Terrebonne Parish Code § 5-9 requires every owner or attendant to keep a domestic animal under restraint at all times, both on the owner's property, to stop it threatening, attacking or biting a person or another animal, and off the property, where the animal must be on a leash, inside a pet carrier or cage, or riding in a vehicle. Service animals must be harnessed, leashed or tethered unless that interferes with the animal's work, in which case the handler must keep control through voice or signal commands.

Female dogs and cats in heat must be confined behind a solid barrier such as a wooden fence and are barred from relying on a tether as their only restraint. Owners who use invisible fencing must post warning signs on every side of the yard, and the system cannot be used for animals in heat, declared dangerous dogs, or animals with a prior bite history. Anyone bringing an animal into a parish park or playground must keep it on a leash and hold it firmly, except in designated dog parks.

Community cats are exempt from the section entirely. Fines escalate with each repeat offense within a year: $40 for a spayed or neutered animal and $50 for an intact animal on a first offense, doubling to $80/$100 on a second offense, and $120/$150 on a third. A fourth offense within a year sends the owner to trial, where a judge can impose a fine between $160 and $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both. The Terrebonne Parish Division of Animal Control seizes any unrestrained animal found off its owner's property under § 5-10 and holds it at the animal shelter.