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

Sec. 14-1 defines 'animal at large' as any animal not under restraint and off its owner's property, and defines 'animal under restraint' to mean an animal controlled by a leash or lead; at heel beside a competent person off the owner's property; on the owner's property in the presence of and obedient to a competent person; confined in a vehicle being driven or parked on the streets; or inside a building or fenced area within the owner's property. Sec. 14-7 makes it unlawful for any owner to fail to keep their animal from running at large or under restraint, and separately to fail to confine an animal that has, or is reasonably suspected of having, rabies.

Sec. 14-6(a) authorizes the animal control department to impound any dog running at large or free from restraint without a current vaccination tag, and any domestic animal running at large outside its owner's property. Once impounded, Sec. 14-6(b) gives an owner four days to redeem the animal before it becomes available for adoption, and Sec. 14-6(c) requires payment of applicable fees and proof of current rabies vaccination to reclaim it. Sec. 14-10 additionally limits outdoor tethering: a dog not on a leash or in a fenced area may only be restrained by a trolley system with a properly fitted collar, never a choke, pinch, or prong collar, and a tether at least ten feet long or five times the dog's body length, whichever is greater. Violations of chapter 14 are punished under Sec. 14-12's reference to the Code's general penalty, section 1-19.