Tuscaloosa, AL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

The City of Tuscaloosa enforces its own leash law under Chapter 4 (Animals and Fowl) of the Code of Ordinances rather than relying on the county. The running-at-large provision makes it unlawful for the owner of any dog to allow or permit the dog to be at large, unconfined, or able to travel on public property or the property of another in the city unless the dog is restrained by a leash, rope, or chain of not more than ten (10) feet in length and of sufficient strength to control the actions of the dog. The ordinance further states that it is no defense in any prosecution that the dog was at large without the knowledge, consent, or permission of the person charged. A dog kept securely behind a fence on the owner's own property does not need to be leashed. Alabama's statewide baseline, Ala. Code Section 3-1-5, separately requires owners to confine dogs to the limits of their own premises, but that state section yields to the municipal regulation inside cities that require dog licensing. Within Tuscaloosa city limits, the city's ten-foot leash standard is the operative rule, and animal control responds to at-large complaints.