Waterbury, CT Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

28, Restraint and Confinement Generally, states that it is unlawful for a dog's owner or keeper to fail to keep the dog under restraint or to permit it to run at large on the streets and public ways of Waterbury, Connecticut, or on property other than that of the owner or keeper. 21 defines UNDER RESTRAINT to mean the dog is secured by a leash and controlled by a person mentally and physically able to restrain it and command its obedience, or is securely enclosed, for example behind an appropriate fence, within the real property limits of the owner's premises; AT LARGE means off the owner's premises and not on a leash or otherwise under a capable person's immediate control.

28(B) carves out one exception: an owner, keeper, or custodian whose dog is registered for obedience training may train it off-leash on private property, but only with that property owner's permission. 28(C) then adds a general backstop duty: outside the specific circumstances the section describes, no owner, keeper, or custodian may fail to exercise proper care and control of the dog. 31(A)(2) authorizes an Animal Control Officer or police officer to impound any dog at large, at the owner's expense, in addition to any citation issued.