West Bloomfield, MI Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)
Key Facts
- Off-property rule
- Suitable leash required, Sec. 7-21(a)
- On-property rule
- Confined or under reasonable control, Sec. 7-20
- Enforcing agency
- West Bloomfield Police Department
- First-offense fine
- $150.00 civil infraction
- Repeat-offense fine
- $300.00 within two years
- Dog park exception
- No leash required, Chapter 16 dog park
Summary
In West Bloomfield Township, Code Sec. 7-20 requires every dog owner to keep the dog confined on the owner's own premises or under reasonable control at all times. Off that property, Sec. 7-21(a) requires a suitable leash whenever the dog is on land the owner or handler does not own or occupy, unless the dog is lawfully inside a Chapter 16 dog park.
An owner of a dog shall keep such dog confined upon the premises of an owner or under reasonable control at all times. ... ... Sec. 7-21. - Dogs in public places. (a)Except when lawfully in a dog park as defined and provided for in chapter 16, an owner, person in possession or person that is or should be in control of a dog, shall keep and maintain such dog restrained by a suitable leash when on property not owned or occupied by that person.(b)It shall be unlawful for an owner of a dog to fail to remove any excrement of the dog from land other than of its owner.
Full Breakdown
The Township Board's Chapter 7, Article II ordinance draws a line at the property boundary. On the owner's own premises, Sec. 7-20 permits either confinement or 'reasonable control,' a term Sec. 7-16 defines as holding the dog 'securely on a leash of adequate strength and length by a responsible person of suitable age and strength' or keeping it in an enclosed vehicle, container, or a Chapter 16 dog park. Once the dog leaves that property, Sec. 7-21(a) drops the confinement option entirely: any owner, possessor, or person who should be controlling the dog must keep it restrained by a suitable leash on any property they do not own or occupy, except inside a designated dog park.
Sec. 7-21(b) separately makes it unlawful for an owner to fail to remove the dog's excrement from land other than its own. These leash and confinement duties sit alongside Sec. 7-17's ban on habitually barking dogs, Sec. 7-18's yard-cleanliness duty, and Sec. 7-19's requirement that any dog six months or older carry a current county license and rabies vaccination. The West Bloomfield Police Department, which functions as animal control for the township, enforces this article.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 7-23 makes a leash-law or confinement violation a municipal civil infraction under Sec. 1-10(b)-(d): a $150.00 fine for a first offense and $300.00 for a repeat offense within two years, plus costs and a $10.00 justice-system assessment. Only if the dog bites or attacks a person does the same article become a criminal misdemeanor instead, and a court may also order restitution to an injured victim or dog owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my dog need a leash in West Bloomfield Township?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in West Bloomfield
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Dog Leash Laws in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Oakland County handle dog leash laws.