Worcester County, MD Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

The Animal Control Subtitle works in two layers. The first layer applies in unincorporated Worcester County generally: § PS 2-101(i) makes it unlawful for any person to permit a dog, cat or other animal owned or harbored by him to run at large. Section PS 2-101(b) defines at large as off the property of its owner and not under the control of a responsible person. The second layer is the leash mandate. In a designated leash area, § PS 2-101(s) makes it unlawful for any person, or guest of such person, to permit a dog owned or harbored by him to walk, crawl, or run anywhere other than the owner's property unless the dog is attached to a leash.

Section PS 2-101(t) lists the leash areas. The Ocean Pines Area is all property in the Third Tax District of Worcester County, Maryland bound on the northwest by Beauchamp Road, the north and northeast by the St. Martin's River, on the southeast by the southeasterly line of the Ocean Pines Subdivision and on the southwest by MD Route 589. The second leash area is any property owned by the County Commissioners where they have posted a sign indicating a leash area and have designated it one by resolution. Leash areas can also be added by law or resolution. The legislative findings in § PS 2-101(a) state that the Commissioners do not intend a leash law to apply uniformly throughout the County, and that a leash requirement does not apply to an animal on its owner's property or on property in commercial agricultural use.

The definition of LEASH is broad: any lead, leash, cord, remote controlled electronic collar, or other restraint preventing an animal from moving more than fifteen feet from the person holding the device or restraint. In a leash area, § PS 2-101(u) also requires the person in control of a dog to remove all excrement deposited on property other than the owner's and dispose of it in a legal and proper way. Section PS 2-101(d) exempts hunting dogs, herding dogs and raptors while hunting or training from the leash, at-large and cleanup subsections, and exempts bona fide livestock.

A dog running at large can be apprehended by the Animal Control Warden or another designated officer and impounded. Under § PS 2-101(i), it is held at the animal pound not less than three business days unless redeemed sooner, and release requires a redemption fee and fine set by resolution of the County Commissioners, subject to the Warden's consent under § PS 2-101(h).