Youngstown, OH Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Youngstown Codified Ordinances § 505.01 makes it unlawful for an owner, keeper or harborer to let a dog leave the owner's premises unless the dog is effectively restrained by a chain or leash not exceeding six feet in length. While on the property, the dog must be confined or firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other device so it cannot stray onto a neighbor's land. Section 505.011 layers on further restraint duties: a female dog in heat must be leashed any time she leaves the property, and every owner must otherwise keep the dog physically confined by leash, tether, fence or secure enclosure, or under a person's reasonable control.

That section separately regulates tethering, defining body harness, collar and tether, and setting numeric limits for any dog left tethered without its owner nearby: the tether cannot exceed sixty continuous minutes, the dog must be six months or older and, if female, sterilized or not in heat, the tether cannot exceed ten percent of the dog's body weight, and it must measure at least three times the dog's length from nose to tail. Choke and pinch collars are banned for tethering, and only one dog may be attached to a single tether.

A dog found running at large under § 505.01 can be impounded by a police officer or animal warden under § 505.02; an unregistered dog held at the pound may be sold or destroyed if unclaimed within three days, or within fourteen days of certified-mail notice if the owner is known. First violations of the leash or tethering rules are minor misdemeanors; repeat violations escalate to a fourth-degree misdemeanor.