Many may not realize it, but we are surrounded by states with Dog Tethering Laws currently in place. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Vermont all have Dog Tethering Laws.

Essex County New York, just one county over from us has had a Dog Tethering Law in place since 2016. Their law is used as an educational tool more than as a way to punish dog owners. Essex County does not have an issue with 24/7 Dog Tethering whatsoever. Essex County also has an Animal Abuse Hotline as well, a 1-800 number where residents can make a call when or if they see animal abuse. These types of programs exist all over the country, but we here in Clinton County don’t have any programs in place to stop animal abuse, besides the current Ag & Market state law.

There are about a million possible ways to draft a Dog Tethering Law. Scroll down to see how many counties and areas in New York State currently have a Dog Tethering Law in place. If you are a town considering drafting your own law, consider searching by county laws in New York State. We also have laws listed on our website under the town/village law page.

Chaining/tethering is PROHIBITED in the following communities. You cannot chain a dog in these areas:

Athens, Alabama                                Carthage, Missouri

Arab, Alabama                                    Columbia, Missouri

Fairhope, Alabama                             Raytown, Missouri

Huntsville, Alabama                            Springfield, Missouri

Glendale, Arizona                               Bellevue, Nebraska

Pima County, Arizona                         Omaha Nebraska

Tucson, Arizona                                  Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Fayetteville, Arkansas                         Los Ranchos, New Mexico

Little Rock, Arkansas                           Santa Fe, New Mexico

Maumelle, Arkansas                           Santa Fe County, New Mexico

North Little Rock, Arkansas                Asheville, North Carolina

Stuttgart, Arkansas                             Cary, North Carolina

Springdale, Arkansas                          Chapel Hill, North Carolina

West Memphis, Arkansas                   Clayton, North Carolina

San Jose, California                             Cumberland County, North Carolina

Alachua County, Florida                     Davidson, North Carolina

Collier County, Florida                        Durham County, North Carolina

Fernandina Beach, Florida                  Enfield, North Carolina

Hallandale Beach, Florida                   Forsyth County, North Carolina

Hernando County, Florida                  Garysburg, North Carolina

Hillsborough County, Florida              Guilford County, North Carolina

Lake County, Florida                           Halifax County, North Carolina

Lee County, Florida                             New Hanover County, North Carolina

Leon County, Florida                           Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina

Manatee County, Florida                    Scotland Neck, North Carolina

Marion County, Florida                       Weldon, North Carolina

Martin County, Florida                       Woodland, North Carolina

Miami, Florida                                     Brunswick, Ohio

Miami-Dade, Florida                           Altus, Oklahoma

Mount Dora, Florida                           Lawton, Oklahoma

Nassau County, Florida                       Norman, Oklahoma

Okaloosa County, Florida                   Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Palm Beach County, Florida                Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania

Pasco County, Florida                         Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pembroke Park, Florida                      Reading, Pennsylvania

Pinellas County, Florida                      Greer, South Carolina

Ponce Inlet, Florida                             Johnson City, Tennessee

Sarasota, Florida                                 Knoxville, Tennessee

Seminole, Florida                                Arlington, Texas

St. Lucie, Florida                                 Austin, Texas

Athens-Clarke County, Georgia          Bastrop, Texas

Augusta, Georgia                                Big Spring, Texas

Bainbridge, Georgia                            Corsican, Texas

Butler, Georgia                                   Dallas, Texas

Chatham County, Georgia                  Denton, Texas

Clayton County, Georgia                     Electra, Texas

Dekalb County, Georgia                      Fort Worth, Texas

Douglas County, Georgia                    Galveston, Texas

Forsyth County, Georgia                     Georgetown, Texas

Fulton County, Georgia                      Greenville, Texas

Gwinnett County, Georgia                  Irving, Texas

Houston County, Georgia                   Live Oak, Texas

Macon, Georgia                                  Mesquite, Texas

Macon-Bibb County, Georgia             Mineola, Texas

Statham, Georgia                                Monahans, Texas

Terrell County, Georgia                      Mount Pleasant, Texas

Marion, Indiana                                  Nassau Bay, Texas

Frankfort, Kentucky                            Texas City, Texas

Denham Springs, Louisiana                Wichita Falls, Texas 

Gramercy, Louisiana                           Cape Charles, Virginia

New Orleans, Louisiana                      Hampton, Virginia

Shreveport, Louisiana                         Newport News, Virginia

Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana             Norfolk, Virginia

Queen Anne’s County, Maryland       Portsmouth, Virginia

Talbot County, Maryland                    Suffolk, Virginia

Hazel Park, Michigan                          Huntington, West Virginia

Hastings, Minnesota                           Kanawha County, West Virginia

The following communities PERMIT animals to be chained/tethered for a LIMITED PERIOD of time when only certain conditions have been met:

Hudson, New York                                         Village of Rouses Point, NY

Suffolk County, New York                              Ausable, New York

Town of Champlain, New York                      Village of Champlain, New York

Town of Plattsburgh, New York                    Cnandaigua, New York

Birmingham, Alabama                        Dutchess County, New York

Decatur, Alabama                               Essex County, New York

Phoenix, Arizona                                 Hempstead, New York

Fort Smith, Arkansas                           New York City, New York

Jonesboro, Arkansas                           Niagara Falls, New York

Lowell, Arkansas                                 North Hempstead, New York

Texarkana, Arkansas                           Ossining, New York

Kern County, California                      Port Chester, New York

Los Angeles, California                        Ulster County, New York

San Bernardino, California                  Westchester County, New York

Sonoma County, California                 Bladen County, North Carolina

Denver, Colorado                                Buncombe County, North Carolina

Stamford, Connecticut                       Burke County, North Carolina

Smyrna, Delaware                              Burlington, North Carolina

Washington, DC                                  Catawba County, North Carolina

Alachua County, Florida                     Cornelius, North Carolina

Bonita Springs, Florida                        Dare County, North Carolina

Coconut Springs, Florida                     Greene County, North Carolina

Dania Beach, Florida                           Laurinburg, North Carolina

Escambia County, Florida                   Orange County, North Carolina

Fort Lauderdale, Florida                     Raleigh, North Carolina

Hollywood, Florida                             Randolph County, North Carolina

Jacksonville, Florida                            Richmond County, North Carolina

Oakland Park, Florida                         Scotland County, North Carolina

Orange County, Florida                      Spindale, North Carolina

Panama City, Florida                           Spencer, North Carolina

Seminole County, Florida                   Surry County, North Carolina

Wilton Manors, Florida                       Akron, Ohio

Baldwin County, Georgia                    Anderson Township, Ohio

Blakely, Georgia                                  Buckeye Lake, Ohio

LaGrange, Georgia                              Cincinatti, Ohio

Lowndes County, Georgia                  Cleveland, Ohio

Cook County, Illinois                           Columbus, Ohio

Bloomington, Indiana                         Dayton, Ohio

Indianapolis, IN                                   Marion County, Indiana                      

Dennison, Ohio                                   Floyd County, Indiana                         

Lakewood, Ohio

Fort Wayne, Indiana                           Lorain, Ohio

Gary, Indiana                                      Lyndhurst, Ohio

South Bend, Indiana                           Middletown, Ohio

Waterloo, Iowa                                   North Royalton, Ohio

Arkansas City, Kansas                         Richmond Heights, Ohio

Dodge City, Kansas                             Youngstown, Ohio

El Dorado, Kansas                               Bartlesville, Oklahoma                                    

Lawrence, Kansas                               Chickasha, Oklahoma

Leavenworth, Kansas                          Multnomah County, Oregon

Overland Park, Kansas                        Abington, Pennsylvania

Topeka, Kansas                                   Beaufort, South Carolina

Wellington, Kansas                             Cherokee County, South Carolina

Wichita, Kansas                                  Florence County, South Carolina

Bowling Green, Kentucky                   Greenville, South Carolina

Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky            Spartanburg, South Carolina

Radcliff, Kentucky                                           York County, South Carolina

Baker, Louisiana                                              Bristol, Tennessee

Carroll County, Maryland                               Chattanooga, Tennessee

Frederick County, Maryland                           Montgomery County, Tennessee

Montgomery County, Maryland                     Nashville, Tennessee

Amherst, Massachusetts                                Oak Ridge, Tennessee

East Longmeadow, Massachusetts                Shelbyville, Tennessee

Easthampton, Massachusetts                        Abilene, Texas

Greenfield, Massachusetts                             Allen, Texas

Milton, Massachusetts                                   Corpus Christi, Texas

Provincetown, Massachusetts                        Galveston County, Texas

Springfield, Massachusetts                             Grand Prairie, Texas

Battle Creek, Michigan                                   Harris County, Texas

Dearborn, Michigan                                        Nocona, Texas

Detroit, Michigan                                            Parker County, Texas

Southgate, Michigan                                       Richland Hills, Texas

Trenton, Michigan                                          San Angelo, Texas

Saint Paul, Minnesota                                     Seguin, Texas

Creve Coeur, Missouri                                    Weatherford, Texas    

O’Fallon, Missouri                                           Salt Lake County, Utah

St. Louis, Missouri                                           Alexandria, Virginia

North Las Vegas, Nevada                                Arlington County, Virginia

Berkeley, New Jersey                                      Charlottesville, Virginia

Camden, New Jersey                                      Cheseapeake, Virginia

Cape May, New Jersey                                    Culpeper County, Virginia

East Brunswick Township, New Jersey           Danville, Virginia

Egg Harbor City, New Jersey                           Fairfax City, Virginia

Lacey Township, New Jersey                          Fairfax County, Virginia

Lower Township, New Jersey                         Fauquier, Virginia

Monroe, Township, New Jersey                     Lynchburg, Virginia

Northfield, New Jersey                                   Northampton County, Virginia

Ocean City, New Jersey                                  Richmond, Virginia

Plainfield, New Jersey                                     Roanoke, Virginia

Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey                  Smithfield, Virginia

Ringwood, New Jersey                                   Staunton, Virginia

Sea Isle City, New Jersey                                 Vinton, Virginia

Toms River Township, New Jersey                 Virginia Beach, Virginia

Tuckerton, New Jersey                                   Arlington, Washington           

Upper Township, New Jersey                         Charleston, West Virginia

Wildwood, New Jersey                                   Morgantown, West Virginia

Wildwood Crest, New Jersey                          Moundsville, West Virginia

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey               Linn, Wisconsin

Albuquerque, New Mexico                             Racine, Wisconsin

Dona ana County New Mexico

Silver City, New Mexico

Taos, New Mexico

The following state dog laws address chaining/tethering and have limitations: 

California

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Nevada

New Jersey

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont

Virginia

Washington D.C.

West Virginia