First walks in Anaheim.
In Anaheim, a dog out in public stays on a leash of six feet or less under a competent person’s charge - county rules the city has adopted, with exemptions detailed below - and off-leash play is reserved for the city’s three dog parks. The city’s own rules and how we suggest starting a new dog’s first week.
The rules, in short
From the Anaheim Municipal Code and the adopted Orange County ordinances.
- 1In public: a leash of six feet or less, someone competent in charge - unless the property owner gives written permission (fine print)
- 2Off-leash play: the city’s three dog parks
- 3County license from four months, with proof of rabies vaccination
- 4Scoop immediately, everywhere - it is the law
- 5License tag worn whenever the dog is out
- 6No dogs on school grounds, public beaches or county buildings - service dogs excepted
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
Anaheim adopts Orange County’s animal code as its own (AMC 8.24). The leash rule: on public property a dog must be "restrained by a substantial chain, or leash not exceeding six (6) feet in length, and is under the charge of a person competent to exercise care, custody, and control over such dog, unless the owner or operator of such public property grants written permission" for it to be off-leash (OCCO 4-1-45) - the city’s designated dog parks are that written exception. No service-dog exception appears in the leash section itself; guide, signal and service dogs (and their trainers) are excepted from the separate ban on dogs in public school property, public beaches and county buildings (4-1-46). City parks carry the same length: dogs are allowed "when led by a cord or chain, not more than six feet long" (park rules, 13.08).
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Anaheim’s streets.
- 1Leash, quiet streets, short and sniffy - calm hours, near home, ending before your dog is wound up. An off-leash area is not day-one material for a brand-new dog.
- 2Sniffing is the point - let your dog pause and sniff instead of focusing on distance. More on the sniff walk.
- 3Settle first, explore later - more on the first days: a routine for a newly adopted dog and a calm start to every walk.
The dog parks, for later
Once your dog has settled. The city’s three dog parks:
- 1La Palma Dog Park - 1151 N. Anaheim Blvd. - separate small and large areas behind a six-foot fence
- 2Olive Hills Dog Park - 700 S. Nohl Canyon Rd. - the city’s first, separate areas and agility equipment
- 3Maxwell Dog Park - 2660 W Broadway
All three are city-run. Hours vary - follow the posted signs at each park. The city pages checked for this guide list no separate dog-park rules. Beyond the dog parks, leashed dogs are welcome in city parks on the same six-foot cord or chain. La Palma and Maxwell pins mark the actual dog-run parcels, satellite-verified; Olive Hills sits on the mapped dog-park outline.
Pins mark the park or its listed access point, not the exact off-leash boundary.
Good to know
Worth knowing
Anaheim licenses dogs through Orange County: every dog four months or older needs an Orange County tag within 15 days, with proof of an approved rabies vaccination (OCCO 4-1-70). Dogs visiting the county for under 30 days are excepted; guard dogs are not. The tag stays on whenever the dog is out - at home, in a vehicle or cage, at a show, or in a kennel are the written exceptions (4-1-71). And the scoop law is simple: whoever has the dog "shall immediately remove any feces deposited by such dog" (4-1-50).
Sources
Sources: Anaheim Municipal Code Chapter 8.24 adopting the Codified Ordinances of the County of Orange, Title 4, Division 1 (§4-1-45 restraint; §4-1-46 schools, beaches and buildings; §4-1-50 curbing; §§4-1-70 to 4-1-72 licensing). Fees: OC Animal Care, fees by city. Dog parks: city facility pages and opening news on anaheim.net. Pins: geocoded from official addresses. All verified November 3, 2026.
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