First walks in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles keeps dogs on a leash of six feet or less away from home, and off-leash only in the city’s dog parks. The city’s own rules, the official dog park list, and how we suggest starting a new dog’s first week.
The rules, in short
From the LA Municipal Code, LA Animal Services, and the parks department’s own page.
- 1Leash, six feet at most, away from home
- 2Off-leash only in the city’s dog parks
- 3License, rabies shot and tags, over four months
- 4Spay or neuter is the law in LA
- 5Pick up after your dog
- 6Leashed in the parking area too
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
The posted dog-park rules add: no dogs under four months, no females in any stage of heat, no unattended dogs, and every dog vaccinated, licensed, collared and tagged. A spayed or neutered dog’s license is $20 a year through LA Animal Services; licensing an intact dog runs through a separate intact-dog permit.
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Los Angeles’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 Recreation and Parks department lists 13 dog parks:
- 1Eagle Rock Dog Park - 1100 Eagle Vista Drive
- 2Glen Alla Dog Park - 4601 Alla Rd, Marina Del Rey
- 3Griffith Park Dog Park - north end of the soccer field, N Zoo Dr
- 4Hermon Park in the Arroyo Seco - 5566 Via Marisol
- 5Laurel Canyon Dog Park - 8260 Mulholland Dr
- 6Ross Snyder Dog Park - 1501 E 41st St
- 7Runyon Canyon Dog Park - 2000 N Fuller Ave
- 8Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash - 17550 Victory Blvd, Encino
- 9Silverlake Dog Park - 1863 Silver Lake Blvd
- 10Veterans’ Barrington Park - 333 S Barrington Ave
- 11Westminster Dog Park - 1234 Pacific Ave, Venice
- 12Westwood Dog Park - 1350 Sepulveda Blvd
- 13Whitnall Off-Leash Dog Park - 5801 1/2 Whitnall Hwy, North Hollywood
The city posts no hours for its dog parks - follow the posted sign on site. One address quirk: Glen Alla’s official address says Marina Del Rey, but the park sits in LA’s Del Rey neighborhood.
Pins mark the park or its listed access point, not the exact off-leash boundary.
Good to know
Worth knowing
The leash rule is LAMC 53.06.2: a substantial chain or leash not exceeding six feet, under a competent person’s control, any time the dog is off your own premises. A second section, 53.06, bans dogs at large on any public street, sidewalk, park or the LA River bed. The scoop law, 53.49, applies on public and private property alike. And LA is stricter than most cities: spay or neuter is required by law (53.15.2), not just a park rule.
Sources
Sources: Los Angeles Municipal Code 53.06.2 (leash), 53.06 (at large), 53.49 (scoop): codelibrary.amlegal.com LAMC 53.06.2. LA Animal Services, official Dog License Application (fees and requirements): laanimalservices.com license application (PDF). LA Recreation and Parks, “Dog Parks” (list and posted rules): laparks.org/dogparks. All verified November 2, 2026.
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