Sep 2, 2026

Scottsdale's Leash Law: Six Feet, and Where the Text Went

The answer is six feet, and here is every layer of leash law that reaches a Scottsdale dog.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Scottsdale, Arizona9 min readPet Care & Services

The answer is six feet. Getting to that answer honestly takes a paragraph of explanation.

Here is every layer that applies to a dog in Scottsdale, what each one says, and which parts we could verify.

The short version

Inside a designated Scottsdale dog park: off the lead, under voice control, once the gate is shut behind you.

Anywhere else in Scottsdale: a leash of not more than six feet.

In the McDowell Sonoran Preserve: a handheld leash of no more than six feet, at all times.

On county land outside any city: six feet, under Maricopa County Ordinance P-13.

In a public park or on public school property anywhere in Arizona: physically restrained by a leash, under state statute.

Same five rules with the source we actually read for each, because one of them is a city summary rather than the enacted text.

Where you are	Leash requirement	Source we read
Inside a Scottsdale dog park	Off the lead, voice control, gate shut	City dog parks page
Anywhere else in Scottsdale	Six feet maximum, restrain and control	City dog parks page, not the enacted code text
McDowell Sonoran Preserve	Handheld leash, six feet maximum, at all times	City Preserve page
Unincorporated Maricopa County land	Six feet maximum, of sufficient strength	Ordinance P-13, Section 7
Any Arizona public park or school property	Physically restrained by a leash, no length stated	ARS 11-1012(D)

Layer three first, because it is the one that governs your walk

Verbatim from the city's dog parks page, which is where Scottsdale states its leash rule and cites the section it comes from:

"Owners or custodians of a dog must restrain and control the dog at all times with a leash of not more than 6 feet in length when outside of the dog exercise area. (Scottsdale Revised Code, Ch. 20, Sec. 20-32)"

Two verbs, not one. Restrain and control. A dog on a compliant lead that is dragging you down the pavement is arguably failing the second half of that sentence.

And the six feet is a maximum on the lead in use, not on the lead you own. A retractable extended past six feet is not a six-foot lead.

The Preserve rule is stricter than the city rule

Verbatim from the Preserve page:

"Dogs in the Preserve are a privilege. If you bring your dog, it is your responsibility to follow the rules:" "Dogs must be on handheld leash, no longer than six (6) feet at all times."

"Handheld." Same length, extra requirement. On its face that rules out clipping the lead to a pack, a belt or a waist harness, which is exactly how a lot of people hike with a dog.

The Preserve also carries a temperature rule and a waste rule that the rest of the city does not, and our dogs in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve guide covers both.

The city repeats the lead requirement on its rattlesnake page as a snake-avoidance measure, verbatim: "Always keep your dog(s) on a leash". Which is a reminder that the rule exists for the dog as much as for anyone else. Our rattlesnake bites and dogs in Scottsdale guide covers that side of it.

Layer two: Maricopa County, and why it does not reach you

Maricopa County Ordinance P-13 has a leash provision that reads almost identically to Scottsdale's. The difference is the first six words.

Verbatim from Section 7, published at maricopa.gov: "Within the unincorporated areas of Maricopa County, no dog shall be permitted at large. Each dog shall be confined within an enclosure on the owner's property, or secured so that the dog is confined entirely to the owner's property, or on a leash not to exceed six feet in length and directly under the owner's control when not on the owner's property."

"Within the unincorporated areas." Scottsdale is incorporated, so that section is not your rule inside the city. Drive out onto county land between the municipalities and it is.

The ordinance is still worth reading for its definitions, which the city's page does not give you. Verbatim: "'At large' means on or off premises of owner and not under control of owner or other persons acting for the owner. Any dog in a suitable enclosure which actually confines the dog shall not be considered to be running at large."

And the flip side, verbatim: "A dog is not at large, If said dog is restrained by a leash, chain, rope, or cord of not more than six (6) feet in length and of sufficient strength to control action of said dog." The capitalisation is the ordinance's own.

"Of sufficient strength to control action of said dog" is the phrase doing the work. A lead a large dog can snap is not a lead.

P-13 also carries an obedience-training exemption with four conditions attached, and the pound and hold provisions that matter if your dog is picked up. Our Phoenix leash law guide quotes all of it, because the county layer is identical for both cities.

Layer one: Arizona, narrower than people assume

ARS 11-1012 is titled dogs not permitted at large and has four subsections. Read the scope on each.

(A), verbatim: "Neither a female dog during her breeding or mating season nor a vicious dog shall be permitted at large." Two categories, not dogs generally.

(B), verbatim: "In a rabies quarantine area, no dogs shall be permitted at large. Each dog shall be confined within an enclosure on the owner's property, secured so that the dog is confined entirely to the owner's property, or on a leash not to exceed six feet in length and directly under the owner's control when not on the owner's property."

That is the state's six-foot rule, and it applies in a rabies quarantine area. Not on an ordinary Tuesday.

(C), verbatim: "Any dog over the age of three months running at large shall wear a collar or harness to which is attached a valid license tag." A tag rule.

(D), verbatim: "No person in charge of any dog shall permit such dog in a public park or upon any public school property unless the dog is physically restrained by a leash, enclosed in a car, cage or similar enclosure or being exhibited or trained at a recognized kennel club event, public school or park sponsored event."

Public parks and public school property, and no length specified. That is the whole reach of the state's ordinary-day leash requirement.

So Arizona alone does not put a six-foot cap on a lead in a Scottsdale street. Scottsdale's own code does. Our Arizona dog laws guide covers the rest of the state framework, including licensing and rabies.

Where the lead comes off

Four fenced dog parks, and only once the gate is shut. Scottsdale's rules put voice control in place of the lead, verbatim: "Dogs should be under voice control."

Two things about those parks worth knowing before you rely on them.

No food inside the fence. Verbatim: "No food or alcoholic beverages allowed in the exercise area." So treat-based recall does not work in there, and voice control has to be real.

A four-dog cap. Verbatim: "No more than four dogs per visitor."

Our Scottsdale dog parks guide has all four parks, the hours and the weekly maintenance closures, and our dog park etiquette and how to leash train a dog guides cover the groundwork.

The tag is part of the leash question

Because two of the three layers tie the tag to being off your property.

ARS 11-1012(C) requires a tag on any dog over three months running at large. ARS 11-1008 requires the tag to be "attached to a collar or harness that shall be worn by the dog at all times, except as otherwise provided in this article."

And P-13 has the sentence that makes it concrete, verbatim: "Any animal subject to licensing under this ordinance found without a tag identifying its owner shall be deemed unowned."

"Deemed unowned." That is the status of your untagged dog in this county, whatever the lead situation. Scottsdale's dog park rules require dogs to be currently licensed and vaccinated to be inside the fence at all, so the licence is a condition of the one place the lead comes off.

It is a county licence, $22 for an altered dog. Our Maricopa County dog licence guide covers the fees and thresholds, and our pet health and vaccination tracker is where to keep the rabies date it renews against.

Practical readings

A retractable lead is fine if you never let it run past six feet. In practice, most people do, which is why a fixed lead is the simpler answer here.

Hands-free running is out in the Preserve, on the plain meaning of "handheld".

An unfenced front garden is not confinement. Both the county ordinance and the state statute talk about the dog being confined entirely to the owner's property.

And a dog off the lead in a city park is at large, because Scottsdale's rule applies outside the dog exercise areas and the state statute names public parks specifically.

If your recall is not good enough for the dog park's voice-control standard, that is a training question rather than a legal one, and the fenced park is the right place to work on it.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a dog leash be in Scottsdale? Six feet. The city states that owners or custodians must restrain and control the dog at all times with a leash of not more than 6 feet in length when outside of the dog exercise area, citing Scottsdale Revised Code Ch. 20, Sec. 20-32.

Can I read the Scottsdale Revised Code online? Not reliably. The city's own page states the leash rule and cites the section number.

Is the Preserve leash rule different? Yes, stricter. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve requires dogs to be on a handheld leash no longer than six feet at all times.

Does Maricopa County's leash rule apply in Scottsdale? No. Ordinance P-13's leash section opens with the words within the unincorporated areas of Maricopa County. Inside Scottsdale, the city's own code applies.

Does Arizona have a statewide six-foot leash law? Not for ordinary days. ARS 11-1012(B) imposes a six-foot limit in a rabies quarantine area, and 11-1012(D) requires physical restraint by a leash in a public park or on public school property without specifying a length.

Are retractable leads legal in Scottsdale? Only if the leash in use does not exceed six feet. The limit is on length, so a retractable extended beyond six feet is not compliant.

Sources

Ordinances change, and one layer of this could not be read at source. Check the city's pages before relying on any figure here.