As of 2026, about twenty-three (23) states have laws that limit or otherwise control how owners can tether their dogs. Tethering or chaining a dog under most state laws means that a person ties a dog with a rope or line to a stationary object. While the laws themselves vary from state to state, they do have several consistent features. Some laws that address tethering allow a dog to be tethered for a reasonable period of time. Other states include tethering as part of their anti-cruelty chapters. Indiana defines “neglect” as restraining an animal for more than a brief period in a manner that endangers the animal's life or health by the use of a rope, chain, or tether. Some states specify the manner in which a dog must be tethered or chained (i.e., that a tether must be at least 6 feet long or at least 3 times the length of the dog as measured from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail). This map gives links to these laws.
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<section class="tablefield-migration" hidden data-role="fallback-table"><h3>Label creation</h3><table><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>7</td><td>Rebuild Table</td></tr><tr><td>{"col_0":"Label code (short name, no spaces)","col_1":"Label descriptive name","col_2":"Color (Hex code, e.g. #80BFB9)","weight":"1"}</td><td>{"col_0":"Label-1","col_1":"State with no law","col_2":"#8C510A","weight":"2"}</td><td>{"col_0":"state_tether","col_1":"State with tethering law","col_2":"#01665E","weight":"3"}</td><td>{"col_0":"","col_1":"","col_2":"","weight":"4"}</td><td>{"col_0":"","col_1":"","col_2":"","weight":"5"}</td><td>{"col_0":"","col_1":"","col_2":"","weight":"6"}</td><td>{"col_0":"","col_1":"","col_2":"","weight":"7"}</td></tr></tbody></table></section>
<section class="tablefield-migration" hidden data-role="fallback-table"><h3>Map data</h3><table><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>51</td><td>Rebuild Table</td></tr><tr><td>{"col_0":"State","col_1":"URL (relative path, e.g. \/statute\/name-of-page)","col_2":"Label code (must match Label code from Label creation 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