Delta dog leash rules and off-leash areas
Where can dogs be off leash, and what are the leash rules?
Short answer
In the City of Delta a dog must be on its owner's property, on a leash held by a competent person, or securely confined. In parks it may run loose only in a designated off-leash area; Delta lists 13, for licensed dogs. A dog at large in a park is a $150 bylaw notice or a $500 municipal ticket.
Key facts
| Leash rule | A dog must not be 'at large': it must be on its owner's property, on a leash held by a competent person, or securely confined or tethered. In parks it must not run at large except in a designated off-leash area. The City says dogs must be leashed at all times in parks.Delta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 (consolidated December 17, 2024), ss. 2, 23; Delta Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025, s. 4.4(2), 4.6(1); About the Animal Shelter, Bylaw Information & Enforcement, Parks / Dogs off-leash · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wording“at large” means any animal that is not under control by being: on a leash and controlled by a person who is competent to control it; Every Responsible Person shall ensure that any animal they are responsible for, other than a spayed cat, does not run at large allow or suffer any dog to run at large except in a designated dog off-leash the animal is under the immediate care and control of a responsible All parks within Delta require that dogs be leashed at all times. |
|---|---|
| Maximum leash length | No maximum length for ordinary dogs. An aggressive or dangerous dog in a public place must be on a leash no longer than 1.2 metres.Delta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 (consolidated December 17, 2024), s. 31 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingon a leash no longer than 1.2 meters in length; |
| Off-leash areas | Delta lists 13 leash-optional areas for licensed dogs, in Ladner, North Delta and Tsawwassen (maps for North and South Delta on the City's page). Leash the dog entering and leaving, keep it in sight and under voice control, no more than 2 dogs per person.Off-Leash Dog Areas; Delta Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025, s. 4.4(6)-(7) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingDelta offers 13 leash-optional areas for licensed dogs. Leash your dog while entering and exiting an off-leash area No more than 2 dogs per person are allowed allow more than two dogs off-leash in a designated dog off-leash area; |
| Places dogs are not allowed | No animal on any sport playing field, and no animal in a pool or body of water in a park. The City adds that off-leash dogs are not allowed near or on children's playgrounds or school grounds.Delta Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025, s. 4.4(5), (8); Off-Leash Dog Areas · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingallow an animal on any sport playing field; allow an animal to enter any pool or body of water; are not allowed near or on children’s playgrounds, school grounds and sports fields |
| Cleaning up | Pick up and dispose of the feces immediately in a sanitary manner. This applies off your own premises and in any park or municipal land.Delta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 (consolidated December 17, 2024), s. 25; Delta Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025, s. 4.6(2) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingimmediately remove or cause to be removed any feces deposited by the dog, and dispose of the feces in a sanitary manner. any feces deposited by the animal is immediately removed and |
| Fine, dog at large or off leash | Dog at large (Animal Control Bylaw s. 23): bylaw notice $100 ($75 within 14 days, $125 after 28 days); municipal ticket $100. Dog at large in a park (Parks Bylaw s. 4.4(2)): bylaw notice $150 ($125 within 14 days, $175 after 28 days); municipal ticket $500.Delta Municipal Ticketing Information Bylaw No. 6639 (consolidated May 22, 2026), Schedule 1; Delta Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 7009, 2011 (consolidated July 7, 2026), Schedule A · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wording23 Permit animal to be at large 100 4.4 (2) Permit dog to run at large 500 23 Permit animal to be at large 100 75 125 4.4 (2) Permit dog to run at large 150 125 175 |
| Bylaw | Delta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 (animals at large); Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025 (parks and off-leash areas)Delta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 (consolidated December 17, 2024), s. 1; Delta Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025, title · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingDelta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 PARKS REGULATION BYLAW BYLAW NO. 8544, 2025 |
How it works
The Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893 says a dog must not be "at large": it must be on its owner's property, on a leash held by a competent person, or securely confined or tethered. The bylaw has no blanket "leash everywhere" sentence, but the City says dogs must be leashed at all times in parks. Under the Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, a dog must not run at large in a park except in a designated off-leash area. The bylaws set no maximum leash length for ordinary dogs. Aggressive or dangerous dogs have stricter rules (see the dangerous dogs answer).
Off-leash areas
Delta lists 13 leash-optional areas for licensed dogs:
- Ladner: North 40 Park Reserve, Paterson Park (5800 Clarence Taylor Crescent).
- North Delta: Cougar Canyon Environmental Reserve, Delview Park, Devon Gardens Park, Huff Hydro Park Reserve, Scott 72 Park Reserve, North Delta Recreation Centre (behind the building), Mackie Park.
- Tsawwassen: Beach Grove Park, Boundary Beach Park Reserve, Dennison Park, Pebble Hill Park.
- The Animal Shelter at 7505 Hopcott Road has a fenced agility yard and large off-leash area, open to the public from dawn to dusk.
Rules: leash your dog going in and out, keep it in sight and under verbal control, carry a current licence tag, no more than 2 dogs per person (up to four at North 40 for commercial dog walking), no aggressive dogs.
Good to know
- No animal is allowed on any sport playing field or in a pool or body of water in a park. The City adds that dogs are not allowed near or on children's playgrounds or school grounds.
- Pick up your dog's feces immediately, on any park or municipal land and off your own property. Failing to pick it up is a $150 ticket.
- Dog at large (Animal Control Bylaw): $100 bylaw notice ($75 within 14 days, $125 after 28 days); $100 municipal ticket.
- Dog at large in a park: $150 bylaw notice ($125 within 14 days, $175 after 28 days); $500 municipal ticket. The two systems differ for park offences.
- The City's page says 13 areas in one place and calls Paterson Park "one of Delta's 12" in another; confirm with the City.
- Report concerns to the Shelter at 604-940-7111 or the DeltaConnect app.
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
Richmond · Vancouver · Burnaby · White Rock · New Westminster · Surrey
Sources
- Delta Animal Control Bylaw No. 6893, 2010 (consolidated December 17, 2024) (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
- Delta Parks Regulation Bylaw No. 8544, 2025 (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
- About the Animal Shelter, City of Delta (read 2026-11-05)
- Off-Leash Dog Areas, City of Delta (read 2026-11-05)
- Delta Municipal Ticketing Information Bylaw No. 6639 (consolidated May 22, 2026) (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
- Delta Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 7009, 2011 (consolidated July 7, 2026) (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 7 of 7 facts was matched to the official text. How answers are checked.