Tethering/Chaining
Grand Prairie, Texas
Sec. 5-19. – Unlawful restraint of animals.
(a) The owner of an animal may restrain an animal on a tether for a reasonable period, not to exceed three (3) hours in a twenty-four-hour period, and no longer than is necessary for the owner to complete a temporary task that requires the animal to be restrained.
Tethering is prohibited:
(1) Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.;
(2) Within five hundred (500) feet of the premises of a school or school bus stop;
(3) If the actual or effective outdoor temperature is below thirty-two (32) degrees Fahrenheit;
(4) If a heat advisory has been issued by a local or state authority or jurisdiction;
(5) If a hurricane, tropical storm, or tornado warning has been issued for the jurisdiction by the National Weather Service;
(6) If the tether is:
a. less than five (5) times the length of the dog, as measured from the tip of the dog’s nose to the base of the dog’s tail; or
b. less than ten (10) feet; whichever is greater.
(7) If the tether and/or related attachments are greater than twenty (20) percent of the animal’s weight;
(8) If the tether is attached by means of a pinch-type, prong-type, or choke-type collar or if the collar is unsafe or is not properly fitted;
(9) If the tether inhibits the animal’s free movement or causes injury or entanglement;
(10) If the animal is under four (4) months of age;
(11) If the animal does not have access to shade, dry shelter, and a tip-proof water supply;
(12) If the length of the tether allows the animal to touch the fence or cross the property line or cross onto public easement.