City of Toronto Issues Ban on Choke Chains

March 18, 2017

New by-laws for Toronto dog owners came into effect March 1, 2017 with a few changes you need to know. It’s called: The City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 349, Animals, to establish new provisions with respect to the protection of persons and animals from dangerous dogs.

Ban on Choke Collars, Choke Chains, Pronged Collars

The first thing you need to know, so you can avoid getting a $240 fine, is the ban on the use of choke collars, choke chains, pronged collars or any similar device. The ban doesn’t, however, include a martingale collar.

When used by professional dog trainers, these devices can be effective; however, in the wrong hands, they can be deadly. With these new amendments, dogs will be more protected from harm and mistreatment, as will the people who encounter them.

Extreme Weather Warnings

In addition to the ban on certain collars, the amendment enforces fines for leaving your dog out in extreme weather. Hot or cold, if there’s a weather warning in effect issued by either the City of Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health or Environment Canada for weather in the City of Toronto, your dog should not be outside. The amendment states:

No person shall allow an animal to remain outdoors during extreme weather unless the animal has access to an enclosure that will adequately protect the animal from the elements.

Tethering Dogs

There are also amendments to the laws around tethering your dogs:

• No person shall keep an animal tethered where a choke collar, choke chain, pronged collar or any similar device forms part of the tether.
• No person shall tether an animal unsupervised for longer than one hour.
• The minimum length of rope to tether your dog outside on your property is 3 metres.

Safe Leash Length

New restrictions on safe leash length state that when walking your dog, your leash cannot be longer than 2 metres:

No person shall keep a dog off the premises of the owner other than on a leash which shall not exceed two metres in length, except in designated areas of a City park as permitted by Chapter 608, Parks. You can find By-law 102-2017 right here.

Photo credit:  Steve Baker: Hmm, the grass is greener on the other side of the bridge