Legislation affecting Ohio dog owners,
breeders, trainers, and other fanciers

(For more information on these items and others, go to Ohio Valley Dog Owners Inc.

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Ohio Legislation

Visit the Ohio Senate For information on How a Bill Becomes Law in Ohio,

2017 activity

The 2017-2018 two year legislative session is underway but no bills affecting dogs and dog owners have been introduced as of february first.

2016 Activity

AKC’s government relations department tracked 2200 legislative proposals and more than 800 state and federal regulatory changes impacting or potentially impacting dog ownership last year. Most legislative bills were introduced at the state level, but the department also saw an increase in the number and variety of anti-breeder measures ordinances introduced at the local level.

AKC depended on state federations such as Ohio Valley Dog Owners in Ohio and partnerships with the National Animal Interest Alliance, various hunting organizations, veterinary groups, and the pet industry in its continuing fight to prevent unreasonable laws and regulations and promote statutes and rules that enhance dog ownership, breeding, and welfare.

Ohio saw one major change to our dog laws -- a bill to license and inspect pet stores and define the sources of pet store puppies. That bill also banned passage of local ordinances to restrict pet stoes from buying commercially-bred puppies. As a result, at least one Ohio city has promised to repeal its ban and Petland has dropped its lawsuit protesting that ban.

Other Ohio changes: The governor signed bills into law that allow people to break into vehicles under certain guidelines if an animal or a child appears to be in distress; allow first responders to give some first aid to animals if responding to an accident, disaster, or fire; and raise penalties for some cases of deliberate animal cruelty. The latter bill also provides for veterinary education about opioid scams.

While Ohio lawmakers have been dissuaded from passing breeder licensing law for show and performance dog breeders since passage of the commercial kennel regulations of 2012, the national trend is toward more state and local laws regulating breeders by the number of intact females owned (sometimes as few as four), not by the number of litters produced or puppies sold.  AKC expects the trend to continue along with more efforts to limit pet store dog sales to shelter and rescue dogs and new campaigns to limit breeding by charging high intact dog fees, establishing licensing and inspection regimens based on number of intact females, and forcing owners charge with violations of cruelty law to pay for dog care before they are convicted.

For more information from AKC, go to http://tinyurl.com/z5scju7.