Posted by Waste Happy
on September 10, 2026
Quick answer: Yes. Milwaukee requires dog owners to pick up after their dogs under Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 78-19-3. A court can impose $25 to $200. You are also required to carry a means of removal whenever you walk your dog.
What the Milwaukee ordinance says
| Ordinance | Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 78-19-3, Animal Litter Nuisance (penalty class under § 78-55-6; amounts under ch. 61, § 61-9) |
|---|---|
| Fine | $25 to $200 |
| Must carry a bag | Yes |
| Service animal exemption | No |
How the penalty works
§ 78-55-6-a lists § 78-19 as a Class C violation. Under ch. 61, § 61-9, a Class C violation carries a fine of 'not less than $25 nor more than $200,' each act is a separate offense, and failure to pay can lead to 1 to 30 days in jail. The second-offense escalation in § 78-55-6-b-1 applies only to animals at large (§ 78-19-1), not to the litter rule, so no separate repeat amount is published. Verification note: Chapter 78 was read from the city's current PDF (dated 7/14/2026). The live Chapter 61 PDF was blocked by a bot challenge, so the Class C amounts come from the Internet Archive's copy of the official Chapter 61 PDF (page dated 7/28/2022, captured March 9, 2025).
The carry rule
§ 78-19-3: no owner or caretaker may appear with an animal on any street, alley, sidewalk, lawn, field, or public property, or on property other than their own, 'without a shovel, scoop, bag or other items for the removal of fecal matter.' The owner must then 'properly wrap and deposit the fecal matter in an approved waste container ... situated upon his or her own premises.'
Service animals
§ 78-19-3 contains no service-dog exemption.
How Milwaukee compares
Unlike Madison ($100), Milwaukee has no set ticket, so the amount is decided when a citation is heard.
In practice
Because Milwaukee requires you to carry a way to clean up, the simplest way to stay on the right side of it is to keep bags on the leash itself, so they leave the house every time the dog does. The Walk Dispenser clips to the leash and holds a full roll.
Elsewhere in Wisconsin
Wisconsin dog poop laws covers the state and its other large cities. Nearby: Madison dog poop law · Green Bay dog poop law. All 50 states.
Source
Checked 2026-09-10 against the Milwaukee municipal code. Codes change, so read the current version before relying on this for an actual citation.
This page is general information, not legal advice.
