Dog Barking Laws 101
After you try many attempts and efforts to work something out with your neighbor to improve the nuisance caused by the excessive barking of his dog, then you have no other choice but to seek help from your local law enforcement to see what your legal options are. After you educate yourself on the city ordinances regarding barking dogs, you could try one more time to approach your neighbor about the issue of his barking dog. If you still don't get results and the barking continues to be loud and persistent, your next step is to contact the animal control authorities, the police or a small claims court judge to help you solve the barking dog matter.
As all people have laws to follow and respect, so do pet owners. Excessive dog barking is not a dog problem, it is a people problem. Dog owners generally have strict laws to follow when it comes to owning a dog. There are laws that require dog owners to have their dog on the leash in public places and laws that prohibit dogs from attacking each other in public as well. But there is a law that is probably the most important of all and that is the law that can help someone who is affected daily and nightly by non stop barking dogs. These laws are written at the city level, and may vary from city to city, but are generally the same everywhere. A dog can bark occasionally, but not on a continuous and dreadful non-stop barrage day in and day out.
The law basically states that a pet owner, caregiver or anyone in charge of the dog at that moment is not allowed to let the dog bark excessively or very loudly for an unreasonable amount of time whether day or night. Nor are you permitted to allow the dog to bark immensely at the residence between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. and if you do so, that your dog only barks for about five to ten minutes between those allotted hours. If this simple animal code isn't followed properly, you may call your local animal control authority or the police to report the nuisance.
If your dog barks occasionally, it is simply normal, but barking excessively is not acceptable especially if there are elderly or sick people living around or children and people who need to wake up expecting to have a full night of rest for the next day. If you are a dog owner, please take this into consideration! Don't allow your dog to spend all day or even all night outside causing your neighbors to be restless and very angry the next day. Try to put yourself in their place and imagine how you would react.
If you are having this problem with your neighbor's dog barking, try first to communicate with him. If this persists, you may contact the local authorities. It's true the police may have better things to do than respond to complaints of a barking dog but it is their duty to keep the peace in the community as well. If you call the police, try to stay calm and explain to them what's going on with your neighbor's dog keeping you up with its annoying and endless barking. If you wait until the next day to talk to your local animal control officer, he may simply pay your neighbor a visit and issue him a warning for violating the city dog code. If the situation continues, your neighbor may be issued a municipal summons. If he is issued a municipal summons, the one who made the complaints will be asked to keep a log of all the times and days the dog barks and will use that to testify against the defendant. If the dog owner is found guilty, the dog owner could have a pretty hefty fine for committing a city violation.
Having an excessive barking dog is a very serious matter. Get familiar with the laws of your city before you allow your dog to bark excessively.
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