Ascension Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Ascension Parish, LA, also called nuisance dog, dog noise, or excessive barking ordinances, define when a barking dog becomes a code violation and how complaints are handled.
Key Facts
- Nuisance triggers
- Continuous, excessive or untimely barking, whining or howling
- Owner duty
- Must insure animal is not a nuisance (Sec. 5-46)
- Enforcers
- Sheriff's office, parish animal control, constables
- General penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 30 days jail per day
- First impoundment fee
- $50 for a registered, tagged animal
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Ascension Parish only
Summary
Ascension Parish Code Sec. 5-33 defines a 'nuisance' animal as one that barks, whines or howls in a continuous, excessive or untimely manner, among other things, and Sec. 5-46 requires every owner in unincorporated Ascension Parish to insure the animal is not a nuisance. The sheriff's office and parish animal control enforce it.
Nuisance: Any animal which (1) molests or chases pedestrians or passing vehicles; (2) damages public or private property; (3) barks, whines or howls in a continuous, excessive or untimely manner; (4) is an at large or roaming female animal in its mating season or (5) causes unsanitary conditions or odors about the property of the owner or on public property through urination or defecation. ... Except as otherwise provided in this article, the owner of an animal shall: ... (2)Insure that the animal is not a nuisance, not dangerous, not vicious;
Full Breakdown
The nuisance definition in Sec. 5-33 covers five kinds of animal misconduct: molesting or chasing pedestrians or vehicles, damaging property, barking, whining or howling continuously, excessively or at untimely hours, running at large as a female in heat, and causing unsanitary odors from urination or defecation. Sec. 5-46 folds that definition into an affirmative owner duty, requiring the owner to insure the animal is not a nuisance, not dangerous, and not vicious, and to keep it from running at large, vaccinated and registered. Sec. 5-34 lets the parish sheriff's office, the parish animal control officer, parish constables, or any state or parish law enforcement officer enforce the article.
A violation is punished as a general Code offense under Sec. 1-8, up to a $500 fine or 30 days in the parish jail, and each day the nuisance continues is a separate offense. If a nuisance animal is impounded, Sec. 5-80 layers on impoundment fees that escalate with each repeat offense in a calendar year, from $50 for a first offense involving a registered, tagged animal up to $300 for a fourth or later offense in the same year, plus the daily boarding fee set in Sec. 5-81. Sec. 1-12 limits all of this to the unincorporated parish; Gonzales, Donaldsonville and Sorrento enforce their own municipal noise and animal codes.
Violations & Fines
A nuisance-animal complaint that leads to impoundment carries an escalating fee schedule under Sec. 5-80: $50 for a first offense on a registered, tagged dog or cat, $60 for a second, $200 for a third and $300 for every later offense that year, plus board of $10 per day at the shelter. Because failing to prevent a nuisance also breaches Sec. 5-46, the owner can additionally be cited under the Sec. 1-8 general penalty of up to $500 or 30 days in jail per day the violation continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a barking dog a legal nuisance in Ascension Parish?
Who do I call about a neighbor's barking dog in unincorporated Ascension Parish?
What happens if my dog is impounded as a nuisance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ascension Parish
Compare Ascension Parish to another location·View the Louisiana noise ordinances overview
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