Bensalem, PA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Bensalem, PA, 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 threshold
- Continuous barking over 1 hour
- Also nuisance
- 30-60 min barking on 2+ consecutive days
- First response
- Written warning delivered to owner's residence
- Violation trigger
- 2nd+ incident after warning delivered (§80-9(d))
- Complaint form
- Written request naming both addresses
- Penalty schedule
- Set by Dog Law §459-903, per §80-12
Summary
Bensalem Township treats a dog's barking, howling or other loud noise as a peace disturbance once it becomes continuous for more than an hour, or continuous for 30 minutes to an hour on two or more consecutive days. A resident can ask Township police, or the animal control officer, to deliver a written warning to the dog's owner, and Chapter 80 treats any repeat after that warning as a violation.
Sec. 80-6. - Noise. It shall be unlawful to own, harbor or keep in custody any dog which disturbs the peace by barking, howling or making other loud noises to the annoyance and discomfort of any person in the Township of Bensalem. Continuous barking, howling or the making of other loud noises by such dog for more than any one hour or continuous barking for periods of less than one hour but more than one-half hour, which periods occur on two or more consecutive days, shall be deemed to disturb the peace and to cause annoyance and discomfort to persons in the Township of Bensalem. ... (a)Any person may request the Township police department to warn any person who shall own, harbor or keep in custody any dog which disturbs the peace by barking, howling or making other loud noise to the annoyance and discomfort of persons in the Township of Bensalem. ... (d)Violation of this chapter shall be deemed to have occurred upon a second or subsequent violation of the above after the date of delivery of the warning.
Full Breakdown
Section 80-6 sets the numeric line for a barking-dog nuisance in Bensalem Township: it is unlawful to own, harbor or keep any dog that disturbs the peace by barking, howling or other loud noise causing annoyance and discomfort, and the chapter deems that disturbance to exist once the noise runs continuously for more than one hour, or continuously for between 30 minutes and an hour on two or more consecutive days. Section 80-9 lays out how a complaint proceeds. Any resident may ask the Township police department to warn the dog's owner, keeper or custodian; a warning consists of the police delivering a copy of Chapter 80 to that person's residence.
If police do not deliver a warning, the complaining resident can instead ask the Township's animal control officer to do so, but the request must be in writing and must identify both the address of the dog's owner, keeper or custodian and the address of the person making the complaint; on receiving it, the animal control officer mails a copy of Chapter 80 to the identified owner, keeper or custodian. A violation under Section 80-9 is not deemed to occur until a second or subsequent noise incident happens after that warning has already been delivered, giving an owner one free pass before enforcement starts.
Section 80-12 then ties any fine for a Chapter 80 violation, including a barking-dog violation, to the penalty schedule set out in the Commonwealth's Dog Law, 3 P.S. § 459-903, rather than a separate dollar figure printed in the Township code itself.
Violations & Fines
No fine attaches to a first barking complaint; Section 80-9(d) treats only a second or later noise incident after a police or animal control officer warning has been delivered as an actual violation. From that point, Section 80-12 fines a Chapter 80 violation, including a repeat barking-dog nuisance, according to the penalty schedule in the Commonwealth's Dog Law, 3 P.S. § 459-903.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much barking counts as a nuisance in Bensalem Township?
What happens the first time I report a neighbor's barking dog in Bensalem?
What is the fine for a repeat barking-dog violation in Bensalem?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bensalem
Compare Bensalem to another location·View the Pennsylvania noise ordinances overview
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