Chattanooga, TN Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 25-68 of the Noise article opens by declaring a list of acts "loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this article," and item (4) singles out dogs: keeping a dog whose "frequent or long, continued noise" disturbs the comfort or repose of a person in a residence, hotel, motel or hospital is unlawful. The code gives that vague standard a bright line: barking averaging ten or more barks per minute for five continuous minutes, audible from 100 feet or more, counts by default.

The subsection carves out two exemptions: barking triggered by an emergency, or barking at someone trespassing on the dog owner's property. Section 25-66 backs this with the article's general rule that any "unreasonably loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise" detrimental to health or disruptive of the public peace is unlawful citywide. Enforcement runs through City Court under § 25-74, which lets the court combine a $50 citation fine with a civil penalty of up to $500 to recover administrative enforcement costs, or impose a conditional civil penalty up to $500 that is purged if the owner stays violation-free for a year, though total fines and penalties for one violation cannot exceed $500.

Separately, Chattanooga also regulates barking dogs through the Animal Services chapter at City Code §§ 7-55 through 7-57, which defines a "barking dog" differently, as incessant barking for fifteen minutes or intermittent barking for thirty minutes in a 24-hour period, and requires a ten-day warning before Animal Services or a police officer issues the first citation, with each additional day of violation charged separately. The two provisions overlap in subject but are enforced through different processes and definitions, so a complaint can proceed under either the noise citation route or the animal-services warning-and-citation route depending on which officer responds.