Doña Ana County, NM Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Doña Ana County's animal noise rule sits at § 261-17 of the 2012 Noise Control Ordinance and applies around the clock, not just at nighttime like most of the article's other specific-noise sections. It is a violation for anyone who possesses or controls an animal to let it persistently or continuously bark, howl or make noise common to its species so that it disturbs the peace and quiet of any person in the county, or endangers anyone's health and welfare. The ordinance gives the standard a numeric floor in § 261-9's definitions: 'persistently or continuously' means animal noise that a complainant or officer can discern in each of the 10 one-minute intervals making up a ten-minute period, so a dog barking sporadically for a few minutes does not by itself meet the threshold, while barking heard throughout a full ten-minute stretch does.

The rule exempts public zoos and any properly zoned, approved animal shelter or boarding facility, recognizing that those operations inherently generate more animal noise than a residential yard. Because the section falls under the county's general Noise Control Ordinance rather than the separate animal control chapter, complaints are handled by the Sheriff's Department, which administers Chapter 261 under § 261-23, rather than by animal control officers, though a chronic barking complaint can also be pursued as a public nuisance.