Dougherty County, GA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Enacted with the rest of the current animal control regulations under Resolution No. 25-018 (April 21, 2025), Sec. 5-28, titled 'Animals disturbing the peace,' targets any owner or keeper who lets an animal annoy or disturb any person not on the premises of the owner or keeper. The section gives the general phrase 'unreasonable barking' two concrete thresholds: noise that is continuous or incessant for 30 minutes, or noise that is intermittent, meaning it stops and starts again, for one hour or more. Either threshold is enough to make the barking unreasonable and actionable.

The ordinance builds in two exceptions. First, barking is not unreasonable if the animal is responding to a trespass or attempted trespass on private property, so a dog alerting its owner to an intruder is protected. Second, the section does not apply at all to noise from livestock, poultry, or other animals emanating from a legitimate farming operation, which matters in a mostly rural, unincorporated county like Dougherty. Because the section sits inside the general animal control regulations rather than a separate noise ordinance, it is enforced the same way as at-large and cruelty violations: an animal services officer or police officer can investigate a neighbor's complaint, and a repeated or ongoing barking problem can be treated as a continuing violation with each day counted separately under Sec. 5-34's general penalty clause.