Dunwoody, GA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Dunwoody, GA, 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
- Governing section
- City Code § 18-19(b)(5)
- Standard
- Frequent or long continued noise disturbing neighbors
- No fixed decibel test
- Complaint-based comfort/repose standard, not a meter
- Time coverage
- No stated hour limit, unlike the nighttime radio rule
- List status
- One of 17 non-exclusive prohibited-noise categories
Summary
Dunwoody's noise ordinance makes it unlawful to keep any animal or bird whose frequent or long continued noise disturbs the comfort or repose of people nearby. City Code § 18-19(b)(5) folds barking dogs and noisy birds into the same nuisance-noise violation covering horns, loudspeakers and construction noise.
(b)Acts declared violations. The following acts are declared to be loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise in violation of this section, but this enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive: ... (5)Animals and birds. The keeping of any animal or bird which by causing frequent or long continued noise shall disturb the comfort or repose of any person in the vicinity.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
Dunwoody's noise ordinance opens by declaring that noises considered loud or disturbing to health are deemed a nuisance and making it unlawful to make or continue any noise that disturbs the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others in the city. Item (5) of the 17-item list of per se violations in § 18-19(b) singles out animals and birds: keeping any animal or bird that, by causing frequent or long continued noise, disturbs the comfort or repose of a person in the vicinity is itself declared a violation.
The code does not set a decibel limit or a fixed number of minutes; the standard turns on whether the noise is frequent or long continued and whether it disturbs a neighbor's comfort or repose, a fact question assessed for each complaint. The list of 17 prohibited-noise categories, from horns to construction equipment, is expressly stated not to be exclusive, so an animal-noise problem that does not fit this clause can still be pursued under the general nuisance-noise standard in subsection (a). The section's built-in carve-outs, for emergency repair work and for approved utility or road work, do not apply to animal noise, and the separate exception-application process in subsection (d) is limited to commercial, office, institutional and industrial construction activity, not pets.
Violations & Fines
A barking-dog complaint under § 18-19(b)(5) is charged as a noise-ordinance violation, the same offense category as a blaring loudspeaker or illegal construction noise. Because the Code makes each day of a continuing violation a separate offense, an owner who does not abate a chronically noisy animal can face repeated citations, plus a fine under the Code's general penalty provision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is barking dog noise illegal in Dunwoody at any hour?
Does Dunwoody measure decibels to cite a noisy dog?
What happens if a dog keeps barking after a citation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dunwoody
Compare Dunwoody to another location·View the Georgia noise ordinances overview
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