Elyria, OH Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 505.14 of the Elyria Codified Ordinances sits in Chapter 505 (Animals) and aims at the dog's owner or keeper, not the dog. The test has three parts. The barking, howling or yelping must be frequent and habitual, the noise must be unreasonably loud and disturbing, and it must be of such a character, intensity and duration that it disturbs the peace, quiet and good order of the municipality. A single bout of barking does not meet the wording; a pattern does.

The section also defines who counts as a keeper. Anyone who allows a dog habitually to remain, be lodged or fed within any dwelling, building, yard or enclosure that the person occupies or owns is considered to be harboring that dog. That means a tenant, an owner-occupant or a landlord who feeds a stray in the yard can each be treated as the responsible person.

A second provision reaches the same problem from the general noise chapter. Section 509.08(c)(2) lists, as a noise violation, keeping any bird or animal which, by causing frequent or long continued noise, disturbs the comfort and repose of any person in the vicinity, where the noise can be distinctly heard at a distance of more than fifty feet from its source. That paragraph covers birds as well as dogs and adds the fifty-foot hearing distance as a measuring stick.

Both provisions are enacted by the Elyria City Council as city ordinances in Lorain County, Ohio. They apply inside the City of Elyria only; Elyria Township, Carlisle Township, the City of Lorain and unincorporated Lorain County are governed by their own rules.