Sedgwick County, KS Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Sec. 5-161(b) of the Sedgwick County Code defines a 'nuisance animal' as one that has engaged in any of thirteen listed behaviors, including, at subsection (12), 'barking, whining or howling in an excessive fashion,' which the code defines as barking that is continuous or untimely so as to disturb the sleep or peaceful enjoyment of a neighbor living within one hundred (100) yards of the property where the animal is kept, provided that neighbor is willing to testify under oath if called. The rule sits inside Article V, 'Nuisance Animals; Dangerous Animals,' and applies countywide in the unincorporated area, plus the three-mile fringe outside city limits under Sec.

1-7, so it does not reach dogs kept inside the City of Wichita, which enforces its own animal code. An aggrieved neighbor may confine the barking animal on their own property and notify the owner or the animal control officer, or may simply report the nuisance to animal control for investigation under subsection (d). Once the county establishes probable cause, an officer can issue a uniform complaint and notice to appear. Harboring a nuisance animal is a class G violation under subsection (e), and every fresh act of nuisance after a complaint is a separate, additional violation under subsection (f).

An owner convicted twice within twelve months on the same animal is subject to Article V's habitual-nuisance procedure: after a third conviction the director of animal control can order a hearing under Sec. 5-162 and require confinement, muzzling, veterinary evaluation, spay or neuter, or in the worst cases order the animal surrendered for adoption or humane euthanasia. Owners have three days to appeal any director's order to the Board of County Commissioners under Sec. 5-162(d).