High Point, NC Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Under § 12-1-10(a), the general standard covers any "unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary" noise, and subsection (b)(3) names pets specifically: "the keeping of any animal or bird, which, by causing frequent or long continued noise, shall disturb the comfort and repose of any person in the vicinity" is declared a violation. Because the rule targets the keeping of the animal rather than a single incident, a dog that barks occasionally is unlikely to trigger a citation, but ongoing or long-lasting barking that repeatedly disrupts a neighbor's peace does.

Officers deciding whether a complaint rises to a violation weigh the same factors the ordinance sets out for every noise complaint: the time of day the barking happens, how close the dog is kept to residential structures, whether the noise is recurring, intermittent, or constant, its volume and intensity, the zoning and character of the area, and whether the owner could reasonably control it without undue restriction. The section doesn't create a separate animal-control process; a barking-dog complaint is enforced the same way as any other Chapter 12-1 noise violation.

Under subsection (c), the city can issue a civil citation of $200 for a first violation, $400 for a second within a year, and $500 for further violations, plus a $50 delinquency charge if unpaid within 10 days, or prosecute the case as a misdemeanor, and each day the barking continues is treated as a separate offense under subsection (d).