Lake Havasu City, AZ Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Lake Havasu City folds barking-dog complaints into its general animal-nuisance code rather than a separate noise ordinance. Section 6.20.060 makes it a violation for any owner, either willfully or through failure to exercise proper control, to let an animal habitually bark, howl, crow, or make noise in a manner at any time, day or night, that causes general annoyance or discomfort to a neighboring inhabitant. The code sets an objective bar rather than a decibel meter: the test is whether the noise would cause a reasonable person, under the same or similar circumstances, to suffer annoyance or discomfort, so a single loud bark rarely qualifies, the conduct has to be habitual.

The section also builds in two defenses that protect an animal reacting to provocation: it is not a violation if the complaining party was trespassing or threatening to trespass on the property where the animal is kept, or if the animal was provoked into barking, whining, howling, or other objectionable noise. Enforcement escalates with repetition. The first violation within any 12-month period is only a civil offense, with the Court fixing a fine up to $1,000, but any subsequent violation within that same 12-month window is charged as a Class 2 misdemeanor, a criminal-level penalty rather than a court-set civil fine.

Lake Havasu City Animal Control fields the underlying complaints and, per Chapter 6.24's general enforcement powers, can issue the citation that starts the clock on that 12-month look-back period.