Lehi, UT Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Lehi, UT, 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
- Nuisance trigger
- Excessive, continuous or untimely barking/whining/howling
- Complaint required
- City investigates on neighbor complaint
- Abatement window
- 2 days to fix after notice
- Enforcement
- Police department investigates and impounds
- Penalty
- Class B misdemeanor, up to $1,000
Summary
Lehi City Code treats a dog that barks, whines or howls excessively, continuously or at untimely hours as a nuisance animal, and keeping a nuisance animal in the city is unlawful. The police department investigates barking complaints and can order the noise abated within two days before impounding the animal.
A. Described: Any animal which does any of the following shall be deemed a nuisance animal: ... 5. Barks, whines or howls, or makes other disturbing noises in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion. ... B. Nuisance Unlawful: It shall be unlawful for any person to have any animal determined to be a nuisance within the city. C. Complaint; Investigation: Whenever a complaint is made to the city that an animal constitutes a nuisance... the police department shall conduct an investigation... If they find reasonable cause to believe that a nuisance exists, they shall notify the owner or custodian... that the nuisance must be abated within two (2) days.
Full Breakdown
5, alongside running at large, property damage, unreasonable odors, uncleaned defecation, attacking people or animals, chasing vehicles, trespassing on school grounds, and being declared a public nuisance by police or the Utah County health department. Subsection B makes keeping any animal that meets that definition unlawful outright. When a neighbor complains to the city that a dog is a nuisance, subsection C requires the police department to investigate, and if officers find reasonable cause that a nuisance exists, they must notify the owner or custodian that the nuisance must be abated within two days and specify how to abate it.
If the owner does not fix the problem in that window, or if the investigating officer decides the animal is an immediate threat to public health, safety or welfare, the officer may impound the dog while a judge decides whether it really is a nuisance. The complaint-driven process means a barking dog is not cited automatically the first time a neighbor is annoyed; it takes a formal complaint, a police investigation and a documented two-day window to abate before impoundment becomes an option.
Violations & Fines
Keeping a nuisance animal is a class B misdemeanor under section 6-4F-1, punishable by up to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in jail under section 1-4-1, on top of any impoundment ordered during the abatement process. Each day the barking continues after the two-day abatement notice can support a new citation, and repeated nuisance findings count toward the three-strikes rule in section 6-4A-9 that can strip an owner of the right to keep any animal in Lehi for a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my neighbor's dog be cited just for barking once?
Who investigates a barking dog complaint in Lehi?
What happens if the barking doesn't stop after the notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lehi
Compare Lehi to another location·View the Utah noise ordinances overview
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Barking Dogs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Utah County handle barking dogs.