Loveland, CO Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Municipal Code § 6.20.020(A) prohibits an owner, keeper or person in charge of an animal from failing to prevent it from disturbing the peace and quiet of any other person by loud and persistent barking, baying, howling, yipping, crying, yelping, whining, or any other noise made in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion. The rule applies whether the dog is on or off the owner's own property, so a dog barking from inside a fenced yard is treated the same as a loose dog. Subsection B makes provocation of the animal an affirmative defense to the charge.

Loveland cannot cite a first-time offender. Subsection C bars charging an owner unless the owner, keeper, or a household member has already received a written warning from a police officer or animal control officer within the preceding 12 months, and Subsection D spells out the warning process: the warning must relate to a separate incident, the complainant must give a name, address and phone number, and the department keeps a record or incident report of the complaint. Subsection E treats a warning as received once it is personally served, posted at the premises, or mailed to the owner's last address on file with the license or license-tag records. Subsection F keeps a complainant's identity confidential until a charge is actually filed, at which point the complainant must sign an affidavit or verify the complaint in writing.

Police officers, animal control officers and wildlife conservation officers are all authorized to enforce Title 6 under § 6.32.010, and Humane Society of Larimer County personnel enforce it too under contract with the city per § 6.32.040.