Marietta, GA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 10-6-050(E) targets ongoing animal noise directly, rather than folding it into the Table 1 decibel limits in § 10-6-030: owners and the agents of owners of domesticated animals shall not permit any vocalizations, including barking, baying, howling, crying, or making any other noise, for more than ten continuous minutes without interruption or more than 30 minutes if intermittent. The rule reaches any domesticated animal, not just dogs, and it applies whether the vocalizing is nonstop for ten minutes or comes and goes over a longer 30-minute stretch.

The code makes clear that each occurrence will result in a separate offense, so a dog that repeatedly crosses the ten/thirty-minute threshold over a weekend can generate more than one citation rather than a single ongoing complaint. Enforcement runs through the same noise control structure as the rest of Chapter 10-6: the noise control administrator, the police chief or a designee under § 10-6-060, and noise control officers under § 10-6-070, who can issue a citation returnable to Municipal Court of Marietta once a neighbor's complaint establishes the timing.

Because this provision does not require a decibel reading, unlike § 10-6-030, an officer needs only to confirm the duration of the vocalizing to establish a violation.