East Baton Rouge Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Sec. 14:204(b)(5) of the City-Parish Code states that "no dog shall cause any excessive noise making or excessive barking," and it sets out the exact procedure the Animal Control and Rescue Center follows on a complaint. First, the complaint is logged in the dispatcher's log book with the owner's or possessor's address and the complainant's name, address and phone number. Second, the complainant must follow up with a written letter to the Animal Control and Rescue Center identifying the owner's address and describing the problem and how it affects the complainant.

Third, once that letter is received, the center may dispatch an officer to the owner's or possessor's address to advise them of the complaint and request that the nuisance be abated; the officer leaves a written warning notice as documentation of that visit. Fourth, if the same complainant lodges another complaint within fifteen days of that warning notice, an animal control officer is dispatched again, this time to issue a summons for violating the part. The process is complaint-driven start to finish: nothing in Sec.

14:204(b)(5) authorizes an officer to cite a barking dog on sight without a logged citizen complaint and a follow-up letter. The section sits inside the broader Sec. 14:204 "owner's responsibility" provisions, which also make an owner liable for any dog or cat nuisance and for veterinary bills the shelter incurs treating an animal it takes in.