Jefferson Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

" The code gives the complaint a bright line: a dog qualifies as a barking dog if it barks, bays, cries, howls or makes any other noise continuously or incessantly for ten minutes, or intermittently for a half hour or more, to the disturbance of any person, regardless of whether the dog is on private property. The only built-in defense is trespass: if a person is trespassing or threatening to trespass on the property where the dog is barking at the time of the noise, the animal is not deemed a barking dog and no violation attaches.

Because Sec. 20-102 by its own scope (subsection (a)) governs "all sound originating within geographical limits of the parish and excluding the municipalities located therein," it reaches unincorporated communities such as Metairie and Terrytown directly, while residents of Gretna, Kenner, Harahan and Westwego fall under those cities' own codes instead. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is designated the enforcing agency under subsection (d). A sustained violation can be charged under the general penalty at Code section 1-10: a fine up to $1,000 per violation or up to six months imprisonment, and each day the barking problem continues counts as a separate offense.