Oakland County, MI Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Oakland County Animal Control's official policy is that barking-dog complaints fall to local police because barking is a noise/nuisance matter governed by city or township ordinance, not the county. In the Charter Township of Oakland, Code Ch. 274 prohibits the keeping of any animal or bird enclosed or tied up that, by frequently repeated barking, howling, crying, singing, or other sound, causes frequent or long-continued noise that disturbs the peace, quiet, comfort, or repose of persons in any office, dwelling, hotel, or other residence. Pontiac and Royal Oak handle barking through general anti-noise sections. Troy directs barking complaints to Troy Police under Chapter 88. At the state level, MCL 287.286a allows a sworn complaint to be brought before a district court or magistrate to show cause why a dog should not be killed or confined where the dog has shown vicious habits, attacked a person, habitually damaged property by trespass, or run at large without a license; while §287.286a does not explicitly list barking, persistent nuisance behavior is often used in conjunction with local barking ordinances to support relief. All dog owners countywide must license dogs four months and older (Oakland County Dog Licenses program) and keep current rabies vaccination.