Oregon, OH Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

31 of the Oregon Codified Ordinances makes it unlawful for any person to own, harbor or keep in custody a dog that disturbs the peace by barking, yelping, howling or making other loud noises to the annoyance or discomfort of any person. The section builds in an evidentiary shortcut: continuous barking, yelping, howling or other loud noise for fifteen consecutive minutes, whether the dog is confined inside a residence or building or is outside, is deemed by the ordinance itself to have disturbed the peace and caused annoyance and discomfort, so a complainant does not need to separately prove annoyance once the fifteen-minute duration is shown.

That presumption does not apply if, at the time of the complaint, someone was trespassing or threatening to trespass on the dog owner's property, or if the dog was being teased or provoked. Subsection (b) extends liability to anyone who habitually allows a dog to remain, be lodged or fed on property they own or occupy, treating that person as harboring the dog even if they are not the legal owner. Enforcement follows a graduated procedure at subsection (c): on an initial complaint, an enforcement officer issues a written warning to the dog's owner or keeper; only on a second complaint within thirty days does the officer charge the person with a violation.

Subsection (d) exempts licensed veterinary hospitals, licensed kennels, licensed animal boarding establishments, and dogs serving as assistance animals for blind, deaf, hearing-impaired or mobility-impaired persons. A violation, once charged, is a minor misdemeanor under subsection (e). The Oregon Division of Police, which also handles animal control, is the enforcing agency for complaints filed by neighbors anywhere in the city.