Outagamie County, WI Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Outagamie County, WI, also called nuisance dog, dog noise, or excessive barking ordinances, define when a barking dog becomes a code violation and how complaints are handled.
Key Facts
- Prohibited
- Owning, possessing or harboring a frequently noisy animal or bird
- Trigger
- Sound made frequently or for continued duration
- Standard
- Unreasonable noise disturbance, judged by a reasonable person
- Decibel or minute limit
- None printed in § 34-28
- First offense
- Forfeiture of $100 to $500
- Later offenses
- Forfeiture of $200 to $1,000
Summary
Outagamie County Code § 34-28(b)(2) forbids owning, possessing or harboring any animal or bird that frequently or for continued duration makes sound creating an unreasonable noise disturbance. The code counts no minutes and sets no decibel level. A first offense costs $100 to $500, and repeat offenses cost $200 to $1,000.
(4)Noise disturbance. Any noise which tends to annoy or disturb a reasonable person.(5)Municipality. Any town, village, or city within Outagamie County.(b)Prohibited conduct. ... (2)No person shall own, possess or harbor any animal or bird which frequently or for continued duration makes sound which creates an unreasonable noise disturbance. ... (c)Exceptions. The following enumerated activities shall be exempt from the regulations of this section, provided reasonable steps are taken to minimize the noise emitted: ... (e)Penalties. Any person who shall violate any provisions of this section shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 for the first offense and not less than $200.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for subsequent offenses.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26).
Full Breakdown
The county's animal noise rule sits inside its general noise ordinance, § 34-28, not in the animals chapter. Subsection (b)(2) says no person shall own, possess or harbor any animal or bird which frequently or for continued duration makes sound which creates an unreasonable noise disturbance. Three features define how it works.
First, the target is a person, not the animal. The verbs are own, possess or harbor, so the person keeping the dog, or sheltering one that belongs to someone else, is the one cited. The words animal or bird also pull in roosters, parrots and other fowl, not only dogs.
Second, the trigger is repetition. The sound must be made frequently or for continued duration, so a single bark does not qualify. The code prints no number of minutes, no count of incidents and no decibel reading. What it does print is the definition of noise disturbance in subsection (a)(4): any noise which tends to annoy or disturb a reasonable person. Subsection (b)(2) then adds the word unreasonable, so the sound has to disturb a reasonable listener and do so unreasonably. Subsection (b)(2) also draws no line between daytime hours (5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) and nighttime hours (11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.), which the code defines but uses for other purposes.
Third, the exemptions do not help a dog owner. Subsection (c) exempts government operations, emergency operations, noises required by law, snow removal equipment, aircraft and railroad operations, bells and chimes, warning devices, farming equipment in an agriculturally zoned area, sports events conducted at reasonable times, and noise allowed by Outagamie County Ordinance section 54, division 5. None of the ten names an animal. The special variance permit in subsection (d) covers an event or circumstance of limited duration, and it is issued by the local municipality, which the code defines in (a)(5) as any town, village, or city within Outagamie County.
The section does not name an enforcing officer or set out a complaint procedure, so the printed rule is the prohibition and the penalty.
Violations & Fines
Section 34-28(e) sets a forfeiture of not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 for a first offense, and not less than $200.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for subsequent offenses. The owner, possessor or harborer of the animal or bird is the person who answers for the violation. The section prints no jail term and no per-day charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a dog have to bark before it violates the county code?
Who gets the citation, the dog or the owner?
Does the rule cover birds and other animals?
What does a violation cost?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Outagamie County
Compare Outagamie County to another location·View the Wisconsin noise ordinances overview
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