Pasadena, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Pasadena, CA, 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
- Governing section
- Municipal Code Sec. 9.36.150
- Standard
- Reasonable person, normal sensitiveness test
- Applies to
- Any animal or fowl, even if lawfully kept
- Enforcing agency
- Environmental Health Division
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor and public nuisance, Sec. 9.36.190
Summary
Pasadena prohibits keeping any animal or fowl that, by sound, cry or behavior, causes annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable person in a residential neighborhood, under Municipal Code Section 9.36.150. The rule applies to any animal otherwise lawfully kept, and a violation is enforced as a misdemeanor under Chapter 9.36's general penalty section.
No person shall keep or maintain, or permit the keeping of, upon any premises owned, occupied or controlled by such person any animal or fowl otherwise permitted to be kept which, by any sound, cry, or behavior, causes annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness in any residential neighborhood.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 79 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
150 of the Pasadena Municipal Code, part of the noise restrictions chapter, targets animal and fowl noise directly. It bars any person from keeping or maintaining, or permitting the keeping of, any animal or fowl on property they own, occupy or control if that animal, by sound, cry or behavior, causes annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness in any residential neighborhood. The section applies to animals or fowl that are otherwise lawfully permitted to be kept, meaning the noise standard is a separate legal exposure on top of any licensing or keeping restrictions found elsewhere in the code; a dog does not have to be kept illegally for its barking to violate this section.
36 to general noise complaints, rather than a numeric threshold, so enforcement turns on the frequency, duration and context of the barking as experienced by neighbors. 180. 190, and the city can pursue a civil injunction to abate the nuisance in addition to, or instead of, criminal prosecution.
Violations & Fines
Keeping an animal whose barking, crying or noise causes annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable neighbor in a residential area is a misdemeanor under Section 9.36.190. The environmental health division investigates barking complaints under its Section 9.36.180 enforcement authority, and the city may also bring a civil nuisance-abatement action against the animal's keeper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is barking dog noise illegal in Pasadena?
What standard does Pasadena use to judge barking complaints?
Who investigates a barking dog complaint in Pasadena?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasadena
California rules heatmap·Compare Pasadena to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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