Pocatello, ID Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Pocatello City Code Section 6.04.030(C) defines a public nuisance animal by listing prohibited conduct, and subsection (C)(4) specifically targets noise: continued and repeated howling, barking, whining, crowing, braying, or other utterances that cause unreasonable annoyance, disturbance, or discomfort to neighbors or others near the premises where the animal is kept. The same subsection also nuisance-designates repeated at-large violations (more than two), fouling the air with offensive odors, and interfering with the free movement of people in a right of way, so a chronically barking dog sits alongside these other listed nuisance behaviors rather than under a separate noise chapter.

Enforcement runs through the Animal Services Department: under subsection (D), an owner or custodian whose animal becomes a public nuisance may be issued a notice of violation and assessed a fee per occurrence, set annually by City Council resolution and payable at the Animal Services Center. That civil notice is independent of any misdemeanor or infraction case the city may also bring under Section 6.04.220, so a barking-dog complaint can carry both a fee and a criminal citation. Under Section 6.04.030(F), a court handling a nuisance conviction may also require the owner, at their own expense, to complete a city-approved animal obedience program to the Animal Services Director's satisfaction.

Repeat at-large nuisance convictions (more than two) trigger a separate mandatory spay/neuter requirement under subsection (E). Residents dealing with a persistently barking neighbor dog should file a complaint with Pocatello Animal Services rather than police first, since the nuisance-animal notice process is the department's tool for documenting repeated incidents before any court action follows.