Santa Clarita, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Santa Clarita, 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
- Trigger
- Excessive, continuous or untimely barking
- Prerequisite
- Written notice from Animal Care & Control
- Penalty after notice
- Misdemeanor, each day a new offense
- Who is liable
- Owner, tenant or property occupant
- Adopted
- Ordinance 91-29 (1991), amended 01-12 (2001)
Summary
Santa Clarita treats a dog that barks, whines or howls in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion as a public nuisance under Section 8.40.065. After a written warning from Animal Care and Control, letting the nuisance continue is a misdemeanor, with each additional day counted as a separate offense.
Any animal (or animals) which molests passersby or passing vehicles, attacks other animals, trespasses on school grounds, is repeatedly at large, damages and/or trespasses on private or public property, barks, whines or howls in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion shall be considered a public nuisance. Every person who maintains, permits or allows a public nuisance to exist upon his or her property or premises, and every person occupying or leasing the property or premises of another and who maintains, permits or allows a public nuisance as described above to exist thereon, after reasonable notice in writing from the Department of Animal Care and Control has been served upon such person to cease such nuisance, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The existence of such nuisance for each and every day after the service of such notice shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.
Full Breakdown
40 "General Requirements," defines a public nuisance broadly to include any animal that molests passersby or passing vehicles, attacks other animals, trespasses on school grounds, is repeatedly at large, damages and/or trespasses on private or public property, or barks, whines or howls in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion. Barking is only one listed trigger among several, but it is enough on its own to meet the definition. Subsection B does not make the first complaint an automatic crime: it requires reasonable notice in writing from the Department of Animal Care and Control served on the person maintaining, permitting or allowing the nuisance before a violation attaches.
Only after that written notice does continuing to allow the barking become a misdemeanor, and the code treats the existence of the nuisance for each and every day after service of the notice as a separate and distinct offense, so a prolonged barking problem can generate a new charge daily. The nuisance duty falls on every person who maintains, permits or allows the nuisance, which the code extends beyond the dog's owner to any person occupying or leasing the property of another where the barking occurs, covering tenants as well as owners. 065 was adopted by Ordinance 91-29 in 1991 and amended by Ordinance 01-12 in 2001.
Violations & Fines
Barking alone doesn't trigger a misdemeanor on first complaint. Animal Care and Control must first serve written notice under Section 8.40.065(B); only continuing to allow the excessive barking after that notice is a misdemeanor, and the code counts every day the nuisance continues afterward as a separate offense, so an unresolved complaint can multiply into repeated charges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my neighbor report my dog for barking too much?
Do I get warned before facing charges over a barking dog?
How is a continuing barking problem penalized?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Clarita
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Clarita to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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Barking Dogs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle barking dogs.