Texarkana, TX Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Sec. 8-15(8) of the Texarkana code works in stages. The opening sentence sets the general rule. It is a nuisance to keep a dog which disturbs the peace by barking, yelping, howling, or making other loud noises to the annoyance or discomfort of any person. The standard is written around a single listener. The text says "any person," so a single affected neighbor is enough, and the provision does not ask for a group of complainants.

The next sentence supplies a measuring stick. Continuous barking, yelping, howling, or other loud noise for 15 consecutive minutes "shall be deemed to have disturbed the peace." That wording removes the argument over whether a particular stretch of noise was annoying enough. If the noise ran without a break for 15 minutes, the disturbance is established by the code itself. The word "consecutive" matters too. The clock measures a single unbroken run of noise, not scattered barks added up across a day.

Location on the property does not change the result. The provision expressly covers a dog confined inside a residence or building as well as a dog confined to the outside area. Bringing a barking dog indoors does not take it outside the rule.

The same clause also names the keeping of a dangerous dog, so Texarkana lists the dangerous dog and the noisy dog together in a single item of its animal nuisance code.

The 15 minute rule has exceptions. It does not apply when someone was trespassing or threatening to trespass on the owner's property, and it does not apply when the dog was being teased or provoked at the time of the noise. Animal Services (ACO) enforces the rule as part of the broader animal nuisance code in Chapter 8.