Tuscaloosa, AL Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Sec. 4-47(a) defines the terms this rule turns on: "bark," "barks" or "barking" means barking, yelping, howling, growling or otherwise making noise, and "continuously" means barking that occurs during the majority of any ten-minute period, so more than five minutes of noise inside any given ten-minute window meets the standard regardless of time of day. Sec. 4-47(b) then makes it unlawful for any person in charge or control of any premises within the city to have or allow a continuously barking dog there, a phrase broad enough to reach a landlord or property manager as well as the animal's owner.

The section is cross-referenced to the city's general noise regulations at Sec. , but it operates as its own, narrower standard specific to barking rather than a decibel measurement. It overlaps with Sec. 4-12(b)(2), which treats a dog that habitually or repeatedly chases, attacks, barks, snaps or otherwise acts aggressively toward people or other animals as a broader public nuisance, giving animal control two separate tools depending on whether the complaint is purely about noise or about aggressive behavior. Enforcement typically falls to the city's animal control officer, who can observe barking over a ten-minute window to establish the violation, though Tuscaloosa police retain authority to enforce Title 4 generally.