Westminster, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Unlike its general noise chapter, Westminster addresses barking dogs directly in its Animals title. WMC Section 6.04.020 defines a 'barking dog' as a dog that barks, bays, cries, howls, or makes any noise audible beyond the boundaries of the property where the dog is situated for an extended period of time, to the disturbance of any person, at any time of day or night. That 'extended period' is met by incessant barking, baying, crying or howling for thirty minutes or more in any twenty-four-hour period, or by intermittent barking over a longer span within a twenty-four-hour period. A dog is not considered a 'barking dog' if, while it is barking, a person is trespassing or threatening to trespass on the property where the dog is kept, or if the dog is being teased or provoked. WMC Section 6.08.180 declares maintaining, keeping or permitting such a barking dog in the city to be a public nuisance, and Section 6.08.190 sets enforcement: animal control or a police officer acts on a community complaint signed under penalty of perjury, first sending a warning notice by registered or certified mail (or serving it personally) and allowing ten days to abate the nuisance. After that ten-day period, each day the nuisance continues is a separate offense, and the city may pursue criminal, civil, or other legal remedies. This city ordinance is more specific than relying on the general state nuisance standard or Chapter 8.28's dB(A) limits.