Los Angeles Dog Barking Law Approved By City Council

LOS ANGELES -- Barking dogs can lead to a hefty fine in Los Angeles.

The City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that fines owners of excessively barking dogs $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third if a Department of Animal Services hearing officer decides the pooch is barking too much.

The ordinance is expected to get Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's signature. It would go into effect before the end of the year.

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Comments

[Caspersmomma]

01:14 AM on 11/23/2011

My dog is a German Shepherd & is a guard dog. We live in a bad neighborhood. He barks only during the day if someone is around our condo. If someone was to break in at night, he would bark, he would give his life to save us. We have a new neighbor that constantly stands in front of our home & then complains that our dog is barking & threatens to call animal control. Some people are just unhappy & have nothing else to do but to hate others. I love my dog & she needs to stay by her own house & mind her own business..but that's not gonna happen, she's gonna cause us trouble.

[alex71]

11:10 PM on 11/13/2011

Yes, dogs bark but not for hours and hours. Excessive dog barking is the result of neglecting the dog which is a form of abuse. People with obsessively barking dogs are abusing their dogs and their neighbors. And if the dog gets out, there is a higher chance it will attack.

This law doesn't go far enough. Some people, like my neighbor, with an obsessively barking dog are aggressive. If I report them, they will vandalize my property. We should be allowed to make a complaint anonymously and have Animal Control visit.

[Joanna McGinn]

10:28 PM on 11/04/2011

On the CBS story almost every dog shown barking was a Chihuahua. To many owners they are 'so cute' that they don't bother appropriately socializing or training them. I also understand the frustrations of dealing with a non-stop barking dog in a neighbor's yard. I would hope that the offending dog's guardian would see the harm/difficulty their behavior (or lack of) has on the dog and the peace of the neighborhood. I do not see a good/up side of this action by authorities. (they seem to be there only to justify their obnoxiously high salaries taken from public tax dollars). BUT here is what is likely to happen. 1) people will not pay the fines and thereby have bad credit records 2) they will deposit the dogs at shelters where no one else will want them and they will be killed, (higher shelter costs) 3) they will kill the dogs themselves, 4) they will just drop them off in the streets (costs of animal control departments go up) 5) they will debark them which is a horrible and gross procedure that puppy millers do to hide their shameful business.

[Emma Crystal]

07:39 PM on 11/04/2011

Seriously, dogs bark, that's just what they do. People complain, that's just what people seem to do...instead of attempting to put a law into use that would make our city safer, some retard using wanting to harass animals and their owners. I strongly don't agree with this useless idea/law.

[Foodgrade]

09:16 PM on 11/03/2011

Who gets to fefine "excessive"? The same ones who get the money?

[JohnMavis41]

07:21 PM on 11/03/2011

Barking is not the issue -- it is the poop -- I enjoy long walks around the neighborhood, enjoy
the flowers and the trees, but sure enough, dogs and dog owners abound, dog poop everywhere.
No place on the sidewalk cuz dog and owner are taking up both sides. Come closer, dogs tries to sniff you. Try to avoid dog and dislocate your knee or twist an ankle.

[triplettam]

07:14 PM on 11/03/2011

Hmm. It's what they do.

[fiberoptimist]

09:37 AM on 11/03/2011

Yes! It's about time dog owners took responsibility for excessive barking. I'm all for it.

[ltieler]

11:51 AM on 11/03/2011

Since you posted this early in the morning I will assume you haven't had your coffee and really thought this one through.

[fiberoptimist]

01:14 PM on 11/03/2011

No thought required. A lifetime of experience living in cities is enough to guide me. Have you ever experienced a dog barking for hours and hours non-stop, day after day? I care about the dog's well-being as much as my own right to peace and quiet.

[twowhitedogs]

05:24 AM on 11/03/2011

This is absurd. Dogs bark! Especially when bored. Can we also start fining those who can't seem to put the cell phone down while in stores and restaurants? Can't we accuse them of talking too much and slap a fine of them?

[cybolt]

09:11 AM on 11/03/2011

So fine the irresponsibility of the phone owners in public but NOT the irresponsibility of the dog owners whose act disrupts the lives of everyone living in their homes suurounding the offending dog?

Bottom line, I've got somewhere to go if I meet up with the phone talker in a public setting; I've got NOWHERE to go inside my home at 1130pm when their dog goes off.

[twowhitedogs]

07:12 AM on 11/06/2011

It's natural for a dog to bark. It's what they do! . I was merely pointing out the comparrison of dogs barking to those annoying people that can not wait to get out side or in their car to continue their boring conversation. One man's excessive is another man's not so much. It' just another stupid fine that people will clog up the court, when there is more important things to prosecute, and no one will end up paying.

[useyourbrain]

01:07 AM on 11/03/2011

When dogs are left alone all day - in this case the owner is home -- and have a regular barking routine at an open window for 10-15 minutes three or four times a day (not clockwork, but close -- we'll see what the time change does to them) that's excessive. Especially when it sounds like they are ripping each others ball sacks apart. Just performing at the window with the little one checking out the bigger dog as they wail away. And there's not even another dog or anything out there they are barking at.

It's bad behavior by the dogs that is tolerated and allowed by their owner. This is not fair to the hundreds of people in the area -- especially if you are home and sick and trying to sleep. It's been going on since I moved across the street 6 months ago. I vowed to report it. Now there is a law to back me up.

It's not matter of hating dogs or not wanting to hear them bark now and then. This is different. It is excessive and their owner does nothing to stop their regular performances -- he doesn't even close the window that they put their cute little paws on as they wail and bark to the world. I don't speak dog but maybe they're screaming for help - "stop me before I bark again" or "help, this guy rapes us every night".

[Miz Fit]

12:20 AM on 11/03/2011

One man's "excessive" is another's "I don't give a shi...". So who decides what is "excessive"? The pet owner across the hall? The deaf old man upstairs? Or the bitter divorcee downstairs?

[angelout]

11:58 PM on 11/02/2011

why can't they just do something about Lindsey Lohan and leave the dogs alone????

[angelout]

11:55 PM on 11/02/2011

What this will do is make crazy people get angry and do crazy things to silence their dogs, poor dogs.

[cbstyffe]

11:51 PM on 11/02/2011

Excessive breathing will also cost you in L.A.

[PaulaMV]

10:13 PM on 11/02/2011

There is something wrong with a poor dog that has to bark excessively. Most likely, it is not getting enough attention. Some dogs have separation anxiety and will bark incessantly when their owners are away. That said, other people--especially those who choose not to have pets--should not have to be disturbed on a regular basis by a neighbor's excessively barking dog.