Barking dogs bring almost daily complaints to the Los Banos City Police Department, particularly in warm weather when windows are open. In addition to being against the law, it is extremely inconsiderate to your neighbors by allowing your dog or dogs to bark when unnecessary. If your dog is barking, please investigate the cause.
Barking Dogs
Before reporting a dog that barks loudly and frequently, first try to contact the dog’s owner. Many times the owner is unaware the dog is causing a problem for neighbors and is willing to take immediate action to correct the problem. If the problem is not resolved, contact the Police Department at 209-827-7070.
The Police Department will investigate all barking dog complaints and will try to contact the owner of the dog. We will ask for your name and a call back number for our records, or in case we need additional information from you. We will not tell the responsible person who made the complaint.
There are a few aggravated cases where the problem continues. We ask that you call again, and we will respond back there. Each time, we keep a record of the complaints. If the problem continues, and we can document repeated calls over a period of time, the police department will work with you and your neighbors to petition the City Attorney to institute nuisance abatement procedures against the owner of the dog.
Owners of barking dogs may be in violation of the city’s noise ordinance. This is a misdemeanor crime, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to one year in jail.
In almost all cases dogs will bark for a specific reason. These reasons are generally to call attention to themselves by their owner. There may be a stranger to the dog that is in the area that the dog smells, hears, or sees. This “watchdog” ability besides the companionship is one main reason that many of us have dogs.
Other legitmate reasons that cause dogs to bark can include the fact that they are hungry, being teased, or they are just in need of attention.