7 Things Kentuckians Can Legally Do When a Neighbor’s Dog Won’t Stop Barking

A dog that barks nonstop for ten minutes can qualify as a barking dog under Danville’s noise ordinance.

That’s not long.

These are the things Kentuckians can legally do when a neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Local ordinances and court rules are subject to change, so confirm the current rules with your city or county government.

1. Calling Louisville Metro Animal Services

To report a barking dog in Louisville, you can call Louisville Metro Animal Services at 473-PETS and make a service request.

The city’s page says to leave a message if you don’t reach a dispatcher.

Habitual barking is a nuisance.

Louisville Metro’s animal ordinance defines a nuisance to include letting an animal habitually bark, whine or howl in an “excessive or continual fashion.”

The definition applies when the noise seriously annoys neighbors or interferes with how they use their homes.

The same ordinance requires owners to keep their animals from becoming a nuisance, which puts the duty on the owner.

2. Complaining to the Fayette County Attorney

In Lexington, you file a complaint about a barking dog with the Fayette County Attorney’s Office, using its online form.

The ordinance bars keeping an animal that repeatedly or frequently barks, howls or makes similar sounds.

It covers noise that crosses the line between dwellings and would annoy a reasonable person of normal sensitivities.

The office asks you to keep a log of the date, time and length of the noise, plus video or audio recordings.

Without a recording, the chances of a conviction at trial are minimal.

Lexington’s enforcement officers can write a citation, or they can issue an order requiring the immediate abatement of the sound.

A first offense carries a fine of $50 to $500.

Repeat offenders pay more.

Offenses inside a twelve-month window start at $100 the second time and $250 the third.

3. Reporting to Danville Codes Enforcement

If a barking dog bothers you in Danville, report it to the city’s codes enforcement officer.

The city’s codes enforcement page says its ordinances cover the control of sounds of all kinds, barking dogs included.

You can call the codes enforcement officer at 859-238-1200.

Under the noise ordinance, that officer, or someone the city manager designates, serves as the noise control officer.

The noise control officer and the city have primary enforcement responsibility for the ordinance.

The ordinance calls a dog a barking dog when it barks, howls or makes other noise nonstop for ten minutes.

Ten minutes is enough.

A dog that barks on and off for half an hour or more to the disturbance of any person qualifies too.

That holds at any time of day or night, even if the dog never leaves private property.

A dog doesn’t count if someone was trespassing, or threatening to trespass, on the property where it is, or if something similar teased or provoked it.

A conviction carries a fine of up to $500.

The noise control officer can also order a violating noise source to stop until the violation is corrected.

4. Contacting the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office

A barking dog in Daviess County is a problem you can bring to the Sheriff’s Office, whose Civil Enforcement Officers respond to animal complaints.

You reach them through Owensboro-Daviess County Central Dispatch at (270) 687-8888.

The county’s animal code says no person may own, keep or harbor an animal that unreasonably annoys humans.

Its examples include allowing animals to disturb a person’s peace with excessive, continuous or untimely noises, such as barking and howling.

An Animal Control Officer who finds a violation of that section can issue a disturbance notice instead of a citation.

The owner gets a chance.

The notice sets out terms and a date for compliance, and accepting it waives the owner’s right to a hearing, appeal or protest.

If the owner doesn’t comply, the officer may issue a uniform citation.

5. Asking for Mediation

If talking to your neighbor hasn't worked, a mediator is an option short of court.

You can propose mediation in a short note or text.

The Kentucky Court of Justice says mediation has worked in a wide range of civil disputes.

Nobody has to sue first.

Sometimes court staff or volunteer mediators are available to mediate at no cost to the parties.

6. Filing in Small Claims Court

A barking dog complaint can go to small claims court if you can put a dollar figure on the harm.

The small claims complaint form asks for an amount in damages.

Kentucky's district court handles small claims involving $2,500 or less.

What would you ask for?

If a court finds a temporary nuisance, Kentucky law measures compensatory damages by the drop in the value of using your property.

If you don't live there, compensatory damages are measured by the property's fair rental value.

The same law bars damages for annoyance, discomfort or emotional distress.

7. Suing for a Private Nuisance

If a barking dog keeps you from enjoying your home, Kentucky law may let you sue its owner for a private nuisance.

A court decides whether that particular dog qualifies.

Kentucky's statutes call any private nuisance that isn't permanent a temporary nuisance.

To count, your neighbor's use of property has to cause "unreasonable and substantial annoyance" to the people living in your home.

Or it has to unreasonably interfere with their use and enjoyment of it.

That's only half of it.

The annoyance also has to lower what it's worth to use your property, or its rental value.

A judge or jury weighs everything relevant, including the kind, volume and duration of the annoyance.

Duration is one of those factors, so a dated log of when the barking starts and stops gives you evidence to show.

The test is whether the annoyance would substantially annoy a person of ordinary health and normal sensitivities.

Louisville Metro's Farm Exemption

Louisville Metro's barking dog rule has an exception for farms.

The ordinance exempts an agricultural operation, as state law defines it, from enforcement of its nuisance rules, subject to restrictions in state law.