Excessive dog barking

Excessive dog barking that causes a nuisance can be a legal offence.  If you are bothered by persistent barking, talk to the owner of the dog and if this fails then you can lodge an official complaint with your local District Court under the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998.  You will be given a date when your complaint will be heard in the District Court and a copy of a Form No. 5.  On this form you write the dog owner's name and the date & time when your complaint is to be heard in the District Court. You then sign & date the form and give it to the dog's owner 7 days before your complaint is due to be heard in the District Court.  The dog's owner has this time to resolve the problem.

The District Court can:

• Make an order requiring the reduction of excessive barking by the dog/s or
• Can limit the number of dogs that can be kept on the premises or
• Can direct that the dog/s be delivered to the dog warden as an unwanted dog.

Futher information

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) publishes detailed information on its website , including guidelines under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act and statistics on dog control.