Lismore City Council
How to deal with barking dogs in your street or neighbourhood
Barking dogs can be very annoying but often these things can be resolved without needing Council or a government agency to intervene.
Talk to your neighbours
The first thing you should do is talk to your neighbours about any noise issues that are affecting you. Your neighbours may not know and they may help solve the problem quickly and easily.
Community Justice Centres
If talking to your neighbours doesn't solve the issue, you can contact the Community Justice Centre. Community Justice Centres provide quality mediation and conflict management services in NSW. The service is free, confidential, impartial, accessible and voluntary.
The Northern Community Justice Centre can be contacted on 1800 990 777 or email cjc_northern@agd.nsw.gov.au.
How Council can help
A complaint about a barking dog needs to be in writing (this includes email). Once received Council will contact the owner of the dog and advise them that a complaint has been received. We will give them a period of time to address the problem.
If a further complaint is received after that time Council may take one or all of the following steps, depending on the case:
- An investigation of the noise complaint to determine the legitimacy of the complaint.
- The offender/s may be warned about the noise and asked to take action.
- A formal notice/order may be issued.
- Action may be enforced penalty notices or Court action if warranted.
