Pets

Bring your furry friend to the park to become a Carl Sandburg Home BARK Ranger!

NPS Photo

Learn about bringing your pet to the park and if you bring a dog, become a BARK Ranger! Also check out our series of "Hiking with Your Dog" education videos below!

Pets are welcome to join you when visiting the park, however, we need your help to maintain Carl Sandburg Home NHS as a safe and enjoyable place to visit. You can help by abiding by the park regulations.

Park Regulations:
1. Clean up after your pet.
2. Restrain pets on a leash not to exceed six feet.
3. Pets may not be left unattended while pet owner is on a tour of the house.
4. Ensure pets urinate on a natural surface and not on buildings. Please do not stray off developed trails.
5. Only assistance animals allowed in buildings. (For pet safety, no animals, including service animals are allowed in barnyard and goat pastures.)

Hiking with Your Dog Education Videos

 

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  Is Your Dog Ready to Hike?

  Hiking is a great stress relief and fun for people and pets. But it can also be stressful for you and your pet if either of you aren't prepared or ready for the stimulation you may encounter on the trail. Learn how to assess if your dog is ready for a hike in the first video in our hiking with your dog education series. Created in partnership with the Blue Ridge Humane Society.

  Duration:

  5 minutes, 47 seconds

 

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  Hiking in the Heat with Your Dog

  Learn about safely hiking with your dog in warmer weather in the second video in our hiking with your dog education series! Video includes when it's ideal to go for a walk in the woods, signs of dehydration or heat stroke, and how to treat it. Created in partnership with the Blue Ridge Humane Society.

  Duration:

  7 minutes, 48 seconds

 

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  Helpful Gear for Hiking

  Learn about gear to use while hiking with your dog in the 3rd video of our hiking with your dog education series! Video includes some of the basics to have for your hikes, including the right kind of leash, how to make a first aid kit, and other essentials to have as you head out to the trails. Created in partnership with the Blue Ridge Humane Society.

  Duration:

  9 minutes, 56 seconds

 

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  Training Tips for Your Dog

  Learn about tips for getting started with training your dog in the 4th video of our hiking with your dog education series! Video includes tips to make the training process fun and easy for you and your dog!

  Duration:

  7 minutes, 53 seconds

 

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  Attention Games For Your Dog

  Learn about attention getting games in the 5th video of our hiking with your dog education series! Video includes some attention games that will help your dog stay focused on you, or distracted away from other stimuli like dogs and hikers while on the trails. Covered are eye contact, recall, and distraction games.

  Duration:

  10 minutes, 17 seconds

 

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  Leash Training Your Dog

  Learn about leash training your dog in the 6th video of our hiking with your dog education series! Video includes how to get started leash training your pup so you can enjoy walking or hiking, and how to start getting your dog to behave well on the leash.

  Duration:

  10 minutes, 15 seconds

 

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While pets are allowed on the grounds with responsible supervision, regulation of pets in national parks occurs for several reasons. In fact, pets are banned in the backcountry of larger parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, and Great Smokey Mountains. A few reasons for pet regulation are listed below.

• Dogs can carry disease into the park's wildlife populations or goat farm.
• Dogs can chase and threaten wildlife, scaring birds and other animals away from nesting, feeding, and resting sites. The scent left behind by a dog can signal the presence of a predator, disrupting or altering the behavior of park wildlife. Small animals may hide in their burrow the entire day after smelling a dog and may not venture out to feed.
• Dogs bark and disturb the quiet of the wilderness. Unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells can disturb even the calmest, friendliest, and best-trained dog, causing them to behave unpredictably or bark excessively.
• Pets may become prey for larger predators such as bears. In addition, if your dog disturbs and enrages a bear, it may lead the angry bear directly to you. Dogs can also encounter insects that bite and transmit disease and plants that are poisonous or full of painful thorns and burrs.
• Many people, especially children, are frightened by dogs, even small ones. Uncontrolled dogs can present a danger to other visitors.

The Western North Carolina region offers an amazing variety of federal, state, and local public lands for recreation and enjoyment. Some public lands outside Carl Sandburg Home NHS may offer a wider range of recreational opportunities than are available here. For maps and information about these other recreation areas please contact the offices listed below.

• Pisgah National Forest [phone]
• DuPont State Forest [phone]
• Holmes Educational State Forest [phone]
• Henderson County Parks and Recreation - Hendersonville Dog Park located at E. Caswell Street and S. Glover. Call [phone] for more information.
• City of Asheville Parks and Recreation - Several designated "dog parks" within the City limits. Call [phone] for more information.

Thank you for helping by doing your part as a pet owner.