First walks in Nashville.
For everyday walks, Nashville asks for a leash, tether or other physical control device no longer than eight feet, under someone’s physical control - and the city’s 14 listed dog-park facilities are the place for off-leash play. The city’s own rules and how we suggest starting a new dog’s first week.
The rules, in short
From the Metropolitan Code of Nashville and Davidson County and the city’s own pages.
- 1On public property: leash, tether or other physical control device, eight feet or shorter
- 2Off-leash play: the city’s 14 fenced dog-park facilities
- 3Rabies vaccination from six months
- 4License from six months - within 30 days of getting the dog
- 5Pick up after your dog - $50 fine
- 6At dog parks: leash until inside, two dogs per handler
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
Violations are civil infractions, up to $50 a day (8.04.210). A dog at large costs $50 per animal - the first ticket can be waived with proof of spay or neuter, while repeats bring court-ordered fencing and, by the fifth, impoundment (8.04.120). The code counts a dog as at-large when it is not physically restrained on public property by a leash, tether or other control no longer than eight feet, under a capable person’s physical control (8.04.010).
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Nashville’s streets.
- 1Leash, quiet streets, short and sniffy - calm hours, near home, ending before your dog is wound up. An off-leash area is not day-one material for a brand-new dog.
- 2Sniffing is the point - let your dog pause and sniff instead of focusing on distance. More on the sniff walk.
- 3Settle first, explore later - more on the first days: a routine for a newly adopted dog and a calm start to every walk.
The dog parks, for later
Once your dog has settled. Metro Parks lists 14 fenced dog-park facilities at 11 sites - all with water fountains and waste bags, open dawn to dusk unless noted:
- 1Centennial Large Dog Park - 2500 West End Ave, Flag Pole Hill
- 2Centennial Small Dog Park - 2500 West End Ave, Flag Pole Hill
- 3Fair Large Dog Park - 300 Raines Ave
- 4Fair Small Dog Park - 300 Raines Ave
- 5Ascend Dog Park - 200 1st Ave S - open to 11 p.m.
- 63rd Avenue Large Dog Park - 1616 Third Ave N
- 73rd Avenue Small Dog Park - 1616 Third Ave N
- 8Frankie Pierce Dog Park - 130 Lifeway Plaza - open to 11 p.m.
- 9One Mile Dog Park - 300 Connare Dr
- 10Pitts Dog Park - 299 Tusculum Rd
- 11Two Rivers Dog Park - 3150 McGavock Pike - 6.6 acres, the biggest
- 12Shelby Dog Park - Shelby Ave at S 20th St
- 13Stones River Dog Park - 3778 Bell Rd, at Percy Priest Dam
- 14Warner Dog Park - Edwin Warner Park, 50 Vaughn Rd
Park rules: rabies and ID tags on the collar, a leash in hand for each dog, no more than two dogs per handler, no puppies under four months, no female dogs in heat, and children under 10 stay outside the fenced area. The large and small parks at Centennial, Fair and 3rd Avenue are pairs at one site each, so the map shows one pin per site - 11 pins for 14 facilities.
Pins mark the park or its listed access point, not the exact off-leash boundary.
Good to know
Worth knowing
Leashed dogs are welcome in every Metro park, not just the dog parks. The license tag runs with the rabies shot and is sold through the city’s contractor at licensepet.com/nashville (the city’s own fee page dates from 2021, so we don’t quote its price). Nashville also allows pet dogs in restaurant outdoor dining areas where the restaurant holds a Metro permit (8.04.200).
Sources
Sources: Metropolitan Code 8.04.010 (at-large definition), 8.04.120 (animals at large), 8.04.190 (excrement), 8.04.020 (rabies), 8.04.030 (licenses), 8.04.210 (civil penalties), as replaced by Ordinance BL2023-1688 (passed May 16, 2023): nashville.legistar.com BL2023-1688; code chapter: library.municode.com Ch. 8.04. City pages: nashville.gov dog parks, park closures, MACC licensing. All verified November 2, 2026.
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