The fur will soon be flying in a corner of York reserved for very good boys and girls.
Because the brand new York Dog Park opens tomorrow (Saturday).
Offering a safe and secure place for you and your pet to have fun, the park is based at Knapton to the west of the city.
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It’s the lockdown project of two dog owners – Laura Harland and Rebecca Robson.
They are renting the one-acre site from Rebecca’s mum Denise, who runs Foxgloves Livery next door.
“There are a lot of people locally who have dogs that need somewhere safe to walk,” Laura told YorkMix. “A place where they can enjoy letting them off the lead, that’s in a secure environment.
“And there’s now an issue around the safety of your animals – the fact that dogs are becoming ever more popular, and also very expensive. This is a really safe place to have some fun and exercise your dogs.”
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Security is becoming more important to many dog owners as the problem of thefts increases. In Yorkshire and the Humber there were 271 dog thefts in 2020, and no convictions.
“Your animals are really precious to you,” said Laura. “We’re both dog owners ourselves. Rebecca and I both have spaniels and we know what it’s like to have a pedigree dog.
“Certainly if I see someone when I’m walking that I don’t know, I put my dog back on a lead – because you don’t want them to be snatched.”
So the dog park is surrounded by a 6ft deer fence to stop big dogs jumping out, and underground rabbit netting, to stop small dogs burrowing out.
It means you can exercise or train your pet without having to worry that they’ll do a runner.
You can book either a private session for you and your pet, or you can make a date with friends and book a slot for up to seven dogs.
Among those to have pre-tested York Dog Park were Laura Castle of YorkMix Radio and her dog Dwight.
“The feedback that we’ve had has been amazing, the dogs seem to just smile and love it when they’re in there,” said Rebecca.
“It’s fun for them, they just have a whale of a time. We’ve an agility course that we’ve built inside the park, with a tunnel, some jumps and some bits and bobs. When you when you let your dogs off the lead, they’re just run and have fun.
“For us, it’s your dog’s new favourite place in York.”
How it works
To gain access to York Dog Park, you book a slot via the website.
Then you receive a unique gate code to gain entry to the private dog walking field. This code will be valid for your allocated time slot.
Slots last one hour and are available from 6am to 8pm
You can also book a recurring slot at York Dog Park if you want to book a certain time regularly.
You can book for a private session for you and your dog(s). Or you can make it a group session for friends and up to seven dogs.
Prices
1 Hour Private Session for 1-3 Dogs – £12
1 Hour Private Session for 4-7 Dogs – £15
Discounts are available for block bookings.