Enclosed Dog Parks For Private Hire: Are They Worth They Hype?

Brown Labrador in Field

It seems that enclosed dog parks are extremely popular and the rate that enclosed dog parks are popping out of nowhere is saying something, let alone the difficulty in booking a space because of the demand! But, enclosed dog parks for private hire: are they worth it?

First things first, let's define what an enclosed dog park for private hire is. An enclosed dog park is securely fenced field that is professionally maintained which means it will often have a booking system in place (typically around 30 minutes or around 1 hour) and either a key or code in place to enter the enclosed field. In short, it's a secured field hire for your dog to run around and different places will have different size fields and different levels of enrichment for your dog.

What's the price of the private hire? This is dependent on the business and the duration of the hire. Typically, for an 1 hour's booking, it's around £10 - £15 and for around 30 minute booking, it's around £6 - £8.

I guess the question is, enclosed dog parks for private: are they worth it? Let's list out the pros and cons.

Pros:

• You can spilt the price with all your doggies' friends and make a real day of it

• Allows for a focused and effective training sessions by limiting the amount of distractions that can up

• A safe and secure environment for a dog to really run and roam off lead (especially if your dog isn't the best at recall or can be reactive)

• If your dog is injured, elderly or has a disability and often get rough housed when on your daily walks, it might be nice for them run around without the impact of others

• A new environment for them

Cons:

• The price and the difficulty of booking can be off putting

• It can be become a comfort blanket if you find it less stressful to take your dog here but they still need to be exposed to new environments

• It's not guaranteed to be well-maintained by other field users, e.g. failure to pick up their dog's poo so you can still have the nuisances of that you would find at another dog park but you're paying for it this time

Arguably, it's definitely harder to list cons for the enclosed dog park for private hire as the pros are so much more distinguishable. We personally believe that enclosed dog parks for private hires are totally worth it and should be seen as a treat rather than a habit. It's still important to work on your dog's 'weaknesses' which are the reasons as to why you may have gone to a private hire (if it's not viewed as a day out).

Lastly, we are able to take your dog to an enclosed dog park if you have booked one in, just let us know and we can fit it in as a dog walk.